木匠森林
1.父亲和他的儿子 THE FATHER AND HIS SONSFather had a family of sons who were perpetually quarrelling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They each tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it.He next unclosed the faggot, and took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into their hands, on which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words： “My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies； but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks.”一位父亲有几个孩子，这些孩子时常发生口角。他丝毫没有办法来劝阻他们，只好让他们看看不合群所带来害处的例子。为了达到这个目的，有一天他叫他们替他拿一捆细柴来。当他们把柴带来时，他便先后地将那捆柴放在每一个孩子的手中，吩咐他们弄断这捆柴。他们一个个尽力去试，总是不能成功。然后他解开那捆柴，一根根地放在他们手里，如此一来，他们便毫不费力地折断了。于是他就告诉他们说：“孩子们！如果你们大家团结一致，互相帮助，你们就像这捆柴一样，不能被你们的敌人折断；但如果你们自行分裂，你们就将和这些散柴一般，不堪一折了。”2.狮子和老鼠 THE LION AND THE MOUSELion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying： “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came up, and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting him free, exclaimed: “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor； but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”一只老鼠从一只狮子面前跑过去，将它从梦中吵醒。狮子生气地跳起来，捉住老鼠，要弄死它。老鼠哀求说：“只要你肯饶恕我这条小生命，我将来一定会报答你的大恩。”狮子便笑着放了它。 后来狮子被几个猎人捉住，用粗绳捆绑倒在地上。老鼠听出是狮子的吼声，走来用牙齿咬断绳索，释放了他，并大声说：“你当时嘲笑我想帮你的忙，而且也不指望我有什么机会报答。但是你现在知道了，就算是小老鼠，也能向狮子效劳的。”3.狮子和农夫 The lion and the farmerAn Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It’s getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let’s run quickly!" “Relax. We’re not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?” asked the child. “There’s something you don’t know. I’m generally fearless. I’m not afraid of tigers or lions. I’m only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I’m completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I’m really frightened of it. I can’t stand it," answered the farmer. It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. “What’s this thing called ‘the night’? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it,” the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this “night” that was even more frightening than itself. Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn’t see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, “I’ve been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?”“This is the end of me,” the lion thought with regret. “How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called ‘the night’ that beat me just now? It’s really horrifying. What should I do now?” As these thoughts flashed through the lion’s mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house. It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of “the night” when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was “the night.”Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his “donkey” to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?”“Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don’t you know that this being walking in front is something called ‘the night?’ He’s very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he’s taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!”After hearing this story, the other lion said, “You’re incredible. You idiot! You’re a lion, the king of animals! You’ve been deceived! Just roar at him now and you’ll know who is more terrifying.” The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again. 有一个印度的农夫跟他的小孩子出去耕田，耕完了地以后，天快要黑了，他就跟小孩说：“哇！天快黑了！不行、不行了！快收东西，快点走，我们赶快走吧！” 小孩说：“哎呀！你别紧张嘛！回家的路不远，而且我们也知道路，你干什么这么紧张呢？”农夫说：“不行啊！你不知道啊！我什么都不怕，我不怕老虎、不怕狮子，我最怕那个‘晚上’！只要‘晚上’一来，我就软趴趴。