中国故事（双语）16：Waiting for Rabbits 守株待兔​

16、Waiting for Rabbits 守株待兔

One hot summer day long ago, a farmer was hard at work tending his crops. His muscles ached and his back was sore. But he had to keep working because he had to support his family.

Perhaps a short break wouldn’t hurt, he thought. He drank some water from the stream running by the side of the field. Much better! He thought as he sat down to catch his breath.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a streak of white. He heard a loud thud. He turned quickly to see what had happened. There, by the tree stump across the stream, was a brown and white rabbit lying on its side.

The farmer waded through the stream to the tree stump. He saw that the rabbit had run into the tree stump and died.

The farmer was excited—here was a free meal for his family!

He wrapped the rabbit in his shirt and headed home.

That night, his wife cleaned and cooked the rabbit. It was a delicious dinner! Everyone went to bed happy and full.

The farmer woke up the next morning before dawn, as he always did.

But this time, as he was putting on his clothes, he realized something.

He did not actually have to work so hard! Instead of farming all day, he could just sit by the tree stump and wait for rabbits. What a wonderful plan! Free food!

That day, he did not tend his crops. He did not sweat and strain under the hot sun. Instead, he sat by the tree stump. He whistled for rabbits, but none came. He yawned. He napped. He wondered what kind of tree the stump had been. Had chickens ever bumped into it? He liked to eat

chicken. He waited some more. Nothing happened. But he wasn’t worried. He knew a rabbit had to run into the tree stump very soon. It was overdue!

When he returned home, his wife asked when he would return to his work on the farm. “I’m done with all that,” he told her. “The stump is where I belong.”

“I might agree with you there,” said his wife, frowning. “Perhaps you ought to sleep at the stump too.” Then she stomped off.

The farmer was happy his wife was so agreeable. She thought he belonged at the stump too!

He returned to the stump that night. He fell asleep and dreamed of rabbits hurling themselves at the stump. If only the rabbits would make themselves into rabbit stew or barbecue. That would be the best!

However, when he awakened there were no rabbits to be found. This continued for weeks. He tried different methods to get rabbits to run into the stump. He made a sign that said, “This way!” It had a big arrow on it.

Nothing. He pretended to be a rabbit and hopped over to the stump. He threw himself against the stump and bumped his knee. Still, no rabbits hopped into the stump.

“Stupid rabbits!” he complained to himself. “Why don’t they run into the stump like they used to do?” He almost lost hope. Then he remembered 

how tiring it was to tend the crops. He didn’t like working that hard. He got so sweaty! The memory helped convince him that rabbits would run into the stump and give him a free dinner. He wasn’t about to give up his dream!

The farmer’s fields became overgrown with weeds because he stopped caring for them. He wouldn’t even go home and see his family because he was afraid to leave the stump. He worried that a rabbit would bump into it while he was gone.

In the end, no more rabbits bumped into the stump. The farmer’s crops died, so he had no produce to sell at the market. He had no money, just one very fine stump. He became the laughingstock of the village because he relied on luck instead of hard work to feed his family.

His wife sold the farm, so she could follow her dream. She and the children opened a small restaurant. Rabbit was never on the menu.

The End

Question: At the start of the story, why did the farmer not want to take abreak?

A. He wanted to see what had run into the stump.

B. He wanted to support his family by taking good care of his crops.

C. He wasn’t tired, and he had a lot of work to do.

D. He did not want to eat breakfast, he wanted to farm his crops.

核心词汇

sweat n.&v. 汗水，出汗

muscle n. 肌肉

catch one’s breath 上气不接下气

streak n. 些许，光带，光线

thud n. 砰的一声

stump n. 树墩

wade v.（通过水、雪、泥沙等妨碍物）艰难地行进

wrap v. 包裹

strain v. 尽力、努力

hurl at 猛投，力掷

overgrow v. 长满

weeds n. 野草

bump v. 碰，撞

laughingstock n. 笑柄

以下翻译来自百度翻译：

很久以前的一个炎热的夏天，一个农民正在辛勤地照料他的庄稼。他的肌肉酸痛，背部酸痛。但他必须继续工作，因为他必须养家糊口。

也许短暂的休息不会有什么坏处，他想。他喝了一些田边小溪里的水。好多了！他一边坐下来喘口气一边想。

突然，从他的眼角，他看到了一条白色的条纹。他听到一声巨响。他很快转过身去看看发生了什么事。在小溪对面的树桩旁，有一只棕色和白色的兔子躺在它的旁边。

农夫涉水穿过小溪来到树桩前。他看到兔子跑到树桩上死了。

农夫很兴奋，这里有一顿免费的晚餐给他的家人！

他把兔子裹在衬衫里，朝家走去。

那天晚上，他的妻子清洗并煮了兔子。这是一顿美味的晚餐！每个人都快乐而充实地上床睡觉。

农夫像往常一样，第二天黎明前醒来。

但这一次，当他穿上衣服时，他意识到了一些事情。

他其实不必那么努力工作！他可以坐在树桩旁等兔子，而不是整天种地。多好的计划啊！免费食物！

那天，他没有照料庄稼。他在烈日下没有出汗和劳累。相反，他坐在树桩旁。他吹口哨叫兔子，但没人来。他打了个哈欠。他打盹儿了。他想知道树桩是什么样的树。鸡有没有撞到过它？他喜欢吃东西

鸡肉。他又等了一会儿。什么也没发生。但他并不担心。他知道一只兔子很快就会跑到树桩上。已经过期了！

当他回家时，他的妻子问他什么时候回到农场工作。”“我受够了，”他告诉她树桩是我的归宿。”

“我可能同意你的看法，”他的妻子皱着眉头说也许你也应该睡在树桩上。”然后她跺着脚走了。

农夫很高兴他的妻子如此和蔼可亲。她认为他也属于树桩！

那天晚上他回到了树桩旁。他睡着了，梦见兔子扑向树桩。要是兔子们能把自己做成炖兔子或烤肉就好了。那太好了！

然而，当他醒来时，没有发现兔子。这种情况持续了数周。他尝试了不同的方法让兔子跑进树桩。他做了一个牌子，上面写着：“这边走！”上面有一支大箭。

没有什么。他假装是一只兔子，跳到树桩上。他扑倒在树桩上，撞伤了膝盖。然而，没有兔子跳进树桩。

“愚蠢的兔子！”他自怨自艾。”他们为什么不像以前那样撞到树桩上？”他几乎失去了希望。然后他想起来了

照料庄稼真累人。他不喜欢那么辛苦地工作。他出汗了！这段记忆使他相信兔子会跑到树桩上给他一顿免费的晚餐。他不打算放弃他的梦想！

农夫的田地长满了杂草，因为他不再照料它们。他甚至不愿回家看望家人，因为他害怕离开树桩。他担心他不在的时候会被兔子撞到。

最后，再也没有兔子撞到树桩上了。农民的庄稼死了，所以他没有农产品在市场上出售。他没有钱，只有一个非常好的树桩。他成了村里的笑柄，因为他靠运气而不是辛苦工作养活家人。

他的妻子卖掉了农场，这样她就可以实现她的梦想。她和孩子们开了一家小餐馆。菜单上从来没有兔子。