The Wolf And The Lean Dog 狼与瘦狗

The Wolf And The Lean Dog 狼与瘦狗

A Wolf prowling near a village one evening met a Dog. It happened to be a very lean and bony Dog, and Master Wolf would have turned up his nose at such meager fare had he not been more hungry than usual. So he began to edge toward the Dog, while the Dog backed away.
有一天傍晚，一只狼在村庄附近游荡时遇到了一只狗。碰巧这只狗非常瘦骨嶙峋，要不是狼比平时更饥饿，它可能早就对这种瘦弱的食物嗤之以鼻了。于是，狼开始悄悄地靠近这只狗，而狗则不断后退。

“Let me remind your lordship,” said the Dog, his words interrupted now and then as he dodged a snap of the Wolf’s teeth, “how unpleasant it would be to eat me now. Look at my ribs. I am nothing but skin and bone. But let me tell you something in private. In a few days my master will give a wedding feast for his only daughter. You can guess how fine and fat I will grow on the scraps from the table. Then is the time to eat me.”
“请提醒大人，”狗边躲避狼的咬牙，边说道，“现在吃我是多么不愉快的事情。看看我的肋骨，我全是皮包骨。但让我私下告诉你一些事情。几天后，我的主人将为他唯一的女儿举办婚宴。你可以猜到我将在宴席上吃到多么美味肥美的剩菜。那时候再来吃我吧。”

The Wolf could not help thinking how nice it would be to have a fine fat Dog to eat instead of the scrawny object before him. So he went away pulling in his belt and promising to return.
狼不禁想象着有一天能吃到一只肥美的狗，而不是眼前这只瘦弱的家伙。于是，它拉紧了腰带，答应会回来。

Some days later the Wolf came back for the promised feast. He found the Dog in his master’s yard, and asked him to come out and be eaten.
几天后，狼按照承诺回来了。它发现那只狗在主人的院子里，便请他出来让自己吃掉。

“Sir,” said the Dog, with a grin, “I shall be delighted to have you eat me. I’ll be out as soon as the porter opens the door.”
“先生，”狗咧嘴一笑说，“我会很高兴让您吃掉。等看门人开门时，我就会出来。”

But the “porter” was a huge Dog whom the Wolf knew by painful experience to be very unkind toward wolves. So he decided not to wait and made off as fast as his legs could carry him.
但是“看门人”是一只巨大的狗，狼深知这只狗对狼是非常不友善的，通过痛苦的经历对其心存畏惧。所以它决定不等了，尽可能快地逃离了那里。

Do not depend on the promises of those whose interest it is to deceive you.
不要依赖那些有欺骗你动机的承诺。

Take what you can get when you can get it.
抓住机会，尽早得到你能得到的。

读后感：不要轻信他人的承诺

这个寓言故事讲述了一只狼遇到了一只瘦狗，狼想吃掉它，但狗却许诺它过几天会变得肥美，到时候再吃。狼信以为真，等了几天后，再次来找狗，却发现狗的看门狗是一只巨大的狗，于是狼赶紧逃跑了。

这个故事告诉我们，不要轻信他人的承诺，特别是那些有利益冲突的人的承诺。

在现实生活中，也有很多人会为了自己的利益，而做出各种承诺。比如，有些商家为了骗取顾客的钱财，会许诺给顾客各种优惠；有些政治家为了获得选民的支持，会许诺给选民各种福利。

这些承诺往往是虚假的，不值得相信。如果我们轻信了这些承诺，最终只会吃亏上当。

因此，我们要提高警惕，不要轻信他人的承诺。我们要学会独立思考，用事实来判断是非。

此外，我们还要注意保护自己的利益。如果有人向我们许诺一些好处，我们要仔细调查，确保这些好处是真实存在的，才可以相信。

在故事中，狼之所以被骗，是因为它太饥饿了，急于得到一顿美餐。如果狼不那么饥饿，它就不会轻易相信狗的承诺。

因此，我们也要注意控制自己的欲望，不要因为贪图一时的利益，而做出错误的判断。

总而言之，不要轻信他人的承诺，这是我们在日常生活中应该牢记的一条重要原则。