The Flood
Towards the end of the Age of Bronze the human world became very cruel.
Men grew hungry,impolite and ungodly.Neither rightn or law was respected any longer,and the rule of hospitality was forgotten.Dressed up in human form,Zeus visited Arcadia andThessaly,and disliked the deadly wrongs of men .He decidedto clear the earth of them all.Without hesitation he released therainy south wind and called upon the heartless Poseidon to help.Soon the whole world sank in a vast ocean, and the entire humanrace disappeared in the unheard of flood,all but two poor Thessalians .
These were an old childless couple,kind and faithful and contented with life.The man was called Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha.Son of Prometheus,Deucalion had been warned beforehand by his father of the coming flood and made himself a hugechest.When the roaring flood came the couple hid themselves init and floated for nine days until it touched land again on Mt Parnassus.
The once active world presented a frightening sight.It was all death and ruin.Feeling lonely and unsafe,the old coupleprayed to the gods for help.A sage instructed them to cast the bones of their mother about .The son of the wise Titan, havingguessed the true meaning of the mysterious command, started throwing stones behind him. A miracle occurred. The stonesthat the man cast became men;the stones that the woman threwturned into women.Since then,people appeared on the land again.The Heroic Age had begun.
Belling the cat
Long ago, there was a big cat in the house. He caught many mice while they were stealing food.
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy. Some said this, and some said that.
At last a young mouse got up, and said that he hada good idea.
"We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear the sound of the bell, and run away."
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?" The mice looked at each other, but nobody spoke.
Once upon a time
很久以前
there was a single banana tree in the jungle.
在这片森林里面有一棵唯一的香蕉树。
Two bunches of bananas were on the banana tree.
香蕉树上有两串香蕉。
There were three children from a village.
有三个来自山村的孩子。
They were watching the bananas grow.
他们正在观察香蕉的成长。
There were four monkeys from the jungle.
有四只来自这片森林的猴子。
They were watching the bananas grow.
他们正在观察香蕉的成长。
The children looked at the bananas at five o’clock in the afternoon everyday.
孩子们在每一天下午六点钟看香蕉。
The monkeys looked at the bananas at six o’clock in the morning everyday.
猴子们在每一天早上六点钟看香蕉。
The three children and the four monkeys were very excited. Soon the bananas would be ready to eat.
这三个孩子和这四只猴子非常兴奋。很快香蕉就快能吃了。
All seven of them wanted to eat the bananas.
他们全部七个人都想吃香蕉。
One evening the children ran to the banana tree.
一天傍晚孩子们跑到香蕉树。
There were eight colorful butterflies sitting on the bananas.
八只色彩鲜艳的蝴蝶正落在香蕉上。
The bananas were almost yellow.
香蕉差不多成黄颜色了。
“Let’s eat the bananas now.”
“现在让我们吃香蕉。”
“No,they are not ripe.”
“不，他们没有熟呢。”
The next morning the monkeys looked at the bananas.
第二天早上猴子们看到香蕉。
There were nine drops of dew sparkling on the bananas.
有九粒露水在香蕉上发光。
The three children ran to the bananas tree for breakfast.
这三个孩子跑到香蕉树旁，把香蕉作为早餐。
The four monkeys swung from tree to tree to get to the banana tree.It was 10 o’clock.The monkeys and children wanted bananas for breakfast.
这四只猴子从一棵树到另一棵树摇荡来到香蕉树。十点钟了。猴子们和孩子们要把香蕉当作早餐。
The children were very upset to see the monkeys.
孩子们看到猴子们感到非常烦乱。
The monkeys were very upset to see the children.
猴子们看到孩子们感到非常烦乱。
The children were very afraid that the monkeys would take all of the bananas.The monkeys were afraid that the children would take all of the bananas.
孩子们非常害怕猴子们拿走所有的香蕉。猴子们害怕孩子们拿走所有的香蕉。
The children were very hungry.They were also very tired.
孩子们很饿。他们也很疲倦。
The monkeys were very hungry.They were also very tired.
猴子们很饿。他们也很疲倦。
The children were too tired to throw stones.
孩子们太疲倦了而不能扔石头。
The monkeys were too tired to throw sticks.
猴子们太疲倦了而不能扔木棍。
“I’m so hungry.””Me too.”
“我很饿。” “我也是。”
“Let’s share the bananas with the monkeys.”
“让我们和猴子们一起分享香蕉。”
“OK!Let’s share the bananas with the monkeys.”
“好的!让我们和猴子们一起分享香蕉。”
The monkeys and the children enjoyed their breakfast.
猴子们和孩子们享用了他们的早餐。
They also learned that sharing is better than fighting.
他们也明白了分享比争斗更好。