那个‘晚上’最恐怖了，我好怕、好怕，我受不了！”刚好有一只狮子躲在旁边听到了，它就想：“这个‘晚上’是什么东西？它怎么可能比我还恐怖呢？我倒要试试看！”它就靠近农夫，想查看‘晚上’是什么种类的东西，竟然比狮子还要恐怖。 那个时候天已经黑了，那个农夫有老花眼，看不清楚，只看到一个动物跑过来靠近他，认为是他那头刚走掉的驴子，就打它几下，说：“找你整天找不到，去哪里了？现在才回来！” 这只狮子心想：“完了！我怎么那么笨，跑来靠近‘这个’，刚刚打我就是叫‘晚上’的东西吧！好恐怖啊！现在怎么办呢？”它在想的时候，农夫又打了它好几下，催它赶快回家去，这只狮子怕死了，就跟着农夫走回去。 回家时天更黑了，因为农夫认为是他的驴子，就把狮子绑在屋外的角落边，然后进去睡觉。那只狮子在那边又饿又冷整个晚上，又害怕，不晓得明天早上那个“晚上”会再对待它怎么样？它认为农夫就是所谓的“晚上”。 隔天一大早，天还不怎么亮的时候，农夫已经起来了，出门带那头“驴子”要去耕田。走到半路时，刚好有另外一只狮子经过，它看到这只狮子乖乖地跟着农夫走在后面，就感觉到好笑，它靠近这只狮子，问：“你做什么啦？为什么跟着那个人的后面走呢？” 被绑的狮子说：“嘘！你不要那么吵，赶快离开！你不知道前面走的那个，就是叫‘晚上’的东西，他很恐怖啊，昨天我被他打，然后被绑了整个晚上又饿又冷，现在不晓得要带我到哪里去。你赶快跑，不然的话你生命难保啊！” 另外那只狮子听说这样，就说：“你真好笑，你笨蛋！你是狮子、是动物之王啊！你被骗了！你现在吼他一声，就知道谁才恐怖。”果然，这只狮子听它的话大吼一声以后，那个农夫就靠过来看，现在天亮了，一看是只狮子，哇！跑得要命。然后这只狮子就自由了。4.熟能生巧小故事 Skill comes from practiceDuring the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a skilled archer. One day he drew a big crowd while he was practicing on the drill ground. He shot so accurately that the on-lookers cheered with excitement. He became very proud of his skill. But among the crowd an old oil peddler only nodded his head indifferently. This hurt his Pride.“Can you do this?” he asked the old oil peddler.“No, I can’t.”“What do you think of my skill?”“Just OK, but nothing special. You’ve gained your accuracy from persistent practice. That’s all.”“What can you do, then?” the old man said nothing. He put a gourd bottle on the ground and covered its mouth with a copper coin. He then scooped out a ladle of oil from his big jar, held it high and began to fill the bottle.Now, a thread of oil came down from the ladle into the bottle just through the hole of the coin. Everybody looking on watched with amazement. But the old man said, “This is nothing special, I can do this because I have practiced it a lot.” And with these words, he left.Later, people use this phrase to mean “Practice makes perfect”.北宋时期，有个技艺高超的射手。有一天，他在训练场上练习射箭，引来了一大群人观看，大家都称赞他的技艺，他感到非常骄傲。但他发现人群中有个卖油翁只是淡淡的点点头，这使得他很不高兴。他就问那老头：“你会射箭吗？”“不会。”“你认为我的技术如何？”“一般。没什么特别的，你只能对付固定的东西，仅此而已。”“你会干什么？”这个老头没有回答。他把一个葫芦放在地上，接着把一枚铜钱放在瓶口。然后从他的大油壶里舀起一勺油。从高处往放在地上的葫芦里倒。只见那油就像线一样从铜钱中间的小洞里滴下去，一滴都没有漏出来。围观者都惊呆了。而这个卖油翁却说：“其实没什么大不了的，只不过是天天练的结果。”说完，他就离开了。后来，人们用“熟能生巧”这个成语来表示熟练了就能作得好。
豪廷布艺
在儿童成长所需的这个丰富多彩的世界里,故事能够很好的满足学生的好奇心,娱乐心,探索心,智慧心和游戏心。我整理了英语故事小短文带中文翻译，欢迎阅读!
杯弓蛇影
In Jin Dynasty there was a man named Yue Guang who was fond of drinking alcohol.
晋朝有个叫乐(yuè)广的人，爱喝酒。
One day, he invited a friend to his house to drink together.
一天，他邀请朋友到家里来对斟对饮。
Suddenly, his friend saw the reflection of a snack swimming in the goblet.
忽然，朋友看见酒杯里有条蛇影在游动。
He got so much frightened that he took ill on bed after getting home.
他受了惊吓，回去便一病不起。
And neither any doctor or any medicine could cure his illness.
请医服药，都无起色。
Yue Guang came to see him and asked about the cause of his disease.
乐广跑来看他，问明起病的缘由。
When he got to know the cause, he pulled his friend from the bed immediately and took him to his house.
乐广听后一把拉起朋友往家走。
Yue Guang made his friend sit where he used to, pouring a goblet of alcohol for him, and asked him," Is there any snake reflection in the goblet?"
他让朋友坐在原处，斟满酒问：“有蛇影吗?”
There was still a "snake reflection" in the goblet! Yue casually took away the bow hanging on the wall.
杯子里还有“蛇影”!乐广随手取下墙上的弓。
This time, the "snake reflection" disappeared.
这次，“蛇影”不见了!
"So it was the bow reflection that was in the goblet!" His friend at once got well from his illness.
“杯子里原来是弓影呀!”朋友的病情顿时好了!
东施效颦
In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时期,770-476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施).
传说春秋时期，越国有一美女，名唤西施。
She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted.
