A Farmer had just sown a field of wheat，and was keeping a careful watch over it，for numbers of Rooks and starlings kept continually settling on it and eating up the grain.Along with him went his Boy，carrying a sling：and whenever the Farmer asked for the sling the starlings understood what he said and warned the Rooks and they were off in a moment.So the Farmer hit on a trick.“My lad，”said he，“we must get the better of these birds somehow.After this，when I want the sling，I won’t say ’sling，’but just ’humph！’and you must then hand me the sling quickly.”Presently back came the whole flock.“Humph！”said the Farmer；but the starlings took no notice，and he had time to sling several stones among them，hitting one on the head，another in the legs，and another in the wing，before they got out of range.As they made all haste away they met some cranes，who asked them what the matter was.“Matter？”said one of the Rooks；“it’s those rascals，men，that are the matter.Don’t you go near them.They have a way of saying one thing and meaning another which has just been the death of several of our poor friends.”
｛中文阅读｝
一个农夫刚刚播下一片麦种，十分小心地守护着，因为有些秃鼻乌鸦和八哥不断地在耕地上找谷子吃。农夫的儿子也跟着农夫一起来到田里，手上还拿着一把弹弓，每当农夫要弹弓时，八哥都能听懂他的话，并警告秃鼻乌鸦赶快飞走。因此，农夫想出一招。“我的孩子，”他说，“我们必须得打败这些鸟。以后，等我想要弹弓时，我不会再说弹弓了，而只是“哼”一声，而你必须赶快递给我弹弓。”不久，鸟群又回来了。“哼！”农夫说，不过，这次八哥没注意到，所以农夫有时间弹了多次石头，还没等他们飞走，便击中了一只鸟的头，一只鸟的腿，另一只鸟的翅膀。乌鸦和八哥在逃跑的路上遇见了几只鹤，其中一只问他们出了什么事。“出事？”一只秃鼻乌鸦喊道，“都是人类那些骗子，他们就是麻烦。你不要去靠近他们。他们嘴里说一套，做的却是另一套，我们几个可怜的朋友刚刚因此而丧命呢！”
THE ASS AND THE DOG
驴和狗
An Ass and a Dog were on their travels together，and，as they went along，they found a sealed packet lying on the ground.The Ass picked it up，broke the seal，and found it contained some writing，which he proceeded to read out aloud to the Dog.As he read on it turned out to be all about grass and barley and hay—in short，all the kinds of fodder that Asses are fond of.The Dog was a good deal bored with listening to all this，till at last his impatience got the better of him，and he cried，“Just skip a few pages，friend，and see if there isn’t something about meat and bones.”The Ass glanced all through the packet，but found nothing of the sort，and said so.Then the Dog said in disgust，“Oh，throw it away，do：what’s the good of a thing like that？”
｛中文阅读｝
一头驴和一只狗一起外出旅行，走了一段路后，他们发现地上有一封密封好的信。驴捡起来，撕开封印，发现上面有写好的字，便大声读给狗听。可是，信里提到的几乎全是干草、大麦和糠麸之类驴喜欢的东西。听到这些内容，狗觉着很无聊，终于不耐烦地对驴喊道：“赶紧跳过这些内容，朋友，看看下面有没有提到肉和骨头之类的。”驴浏览了一下信的全部内容，没有发现任何狗所想要的东西，就如实说了。然后，狗就带着厌恶的表情说：“把它扔了吧，朋友，这封信有什么意思呀？”
THE ASS CARRYING THE IMAGE
背着神像的驴
A certain man put an Image on the back of his Ass to take it to one of the temples of the town.As they went along the road all the people they met uncovered and bowed their heads out of reverence for the Image；but the Ass thought they were doing it out of respect for himself，and began to give himself airs accordingly.At last he became so conceited that he imagined he could do as he liked，and，by way of protest against the load he was carrying，he came to a full stop and ？atly declined to proceed any further.His driver，？nding him so obstinate，hit him hard and long with his stick，saying the while，“Oh，you dunder-headed idiot，do you suppose it’s come to this，that men pay worship to an Ass？”
Rude shocks await those who take to themselves the credit that is due to others.
