11.The Crow and the pitcher乌鸦和水罐

The Crow and thePitcher

By Aesop

1．Once there was a thirsty crow . Shehad flown a long way looking for water to drink .

Suddenly she sawa pitcher . She flew down and saw it held a little water , but it was so low inthe pitcher that she could not reach it .

2． ＂But I must have that water , ＂she cried . ＂I am too weary to fly farther . What shall I do ? I know ! I’ll tip the pitcher over . ＂

 She beat it with her wings , but it was tooheavy . She could not move it .

Then she thoughtawhile . ＂I know now !I will break it ! Then I will drink the water as it pours out . How good itwill taste ! ＂

3．With beak and claws and wings shethrew herself against the pitcher . But it was too strong .

The poor crowstopped to rest . ＂What shall I do now ? I cannot die of thirst with water close by .There must be a way , if I only had wit enough to find it out . ＂

4．After a while the crow had a brightidea . There were many small stones lying about She picked them up one by oneand dropped them into the pitcher . Slowly the water rose , till at last shecould drink it . How good it tasted !

5．＂There is always a way out of hard places,＂said the crow, ＂if only youhave the wit to find it . ＂ 

乌鸦和水罐

伊索

Aesop 伊索，希腊最伟大的寓言家。诞生于萨摩斯岛，生存年代大约是纪元前六世纪左右，他的出生是一名奴隶，但因为他的机智与丰富才学，得以被释放而成为自由民。现今流传下来的《伊索寓言》故事，根据研究，其实只有一部分是真正由伊索本人所著的。其他的部分，有一些是当地流传已久的民间故事，伊索只是将之汇整过后，重新拿来演说而已。另有一部分，乃是根据于他当时崇高的说书人地位，因为当代的人，把只要是伊索曾经公开讲过的故事，都认为是由他所创作的作品。《伊索寓言》迄今究竟已被译成几种语言，已难以估计。而其中许多故事，更演变成为现代语言中的一部分。这样，《伊索的故事》就成了“寓言”的同义语。寓言的重要性与其说在人们讲的故事，不如说在于从中得出的教训。

这是《伊索寓言》中的名篇之一。它通过一只渴极了的乌鸦如何喝到罐底的水的故事告诉我们用智慧去实践，困难就迎刃而解。

1．从前有一只口渴的乌鸦。为了找到水源，她已在空中飞行了很长时间。突然她发现了一只水罐。她飞落下来，发现罐里有一些水，但是水罐太深，她无法喝到罐里的水。

2．“但我一定要喝到这水，”她叫道，“我已累得飞不动了。我该怎么办？我明白了！我该把水罐推倒。”

她用翅膀击打水罐，但水罐太沉了，她推不动它。

于是她想了一会儿。“这回我有办法了！我要打碎它！水从罐子里流出来，我就能喝上了。那将是多么甘美的水呵！”

3．她用尖喙、脚爪、翅膀去使劲地撞击水罐。但是水罐太坚固了。

可怜的乌鸦不得不停下来歇一会儿。“我现在该怎么办？我不能眼睁睁在水边渴死。只要我开动脑筋，一定能找到办法。”

4．过了一会儿，乌鸦想出了一个聪明的办法。附近有很多小石子。她把它们一颗颗拣起来扔进水罐，水慢慢地升高了。终于她可以喝上了，多么甘美的水啊！

5．“只要你充分发挥自己的才智，”乌鸦说，“在任何困难的地方都能找到解决问题的办法。”