但是西施有心口疼的毛病，所以她经常手捂胸口，皱着眉头走着。
There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi.
村子里还住着一位丑姑娘，叫做东施，她十分嫉妒西施。
Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time.
于是东施时常效仿西施，手捂胸口，紧皱眉头。
She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.
东施觉得她效仿西施就会变得很美丽，但是实际上，只会使她变得更难看而已。
Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverseeffect.
这个典故比喻不恰当的模仿，带来相反的效果。
破釜沉舟
In the late years of the Qin Dynasty (秦朝,221 - 206BC), Xiang Yu (项羽) launched a rebellion.
秦朝末年，项羽发动了叛乱。
After crossing the Zhang River (漳河), Xiang Yu ordered his soldiers to sink all the boats and break their cooking pots.
在部队渡过漳河之后，项羽命令士兵把所有的船只都凿破，沉到河底，再把煮饭锅完全打碎。
He distributed each soldier three days' rations and warned them that there was no way return; the only thing they could do to survive was to fight against the enemy.
项羽给每个人只发三天的粮食，然后再上战场，这样做，是为了向大家表示“宁死不退”的决心。
After nine furious war, the Qin army was finally defeated.
果然，经过九次的激烈奋战，项羽的军队终于打败了秦国的军队。
This idiom is used to reveal one's strong determination to achieve one's goal at any cost.
后来，我们使用“破釜沉舟”比喻：下定决心，不达目的绝不罢休的精神。
loversea2005
一天，父亲与小儿子一道回家。这个孩子正处于那种对什么事都很感兴趣的年龄，老是有提不完的问题。他向父亲发问道：“爸爸，‘醉’字是什么意思？” “唔，孩子，”父亲回答说，“你瞧那儿站着两个警察。如果我把他们看成了四个，那么我就算醉了。” “可是，爸爸， ”孩子说，“那儿只有一个警察呀！” A little bird fly to south for the winter. It was very cold, almost frozen bird. Hence, fly to a large space, after a cow there, in a pile of cow dung upon the bird, frozen bird lying on the dunghill, feel very warm, gradually recovered, it is warm and comfortable lying, and soon began to sing songs, a passing wildcat hear voices, see, follow the voice, wildcats quickly found lying on the dunghill, bird, pull it out.The way of existence: not everyone to lead the dung upon your people are your enemy. Each of you is not from the dunghill lire people are your friends, and, when you lying on the dunghill, had better keep your mouth shut.
老鼠笨笨
The wolf and the fox wanted to eat the rabbit, but it wasn't easy to catch him. One day the wolf said to the fox, "You go home and lie in bed. I'll tell the rabbit that you are dead. When he comes to look at you, you can jump up and catch him." That's a good idea," said the fox. He went home at once. The wolf went to the rabbit's house and knocked at the door. "Who is it?" asked the rabbit. "It's the wolf. I've come to tell you that the fox is dead." Then the wolf went away. The rabbit went to the fox's house. He looked in through the window and saw the fox lying in bed with his eyes closed. He thought, "Is the fox really dead or is he pretending to be dead? If he's not dead, he'll catch me when I go near him." so he said, "The wolf says that the fox is dead. But he doesn't look like a dead fox. The mouth of a dead fox is always open." When the fox heard this, he thought, "I'll show him that I'm dead." So he opened his mouth. The rabbit knew that the fox wasn't dead, and he ran as quickly as he could. 狼和狐狸想要吃掉兔子，但是这只兔子太难抓到了。 一天，狼对狐狸说：“你回家假装躺在床上。我去告诉兔子你已经死了。当他来看你的时候，你就可以跳起来抓住他了。”“真是个好主意！”狐狸说。 于是他立刻回到家。狼去兔子的房前敲了敲门，“是谁啊？”兔子问道。“狼，我是来告诉你狐狸已经死了。”说完狼就走开了。 兔子去狐狸家看情况。他通过狐狸家的窗户看到闭着眼睛的狐狸躺在床上。他想，狐狸是真的死了，还是在假装呢？如果他没有死，那么我走近他就会被他抓住。于是他说：“狼说狐狸死了。但是他看起来并不像死掉了呀。死去的狐狸通常都是张着嘴的。”狐狸听到这些话就想：我得证明自己是真的死了。于是他张开了嘴巴。 这时兔子知道狐狸并没有死，他就以最快的速度跑开啦。 这篇英语故事告诉我们：不要被假象迷惑，凡事多多求证才能防患于未然。
