THE FOX AND THE CROW

A Crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to discover some way of getting the cheese. Coming and standing under the tree he looked up and said, “What a noble bird I see above me! Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite. If only her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she ought without doubt to be Queen of the Birds.” The Crow was hugely flattered by this, and just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese, of course, and the Fox, snatching it up, said, “You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits.”

狐狸和乌鸦

乌鸦落在树枝上，嘴里叼着一块奶酪。狐狸看到，便开始琢磨怎么才能得到那块奶酪。他走到树下，坐下来，抬头看着乌鸦，说：“我仰望的是一只何其尊贵的鸟啊！她的美丽与世无双，她的羽毛精致华丽。但愿她的声音也像她的外表一样甜美，那她就无疑是鸟中女王了！”乌鸦听了这番恭维心中大喜，便想向狐狸展示一下自己的歌喉，于是“呱”地叫了一声。自然，奶酪应声落下，狐狸一下子扑上去，还对乌鸦说：“夫人，你的嗓子实在很好啊，不过，我看你的脑子差了点。”