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兔子四处望了望自己的田地。要想有食物吃，他必须得种庄稼。 但如果要种庄稼，他必须得先开垦荒地。那可是一项艰巨的劳动，他才不愿干这么多的活儿呢。 兔子是聪明的动物,很快他就有了办法。他拖来一根长绳，埋伏在地头的灌木丛中。一头庞大的非洲象缓慢地走过来。兔子就跟大象打赌说他能在拔河比赛中战胜大象。大象嘲笑他这种想法太荒唐，尤其是出于一个这么小的小动物之口。他用自己的长鼻子卷起绳子的一头。兔子连忙捡起绳的另一头狂奔起来。他穿过树丛， 越过田地，藏到了另一片树丛里。 不一会儿，一头满身泥污的河马一摇三晃地走过来。兔子向河马挑战说自己能在拔河比赛中战胜他。骄傲的河马用牙叼起了地上的绳头。兔子马上跳进树丛中，拉紧绳子。绳一头的大象、另一头的河马同时感觉到了绳子在移动，都拼命地拉动绳子。两个大力士就这样一会儿前倾，一会儿后仰，你来我往，拉得难解难分，一直拉到晚上。绳子每拉动一次，就在 聪明的兔子的田地上犁出一道沟垄。 The Clever Hare Hare looked out over his field. If he was going to have food to eat, he would have to plant crop. But if he was going to plant crop, he'd have to clear the field first. That was a lot of work—more work than Hare wanted to do. Hare was a clever animal, so he soon had an idea. He dragged a length of rope behind him and lay in wait in the bushes outside his field. A big African elephant came lumbering along. Hare bet the elephant he could beat him in a tug-of-war. The large elephant laughed at the idea, coming as it did from such a small animal. He scooped up the rope with his trunk. Hare picked up the other end and scampered through the bushes and across his field. There he hid behind another row of bushes. Soon enough a muddy hippopotamus waddled by. Hare dared the hippo to beat him in a tug-of-war. The proud hippo picked up the rope with his teeth. Hare hopped into the bushes and gave the rope a tug. When the elephant and the hippo felt the rope move, they each pulled hard. The powerful animals dragged the rope, back and forth, back and forth, until night fell. Each time the rope moved, it plowed another row in clever Hare’s field. |
