The Old Lion And The Fox

年邁的獅子與狐貍

byAesop

出自《伊索寓言》

An old Lion, whose teeth and claws were so worn that it was not so easy for him to get food as in his younger days, pretended that he was sick. He took care to let all his neighbors know about it, and then lay down in his cave to wait for visitors. And when they came to offer him their sympathy, he ate them up one by one.

有一頭年邁的獅子，他的牙齒和爪子都被磨平了，這對他而言，想要像年輕時候那樣捕獲獵物，已經(jīng)非常不容易了。他仔仔細細地讓他所有的鄰居都知道了他的情況，接著就躺在自己的洞穴里等待著訪客?？墒牵斈切┼従忧皝砦繂柋硎就榈臅r候，他把鄰居們一個一個都吃掉了。

The Fox came too, but he was very cautious about it. Standing at a safe distance from the cave, he inquired politely after the Lion's health. The Lion replied that he was very ill indeed, and asked the Fox to step in for a moment. But Master Fox very wisely stayed outside, thanking the Lion very kindly for the invitation.

狐貍也來慰問了，不過他非常小心。遠遠地站在一個距離洞穴十分安全的位置，禮貌地詢問了獅子的健康狀況。那獅子回答說，他確實病得不輕了，就讓狐貍走到他身邊來呆一會兒。但是，狐貍大師非常聰明地站在洞穴外面，十分友善地向獅子的邀請表示了謝意。

'I should be glad to do as you ask,' he added, 'but I have noticed that there are many footprints leading into your cave and none coming out. Pray tell me, how do your visitors find their way out again?'

“我自然很高興地按照您所吩咐地去做，”狐貍說，“不過我注意到，有很多腳印都指向您的洞穴，卻沒有一個往外走的。請您告訴我，他們是如何出來的呢？”

Take warning from the misfortunes of others.

寓意：謹慎對待他人的不幸。