The Eagle And The Crow

THE EAGLE AND THE CROW   鹰和乌鸦

One day a Crow saw an Eagle swoop down on a Lamb and carry italoft in its talons.

“My word,” said the Crow, “I’ll do that myself.”

So it flew high up into the air and then came shooting downwith a great whirring of wings on to the back of a big ram, with the intentionof carrying it off.  It had no sooneralighted, than its claws got caught fast in the wool, and nothing it could dowas of any use: there it stuck, flapping away and only making things worseinstead of better.

By and by up came the shepherd. “Oh,” he said, “so that’swhat you’d be doing, is it?”  And he tookthe Crow and clipped its wings and carried it home to his children.  It looked so odd that they didn’t know whatto make of it.

“What sort of bird is it, Father?” they asked.

“It’s a Crow,” he replied, “and nothing but a Crow: but itwants to be taken for an Eagle.”

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One day a Crow saw an Eagle swoop down on a Lamb and carry italoft in its talons.

一天，一只乌鸦看见一只鹰从天而降扑向一只羊羔，将羊羔抓起后，高高地飞走了。

Swoop:  突然下降，猛扑                   aloft:   在空中             Talon:   猛禽的爪子

“My word,”said the Crow, “I’ll do that myself.”

“我的天啊！” 乌鸦说， “我也能做！”

“Myword”  表示惊讶用语（我的妈呀！, My Goodness!）

Soit flew high up into the air and then came shooting down with a great whirringof wings on to the back of a big ram, with the intention of carrying itoff. 

这样，乌鸦飞向高空，然后径直呼啸着扑向一只大山羊，想把这只山羊抓起来像鹰一样飞向空中！

With a greatwhirring of wings:  （鸟快速飞翔时）风在其翅膀下呼呼作响

Ram：  山羊  （sheep：绵羊）

It had no sooner alighted, than its claws got caught fast inthe wool, and nothing it could do was of any use: there it stuck, flapping awayand only making things worse instead of better.

可是，当乌鸦刚一落在山羊脊背上时，它的爪子就被羊毛缠住了，无论它怎么使劲挣脱，都无济于事。乌鸦动不了了！想振翅而飞，只能使它陷得更深

NoSooner:   一但，立即    Alight：  下来，飞落             claws： 动物的爪子

Fast:  牢牢地，稳固的          ItStuck:   被卡住了，不能动了

By and by up came the shepherd. “Oh,” he said, “so that’swhat you’d be doing, is it?”  And he tookthe Crow and clipped its wings and carried it home to his children.  It looked so odd that they didn’t know whatto make of it.

最后，牧羊人终于回来了。“Oh，”牧羊人说, “这就是你一直在做的事情，是吗？”  牧羊人用夹子夹住乌鸦的翅膀，带回家给他的孩子们。看起来怪怪的，他们竟不知拿乌鸦如何是好。

By andby:  不一会儿，最终             Clipped its wings:   用夹子夹住翅膀

Odd： 奇怪的，古怪的                   

 “What sort of bird isit, Father?” they asked.

这是一只什么鸟啊，爸爸？孩子们问道。

“It’s a Crow,” he replied, “and nothing but a Crow: but itwants to be taken for an Eagle.”

“是一只乌鸦，”他回答说，“只是一只乌鸦而已，可它想被看作是一只鹰。”

Thoughtless imitation will end in danger.      欠考虑到模仿是危险的。