17.The Bear and the Travelers熊和过路人的故事

 The Bear and the travelers

By Aesop

Two travelerswere on the road together , when a Bear suddenly appeared on the scene . Beforehe observed them , one made for a tree at the side of the road , and climbed upinto the branches and hid there . The other was not so nimble as his companion; and , as he could not escape , he threw himself on the ground and pretendedto be dead . The Bear came up and sniffed all round him , but he kept perfectlystill and held his breath ; for they say that a bear will not touch a dead body. The Bear took him for a corpse , and went away . When the coast was clear ,the Traveler in the tree came down , and asked the other what it was the Bearhad whispered to him when he put his mouth to his ear . The other replied , ＂He told me never again to travelwith a fiend who deserts you at the first sign of danger . ＂

Misfortune teststhe sincerity of friendship .

熊和过路人的故事

伊索

Aesop 伊索。

和我们今天一样，在公元六世纪伊索生活的时代，只能共荣华不能共患难的朋友亦不乏其人。如何才能认识真正的朋友呢？唯有患难才能见真情。

两位行人正走在路上，突然闯出一头熊。当熊还未发现这两个人时，其中一位就奔向路边的一棵树，爬上去，藏在枝叶间。另一位不如他的同伴敏捷，已无法逃脱，只好躺在地上装死，熊走上前，嗅遍他的全身，而他一动不动，屏住了呼吸，因为据说熊从不吃死人。果然，这只熊以为他是一具死尸，就走开了。危险过去之后，躲在树上的那位下来，问他的同伴，熊把大嘴凑到他耳边，跟他小声说了些什么。这位同伴答道：“他告诉我，以后再也不要和一遇到危险就抛弃朋友的人同行。”

患难是友谊的试金石。