Once upon a time...
There was once a dove who built a nice soft nest as a home for her three little ones. She was very proud of their beauty, and perhaps talked about them to her neighbours more than she need have done, till at last everybody for miles round knew where the three prettiest baby doves in the whole country-side were to be found.
One day a jackal who was prowling about in search of a dinner came by chance to the foot of the rock where the dove's nest was hidden away, and he suddenly bethought himself that if he could get nothing better he might manage to make a mouthful of one of the young doves. So he shouted as loud as he could, 'Ohe, ohe, Mother dove.'
And the dove replied, trembling with fear, 'What do you want, sir?'
'One of your children,' said he; 'and if you don't throw it to me I will eat up you and the others as well.'
Now, the dove was nearly driven distracted at the jackal's words; but, in order to save the lives of the other two, she did at last throw the little one out of the nest. The jackal ate it up, and went home to sleep.
Meanwhile the mother dove sat on the edge of her nest, crying bitterly, when a heron, who was flying slowly past the rock, was filled with pity for her, and stopped to ask, 'What is the matter, you poor dove?'
And the dove answered, 'A jackal came by, and asked me to give him one of my little ones, and said that if I refused he would jump on my nest and eat us all up.'
But the heron replied, 'You should not have believed him. He could never have jumped so high. He only deceived you because he wanted something for supper.' And with these words the heron flew off.
He had hardly got out of sight when again the jackal came creeping slowly round the foot of the rock. And when he saw the dove he cried out a second time, 'Ohe, ohe, mother dove! give me one of your little ones, or I will jump on your nest and eat you all up.'
This time the dove knew better, and she answered boldly, 'Indeed, I shall do nothing of the sort,' though her heart beat wildly with fear when she saw the jackal preparing for a spring.
However, he only cut himself against the rock, and thought he had better stick to threats, so he started again with his old cry, 'Mother dove, mother dove! be quick and give me one of your little ones, or I will eat you all up.'
But the mother dove only answered as before, 'Indeed, I shall do nothing of the sort, for I know we are safely out of your reach.'
The jackal felt it was quite hopeless to get what he wanted, and asked, 'Tell me, mother dove, how have you suddenly become so wise ?'
'It was the heron who told me,' replied she.
'And which way did he go?' said the jackal.
'Down there among the reeds. You can see him if you look,' said the dove.
Then the jackal nodded good-bye , and went quickly after the heron. He soon came up to the great bird, who was standing on a stone on the edge of the river watching for a nice fat fish. 'Tell me, heron,' said he, 'when the wind blows from that quarter, to which side do you turn?'
'And which side do you turn to?' asked the heron.
The jackal answered, 'I always turn to this side.'
'Then that is the side I turn to,' remarked the heron.
'And when the rain comes from that quarter, which side do you turn to?'
And the heron replied, 'And which side do you turn to?'
'Oh, I always turn to this side,' said the jackal.
'Then that is the side I turn to,' said the heron.
'And when the rain comes straight down, what do you do?'
'What do you do yourself?' asked the heron.
'I do this,' answered the jackal. 'I cover my head with my paws.'
'Then that is what I do,' said the heron. 'I cover my head with my wings,' and as he spoke he lifted his large wings and spread them completely over his head.
With one bound the jackal had seized him by the neck, and began to shake him.
'Oh, have pity, have pity!' cried the heron. 'I never did you any harm.'
'You told the dove how to get the better of me, and I am going to eat you for it.'
'But if you will let me go,' entreated the heron, 'I will show you the place where the panther has her lair.'
'Then you had better be quick about it,' said the jackal, holding tight on to the heron until he had pointed out the panther's den. 'Now you may go, my friend, for there is plenty of food here for me.'
So the jackal came up to the panther, and asked politely, 'Panther, would you like me to look after your children while you are out hunting?'
'I should be very much obliged,' said the panther; 'but be sure you take care of them. They always cry all the time that I am away.'
So saying she trotted off, and the jackal marched into the cave, where he found ten little panthers, and instantly ate one up. By-and-bye the panther returned from hunting, and said to him, 'Jackal, bring out my little ones for their supper.'
The jackal fetched them out one by one till he had brought out nine, and he took the last one and brought it out again, so the whole ten seemed to be there, and the panther was quite satisfied.
Next day she went again to the chase, and the jackal ate up another little panther, so now there were only eight. In the evening, when she came back, the panther said, 'Jackal, bring out my little ones!'
And the jackal brought out first one and then another, and the last one he brought out three times, so that the whole ten seemed to be there.
The following day the same thing happened, and the next and the next and the next, till at length there was not even one left, and the rest of the day the jackal busied himself with digging a large hole at the back of the den.
That night, when the panther returned from hunting, she said to him as usual, 'Jackal, bring out my little ones.'
But the jackal replied: 'Bring out your little ones, indeed! Why, you know as well as I do that you have eaten them all up.'
Of course the panther had not the least idea what the jackal meant by this, and only repeated, 'Jackal, bring out my children.' As she got no answer she entered the cave, but found no jackal, for he had crawled through the hole he had made and escaped. And, what was worse, she did not find the little ones either.
