雙語·《伊索寓言》 烏龜和鷹

THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE

A Tortoise, discontented with his lowly life, and envious of the birds he saw disporting themselves in the air, begged an Eagle to teach him to fly. The Eagle protested that it was idle for him to try, as nature had not provided him with wings; but the Tortoise pressed him with entreaties and promises of treasure, insisting that it could only be a question of learning the craft of the air. So at length the Eagle consented to do the best he could for him, and picked him up in his talons. Soaring with him to a great height in the sky he then let him go, and the wretched Tortoise fell headlong and was dashed to pieces on a rock.

烏龜和鷹

有一只烏龜對自己卑微的生活很不滿，他看到鳥在空中翱翔嬉戲非常嫉妒，于是乞求一只鷹教他飛行。鷹不同意，認為既然大自然沒有給烏龜翅膀，那他就不應該飛行。而烏龜卻百般懇求，還許諾重金答謝，堅持要學會飛行于天空的技藝。最后，老鷹終于答應盡自己所能幫助烏龜，他把烏龜抓在自己的爪子中，帶著烏龜飛上了高高的天空，然后他松開了爪子，可憐的烏龜一路向下，掉到石頭上摔成了碎片。