|
一个炎热的下午，有一只很聪明却自高自大的鼠鹿，正在森林里的一个湖边喝水。老虎恰巧经过那儿，看见鼠鹿，就用不怀好意的口气对他说： “鼠鹿，你再聪明也逃不了，因为我已一天没吃东西了，现在就要把你当作我的美食！ ” “您一天没吃东西了？ ”鼠鹿装出一副同情的样子说，其实他的心里很害怕。他接着说：“可怜的老虎！我衷心希望您能吃到丰富的一餐，不过我想，像我这样小小的身体，是决不能填饱您的肚子的。我想起来了！要填饱肚子，吃人肉最适合不过了。” “人是什么东西呀？ ”老虎问。 “您不知道人是什么吗？ ”鼠鹿心中暗暗高兴，他说，“人是一种长着两条腿的动物，还是万物之灵呢！ ” “他比我还厉害吗？ ”老虎有点不高兴地问。 “是的，不过您动作敏捷，人一定逃不过您的利爪，到时您可以饱餐一顿了。” “好，你带我去找人。如果找不到人，你就得给我吃。” “来！您跟我到大路那边，说不定会有人经过那 里。” 鼠鹿带着老虎来到路边，藏在树丛后边，等人经过。过了不久，有个高大强壮的猎人，背着枪，大步走来。鼠鹿欢喜地说：“您看那人身体强壮，都是肌肉；再看他那红润的脸蛋儿，他的血也不少，您吃完他的肉，喝他的血，根本就不需要我了。” “好，现在就看我的！ ”老虎说着，朝猎人猛扑过去。但猎人比他还快，端起枪，一下就把老虎射死了。 鼠鹿如释重负，但经历了危险，他已精疲力竭了。他回到湖边去喝水，正喝得痛快时，忽然他的一条腿被某种东西咬住了。 咬住他的原来是鳄鱼。鳄鱼憎恨鼠鹿，因为鼠鹿诡计多端；鼠鹿也憎恨鳄鱼，因为每一次他来湖边喝水，都要受到鳄鱼的威胁。 鼠鹿灵机一动，说：“啊！你这条可怜的鳄鱼， 你到什么时候才能学会辨别鹿腿和木棍呀？你现在咬住的只不过是一条普通的木棍罢了！” 但鳄鱼很熟悉鼠鹿的诡计，他说：“别再骗我啦，我非常清楚我咬住的是你的腿，你今天是逃不掉的。” “可是我并没有骗你。如果你不相信，那么请看，这是什么？ ”鼠鹿晃了晃另一条腿。 愚蠢的鳄鱼信以为真，他放开这条腿去咬另一 条，鼠鹿用力一跳，就跳到一个安全的地方，然后回头对鳄鱼说：“你实在蠢极了，你连我的腿和木棍都分不清。相信你从来就没碰过像我这样聪明灵巧的动物吧？ ” 说完，鼠鹿得意地跑了。 不久，他在路上遇见一只蜗牛。他看见慢吞吞的蜗牛，就想夸耀自己了。 “让我们来一场赛跑吧！ ”鼠鹿说，“你赢了，我就永远消失在这森林里。” 没想到，蜗牛竟然答应了。他还说：“我一定可以取得胜利。” 鼠鹿笑了： “蜗牛，你竟然想当赛跑冠军，你简直是在做白日梦。” 但这只蜗牛可不那么简单，他很有头脑。他早就和朋友商量过，如何联合起来对付这只自高自大的鼠鹿。 “一会儿你就要后悔了，蜗牛！ ”鼠鹿一阵风似的 跑得无踪无影。当他到达终点时，惊见蜗牛已经比他先到了。鼠鹿不肯认输，他要求重新比赛，但不论他 们比赛多少次，蜗牛总是胜利者。 鼠鹿并不知道，每一次比赛，都有一只蜗牛在终点等着。第一次是他的朋友，第二次是他自己，两只蜗牛长得非常相像，鼠鹿以为他们是同一只蜗牛。 鼠鹿来回两地奔跑，最后实在累得跑不动了，只好躺在地上喘着气说：“你赢了，蜗牛先生，我不再跟你比赛了。” 自以为聪明无比的鼠鹿，没有输给凶猛的老虎， 没有输给残暴的鳄鱼，却输给了一只慢吞吞的蜗牛！ The Over-confident Mousedeer One hot afternoon at a lake in the jungle, a mousedeer stopped by a lake to drink some water. A tiger appeared and said to the mousedeer, “Oh Mousedeer, no matter how smart you are, I，m not going to let you escape because I have not eaten a thing the whole day. I’m going to have you for a delicious meal!” “You have not eaten a thing?” the mousedeer said. “Oh Tiger! I hope you find a delicious meal soon for I believe my tiny body won’t be enough to fill your stomach. I have an idea 一 the best food is man.” “What is man?” asked the tiger. “You don’t know what man is?” the mousedeer said with surprise. “Man is a kind of animal with two legs and he is very smart.” “Is man better than I am?” asked the tiger curiously. “Yes, but man is slow，he cannot escape you. You are sure to have a delicious meal.” “Good, bring me to a man. If we cannot find one, I will eat you.” The mousedeer and the tiger both went to the main road and hid behind a big tree. After a while, a hunter with a shotgun walked towards the big tree. He was big and strong. “You see, that man has a big body full of flesh and blood，” the mousedeer whispered to the tiger. “When you eat this man’s meat and drink his blood, you won’t need to eat me anymore.” “Good! Let me catch him now!” The tiger leapt at the hunter. However, the hunter was much faster with his shotgun and fired at the tiger. The tiger was shot and died on the spot. The mousedeer was relieved that he had finally escaped from the tiger. He returned to the lake to have a drink. While having his drink, he felt something bite his left leg. He then realised that it was a crocodile. The crocodile hated the mousedeer because he had tricked him before. Each time the mousedeer went to the lake to drink water, the crocodile would threaten to kill him. The mousedeer reacted quickly, “What a pity, Crocodile. You are biting a piece of wood instead of my leg. When will you learn to differentiate between my leg and a piece of wood? But the crocodile assumed the mousedeer was trying to trick him and replied, “You cannot bluff me this time. I am very sure I am biting your leg and I am not letting you go this time!” “I am bluffing you? See, this is my leg.” The mousedeer showed the crocodile his right leg. The dumb crocodile believed him and released the left leg to bite the right leg, but the mousedeer was quick enough to jump away. He turned and said to the crocodile, “You are really dumb! I believe you have not met such an intelligent animal like me!” A while later, the mousedeer met a snail. He saw that the snail was moving slowly and he thought of showing off to the snail. “Let us have a race，，’ said the mousedeer to the snail. “If you win, I will disappear from this jungle forever. Incredibly, the snail took up the challenge and he said, “I am sure I will win.” The mousedeer laughed. “When a snail wants to be the racing champion, it is really day-dreaming!” But the snail was no ordinary snail. He prearranged with another snail friend to teach the mousedeer a lesson. “Oh Snail, you will regret it!，，said the mousedeer as he started off. When the mousedeer reached the finish point, he was surprised to see the snail already there waiting for him. The mousedeer refused to accept the result. He asked for a re-match. No matter how many rounds they went through, the snail was still the winner. The mousedeer still did not realise that there were two similar snails, one snail at the starting point and another at the finish. After many races, the mousedeer finally said to the snail, “Brother Snail, you have won the race. I am not going to challenge you anymore.” Imagine, the clever mousedeer that did not lose to the big tiger or the crocodile had ended up losing to a small and slow snail! |
