1、Aesops FablesThere was once a man who had an Ass and aLap-dog.The Ass was housed in the stablewith plenty of oats and hay to eat and was aswell off as an ass could be.有人养了一头驴和一只哈巴狗。驴被圈养在棚子里，虽然不愁温饱，有着足够的燕麦和干草供应，却每天都要尽驴子应尽的本分。The little Dog was made a great pet of by hismaster,who fondled him and ofte
2、n let him liein his lap;and if he went out to dinner,hewould bring back a tit-bit or two to give himwhen he ran to meet him on his return.小狗颇会讨好它的主人，而主人则经常抚摸它，让它坐在自己的膝盖上。假如主人出外吃饭，还会想着带一点好吃的回来，等见到小狗时给它作为奖励。The Ass had,it is true,a good deal of work todo,carting or grinding the corn,or carryingthe bur
3、dens of the farm:and ere long hebecame very jealous,contrasting his own lifeof labor with the ease and idleness of the Lap-dog.驴子的确是工作繁重，他不仅要到磨坊里拉磨，还要去树林里驮木材。与哈巴狗的悠闲自在相比，驴子难免会心生嫉妒，怀有怨言。At last one day he broke his halter,andfrisking into the house just as his master satdown to dinner,he pranced and
4、capered about,mimicking the frolics of the little favorite,upsetting the table and smashing the crockerywith his clumsy efforts.有一天，机会终于来了，驴子挣断缰绳，跑进主人的房间，模仿哈巴狗的样子围着主人跳舞，又蹦又踢，不仅撞翻了桌子，还把碗碟摔得粉碎。Not content with that,he even tried to jumpon his master s lap,as he had so often seenthe dog allowed to do.不
5、仅如此，驴子甚至还试图跳到主人的膝盖上，因为他经常看到小狗如此。At that the servants,seeing the danger theirmaster was in,belabored the silly Ass withsticks and cudgels,and drove him back to hisstable half dead with his beating.仆人们见此情景，都吓坏了，以为主人面临着危险，于是用棍棒把驴子赶回棚里，打了个半死。Alas!he cried,all this I have brought onmyself.Why could I not be satisfied with mynatural and honorable position,withoutwishing to imitate the ridiculous antics of thatuseless little Lap-dog?“唉！”他哭喊着，“我这不是自作自受吗，我为什么不满足于自己的现状和地位，偏要去模仿小哈巴狗那无用、滑稽的小丑样呢？”
