TheAssandtheLapDog驴和哈巴狗
There was once a man who had an ass and a beautiful Maltese lap dog.The ass was kept in a stable and hadplenty of corn and hay to eat.Indeed,he was just as well off as any ass could be.The little dog stayed in the house and was a great favorite with the master.He was always playing and frisking about in an amusing way and was permitted to lie in his master's lap.Meanwhile,the ass had plenty to do:he hauled wood all day long and had to take his turn at the mill during the night.He often complained about his misfortunes,and it galled him to see the lap dog living in such ease and luxury,while he had to work so hard.Gradually he convinced himself that if he acted the same way as the lap dog to his master,he would be treated the same way.So,one day he broke from his halter and galloped into the house,where he began to kick and prance about in the strangest fashion.Then,switching his tail and mimicking the antics of the pet lap dog,he knocked over the table where his master was dining.Moreover,he smashed all the dishes to tiny pieces and did not stop until he jumped upon his master,attempting to lick and paw him with his roughshod feet.Seeing their master in grave danger,the servants thought it was now high time to intervene,and after releasing him from the ass's caresses,they beat the foolish beast with sticks and clubs until he could not get up again.As he breathed his last gasp,he exclaimed,"Why couldn't I have remained satisfied the way I was? Why did I try to imitate a creature who was nothing but an idle puppy after all!
frisking搜的身; 活蹦乱跳; frisk的现在分词
lie in存在于; 坐月子
hauled拖，拉，拽; 用劲迟缓移动到; 逼迫去某点; haul的过去分词和过去式
all day long一天到晚；每天
misfortunes厄运; 不幸; 不幸的事故; misfortune的复数
galled使苦恼，使恼怒; gall的过去分词和过去式
same way一样；同样的方式；一样的体会
从前有一个人，他有一头驴和一条漂亮的哈巴狗。驴被放在马厩里，有很多玉米和干草可以吃。的确，他和其他驴子一样富裕。这只小狗呆在家里，是主人最喜欢的狗。他总是以一种有趣的方式玩耍和蹦蹦来蹦去，被允许躺在主人的膝上。同时，驴子还有很多事情要做：他整天拉木头，晚上必须在磨坊里工作。他经常抱怨自己的不幸，觉得哈巴狗过得是如此的安逸和奢侈，而他却不得不这么努力地工作。渐渐地，他说服自己，如果他和哈巴狗一样对待主人，他也会受到主人同样的对待。驴子开始用最奇怪的方式踢和跳。然后摇晃着尾巴模仿宠物狗的滑稽动作，打翻了主人用餐的桌子。而且，他把所有的盘子都摔碎了，直到他跳到主人面前才停下来。并试图用他粗糙的蹄子去挑逗主人，仆人们看到他们的主人处于严重的危险中，认为是干预的时候了，把主人从驴子的“爱抚中”解救出来之后，他们用棍棒殴打愚蠢的驴子，直到他再也站不起来。驴子喘着最后一口气，喊道，“为什么我不能满足做我自己呢？我为什么要模仿一只懒散的小狗呢！”
