寓言系列插画｜狮子和野兔

THE LION AND THE HARE 狮子和野兔

A Lion found a Hare sleeping in her form, and was just going to devour her when he caught sight of a passing stag. Dropping the Hare, he at once made for the bigger game; but finding, after a long chase, that he could not overtake the stag, he abandoned the attempt and came back for the Hare. When he reached the spot, however, he found she was nowhere to be seen, and he had to go without his dinner. “It serves me right,” he said; “I should have been content with what I had got, instead of hankering after a better prize.”

一只狮子发现一只兔子正在窝里睡觉，便想趁机吃掉她。这时，他又看见旁边有一只鹿经过。狮子立刻丢下兔子，去追赶个头更大的鹿。然而，追了一阵子后，狮子发现根本追不上鹿，于是就放弃了目标，又回过头来找兔子。可是，等他回到兔窝时，却发现兔子早已逃之夭夭。这下，他的晚餐全都泡汤了。狮子说：“我真活该！我应该满足于唾手可得的东西，而不应贪心去追求更大的奖励。”