伊索寓言双语故事09：蚂蚁和蚂蚱|163

The Ant And The Grasshopper

蚂蚁和蚂蚱

by Aesop

选自《伊索寓言》

图据美国文学官网

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

晚秋的一天，阳光明媚，一群蚂蚁在温暖的阳光下不停地忙碌着，晾晒着它们在夏天里贮存的粮食。这时候，一只饥饿的蚂蚱，夹着它的小提琴，来到蚂蚁们面前，谦卑地乞求能让它吃上一口。

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

“什么！”蚂蚁们太吃惊了，“你竟然没有为冬天贮存什么吃的？那你整个夏季到底都在做些什么？”

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

“我根本没有时间去贮藏一点儿食物，”蚂蚱埋怨着说，“在我得知夏天已经过去的时候，我一直忙着弹奏曲子。”

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

蚂蚁们厌恶地耸了耸肩。

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

“弹奏曲子是吧？”它们吼叫到，“非常好！现在去跳舞吧！”然后蚂蚁们就转过头，不再理会蚂蚱，接着忙活去了。

There's a time for work and a time for play.

正所谓：张弛得有度。

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