｛中文阅读｝
有个人把神像放在驴的背上，准备运到城里的一座寺庙里。他们走在路上时，所有遇见他们的人都对着神像顶礼膜拜，而驴却以为人们是在向它致敬，逐渐骄傲自满起来。最后，自以为是的他竟然幻想着可以肆意妄为，再也不用驮着沉重的货物了，于是，驴停下了脚步，再也不肯往前走。赶驴的人发现他这么固执，便用棍子狠狠地打了他一顿，并且说道：“你这个蠢货，竟然自以为这是在向你致敬，人们会对一头驴这么恭敬吗？”
那些夺走他人荣誉的人，必定会遭受沉重的打击。
THE ATHENIAN AND THE THEBAN
雅典人和底比斯人
An Athenian and a Theban were on the road together，and passed the time in conversation，as is the way of travellers.After discussing a variety of subjects they began to talk about heroes，a topic that tends to be more fertile than edifying.Each of them was lavish in his praises of the heroes of his own city，until eventually the Theban asserted that Hercules was the greatest hero who had ever lived on earth，and now occupied a foremost place among the gods；while the Athenian insisted that Theseus was far superior，for his fortune had been in every way supremely blessed，whereas Hercules had at one time been forced to act as a servant.And he gained his point，for he was a very glib fellow，like all Athenians；so that the Theban，who was no match for him in talking，cried at last in some disgust，“All right，have your way；I only hope that，when our heroes are angry with us，Athens may suffer from the anger of Hercules，and Thebes only from that of Theseus.”
｛中文阅读｝
一个雅典人和一个底比斯人一同走在路上，就像其他旅行者一样，他们用聊天来打发时间。聊了一些其他话题之后，他们开始谈起英雄，虽然没有什么教育意义，但这可是一个颇有谈资的内容。一提到赞美各自城市里的英雄，两个人都侃侃而谈。后来，底比斯人断言，赫拉克勒斯是地球上曾经存在过的最伟大的英雄，现在占据了众神之中的首要位置。而雅典人则坚持认为，提修斯远远超过了赫拉克勒斯，因为他的命运在各方面都得到了充分的眷顾，而赫拉克勒斯曾一度被迫充当奴隶。他达到了自己的目的，因为他像所有雅典人一样，是一个非常圆滑的家伙。而底比斯人在谈话中根本不是他的对手，最后有些反感地大吼道：“好吧，随便你。我只希望，当我们的英雄对我们生气时，雅典人会从赫拉克勒斯的愤怒中遭殃，而底比斯人则从提修斯的愤怒中受苦。”
THE GOATHERD AND THE GOAT
牧羊人和山羊
A Goatherd was one day gathering his ？ock to return to the fold，when one of his goats strayed and refused to join the rest.He tried for a long time to get her to return by calling and whistling to her，but the Goat took no notice of him at all；so at last he threw a stone at her and broke one of her horns.In dismay，he begged her not to tell his master：but she replied，“You silly fellow，my horn would cry aloud even if I held my tongue.”
It’s no use trying to hide what can’t be hidden.
｛中文阅读｝
有一天，牧羊人赶着羊群回到羊圈里，其中有一只山羊失散了，并且拒绝回到羊群中。牧羊人费了好长时间叫她回来，既大声喊叫，又冲她吹口哨，但是山羊根本没注意到他。于是，牧羊人只得冲她扔了一块石头，正巧打断了山羊的一只羊角。惊慌中，牧羊人肯求山羊不要告诉主人，可山羊却说：“你这个愚蠢的家伙，即使我不说，我的角也会告诉他事实呀。”
竭力掩盖无法隐瞒的事实是没用的。
