100个儿童英语小故事: The Oak and the Reed 橡树和芦苇

 

093 The Oak and the Reed

Once upon a time, there lived a huge oak tree. The oak tree was proud that it was the biggest and strongest in the world. "Despite any hardships, I can survive till the end. There is nothing as powerful as me."

One day, a severe windstorm began. Watching the other trees fall down one by one, the oak tree was triumphant¹. "I'll be fine."

However, the oak tree collapsed² when the windstorm was blowing. Flowing on the water, the oak tree thought, 'How did I end up like this?'

As it was swept away by the river, the oak tree passed a field of reeds. The reeds were standing³ there without being broken. "Oh, Mr. Reed! How did you survive the rainstorm with your fragile body?" The oak tree envied the reeds.

One of the reeds kindly⁴ said to the oak tree flowing down, "Mr. Oak Tree, you showed that you were the strongest in the world, right? The wind brings down anything with an air of importance."

"We never think highly of ourselves, but lower our heads when we come across a windstorm. If you had lowered your head without being so proud, you would have survived the rainstorm."

1 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。