Now the panther was not going to let the jackal get off like that, and set off at a trot to catch him. The jackal, however, had got a good start, and he reached a place where a swarm of bees deposited their honey in the cleft of a rock. Then he stood still and waited till the panther came up to him: 'Jackal, where are my little ones?' she asked.
And the jackal answered: 'They are up there. It is where I keep school.'
The panther looked about, and then inquired, 'But where? I see nothing of them.'
'Come a little this way,' said the jackal, 'and you will hear how beautifully they sing.'
So the panther drew near the cleft of the rock.
'Don't you hear them?' said the jackal; 'they are in there,' and slipped away while the panther was listening to the song of the children.
She was still standing in the same place when a baboon went by. 'What are you doing there, panther?'
'I am listening to my children singing. It is here that the jackal keeps his school.'
Then the baboon seized a stick, and poked it in the cleft of the rock, exclaiming, 'Well, then, I should like to see your children!'
The bees flew out in a huge swarm, and made furiously for the panther, whom they attacked on all sides, while the baboon soon climbed up out of the way, crying, as he perched himself on the branch of a tree, 'I wish you joy of your children!' while from afar the jackal's voice was heard exclaiming: 'Sting, her well! don't let her go!'
The panther galloped away as if she was mad, and flung herself into the nearest lake, but every time she raised her head, the bees stung her afresh so at last the poor beast was drowned altogether.
英语童话故事 The Jackal, the Dove and the Panther
英词吧
人气:6.63K
相关文章:
- 英语小故事 The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal
- 英语寓言故事 The Cock and the Jewel
- 英语童话故事 The Giants and the Herd Boy
- 英语童话故事 The Three Snake Leaves
- 英语童话故事 How the Hermit Helped to Win the Kings Daughter
- 英语童话故事 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- (completed projects have been) checked and accepted by (the government)是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 英语童话故事 History of Jack the Giant Killer
- 英语寓言故事 The Eagle and the Jackdaw
- 英语童话故事 How Six Men travelled through the Wide World
热门推荐
- 1英语寓言故事 The Lion, Jupiter, and the Elephant
- 2高中生是否应该兼职?Whether Should High School Students Take A Part time Job?
- 3英语童话故事 The Prince who would seek immortality
- 4英语童话故事 Uraschimataro and the Turtle
- 5英语童话故事 The Flower Queens Daughter
- 6狄更斯办公桌的故事 Dickens and the latest chapter in the story of desks
- 7(joint venture shall have provided,)in a form acceptable to the bank,collateral security是什么意思、英文翻译及中
- 8英语童话故事 The Princess and the Pea
- 9英语寓言故事 The Cock and the Pearl
- 10英语寓言故事 The Birdcatcher, the Partridge, and the Cock
猜你喜欢
- 1英语寓言故事 The Bitch and Her Whelps
- 2英语童话故事 The Goblin and the Grocer
- 3英语寓言故事 The Shepherd and the Dog
- 4adjusting the position of the magnetic head relative to the record carrier是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 5英语寓言故事 The Crow and the Sheep
- 6美国指控三人参与黑客攻击 Three charged over hacking at JPMorgan and Fidelity
- 7bank loans which are based on funds which have been allocated by the state to the bank是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解
- 8英语故事短文:杜鹃和斑鸠 The Cuckoo and the Turtledove
- 9中国导演贾樟柯获戛纳电影节最佳剧本奖Chinese Director Jia Zhangke Won Best Screenplay Prize At The Cannes Film Festival
- 10英语寓言故事 The Apes and the Two Travelers
- 11bank loans which are based on funds which have been allocated by the state to the bank是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解
- 12英语童话故事 The King who would have a Beautiful Wife
- 13英语童话故事 The Lion and The Mouse
- 14英语寓言故事 The Dolphins, the Whales, and the Sprat
- 15英语寓言故事 The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk
今日热门
- 1英语寓言故事 The Ass and the Old Shepherd
- 2The Hen and the Little Girl英语故事短文
- 3英语童话故事 Catherine and her Destiny
- 4英语童话故事 The Slaying of the Tanuki
- 5人脑和电脑The Brain and the Computer英语作文
- 6英语励志故事: The Dove And The Ant
- 7五年级英语作文:The Wind And The Sun400字
- 8The Raven and the Swan
- 9英语幽默小故事 The Shepherd and the Bureaucrat
- 10英语寓言故事 The Bear and the Two Travelers
更多推荐
- 1优美现代诗歌汉英双语
- 2影视英语口语:活力十足的人
- 3一年级英语故事表演欣赏
- 4bond issue cost是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释大纲
- 5低级品是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 6book of posting entry是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 74个关于坐飞机的秘密
- 8互惠外汇信贷协议是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释大纲
- 9CATTI1 3级阅卷流程、评分标准及扣分细节(以英语为例)
- 10霸气的英文歌曲
- 11日语每日一说:脸色好了很多呢。
- 12骑自行车也能除霾?大纲
- 13发动机排气岐管是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 14动产附合是什么意思、英文翻译及中文解释
- 15初级商务英语考试前的准备方法