兔子英语阅读（英语阅读系列之The）

大家好，我是Fiona老师。

今天我们英语阅读系列要阅读的文章是The Foolish Lion 愚蠢的狮子

到底它干了哪些愚蠢的事情呢？为什么说它是愚蠢的狮子呢？

In a forest there lived a lion. He had grown old and could not run fast anymore. As days went by it became more and more difficult for him to hunt.

One day while he was wandering through the forest in search of food, he came across a cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. “Some animal must be staying here," he said to himself. He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. “I will hide inside and wait for the animal to return," he thought.

The cave was the home of a jackal. Everyday, the jackal would go out in search of food and return to the cave in the evening to rest. That evening, the jackal after having his meal started towards home. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around him very quiet. “Something is wrong," the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and insects so silent?"

Very slowly and cautiously, he walked towards his cave. He looked around him, watching for any signs of danger. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave, all his instincts alerted him of danger. “I have to make sure that everything is alright," thought the jackal. Suddenly, he thought of a plan.

The clever jackal called out to the cave. “Hello my good cave, what happened to you today? Why are you so quiet?"

The jackal’s voice echoed deep inside the cave. The lion, who by now could control his hunger no longer, thought to himself, “I think it is because I am here that the cave is silent. Before the jackal realises that something is wrong, I should do something."

The jackal continued to call out, “Have you forgotten our agreement cave? You are supposed to greet me when I return home." The lion tried to make his voice sound hollow and called out from within the cave, “Welcome home my friend."

The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lion’s roar. As for the jackal, he shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce on him and eat him up, the jackal ran for his dear life as fast as his legs could carry him.

The lion waited for a long while for the jackal to enter the cave. But when the jackal did not come in, the lion realised that he had been fooled. He cursed himself for his foolishness that made him lose a prey.

在森林里住着一头狮子。他老了，跑不快了。日子一天天过去，他越来越难打到猎物了。

有一天，当他在森林里徘徊寻找食物时，他遇到了一个山洞。他窥视并嗅出洞穴里的空气。“有些动物一定待在这儿，”他自言自语地说。他蹑手蹑脚地爬进洞里，结果发现里面空无一人。“我会躲在里面等动物回来，”他想。

山洞是豺狼的家。每天，豺狼会出去寻找食物，晚上回到洞穴休息。那天晚上，豺狼吃完饭就开始朝家走去。但当他走近时，他感到有些不对劲。他周围的一切都很安静。“有些事不对，”豺狼对自己说。“为什么所有的鸟和昆虫都这么沉默？”

他慢慢地小心翼翼地向洞窟走去。他环顾四周，注视着任何危险的迹象。当他走近洞口时，所有的本能都提醒了他危险。“我必须确保一切都好，”豺狼想。突然，他想出了一个计划。

聪明的豺狼向洞穴喊道。“你好，我的好洞，你今天怎么了？”你为什么这么安静？”

豺狼的声音在山洞深处回响。狮子现在已经不再控制饥饿了，他想，“我想这是因为我在这里，山洞是寂静的。在豺狼意识到有什么不对劲之前，我应该做点什么。

豺狼继续喊道：“你忘记我们约定了吗，洞穴？”当我回家的时候，你应该向我打招呼。“狮子试着让他的声音听起来很空洞，从洞里喊出来：“欢迎回家，我的朋友。”

鸟儿听到鸟儿的吼叫，高声尖叫，飞走了。至于豺狼，他吓得直发抖。在饥饿的狮子能扑过来咬他之前，豺狼跑得很快。

狮子等了很久，豺狼都不进洞。但是当豺狼不进来的时候，狮子意识到他被愚弄了。他咒骂自己愚蠢，使他失去了猎物。