英文故事

A Little Horse Crossing the River

There are an old horse and a little horse on a farm. One day the old horse asks the little horse to send the wheat to the mill. The little horse is very happy. He carries the wheat and runs toward the mill. But there is a river in front of the little horse. He stops and does not know what to do next. Just then Aunt Cow is passing by.

The little horse asks, “Aunt Cow, please tell me. Can I cross the river ”

Aunt Cow answers, “It is not deep, you can cross it.”

When the little horse begins to cross the river, a little squirrel shouts at him,

“Little horse, don't cross it, you will be drowned. Yesterday one of my friends was drowned in this river.”

The little horse is very afraid. Finally he decides to go home and ask his mother. The old horse asks, “Why do you take the wheat back What's wrong with you My child.”

The little horse answers sadly, “There is a river in front of me. Aunt Cow said it was not deep. But the little squirrel said it was deep. What shall I do ”

The old horse says, “My child, you should try to cross the river by yourself. If you do not try, how do you know the river is deep or not ”

The little horse carries the wheat and returns to the riverside. At last, he succeeds in crossing the river. Now, He knows how deep the river is.

The lion and the mouse

When a lion was asleep, a little mouse began running up and down beside him. This soon wakened the lion. He was very angry, and caught the mouse in his paws.

"Forgive me, please." cried the little mouse. "I may be able to help you

someday." The lion was tickled at these words.He thought, "How could this little mouse help me?" However he lifted up his paws and let him go.

A few days later, the lion was caught in a trap. The hunters wanted to take him alive to the king. so they tied him to a tree, and went away to look for a wagon.

Just then the little mouse passed by， and saw the sad lion.He went up to him, and soon gnawed away the ropes. "Was I not right?" asked the little mouse.

The Old Cat

An old woman had a cat. The cat was very old; she could not run quickly, and she could not bite, because she was so old. One day the old cat saw a mouse; she jumped and caught the mouse. But she could not bite it; so the mouse got out of her mouth and ran away, because the cat could not bite it.

Then the old woman became very angry because the cat had not killed the mouse. She began to hit the cat. The cat said, "Do not hit your old servant. I have worked for you for many years, and I would work for you still, but I am too old. Do not be unkind to the old, but remember what good work the old did when they were young."

Little boy and god

A little boy asked god, "how long is a million years to you?" God replied: "like a minute." The little boy ask again: "how much is a hundred million yuan to you?" God replied: "like a dollar." The little boy ask god to say: "that you can give me a dollar money?" God replied: "certainly, as long as you give me a minute."

Questions:

1. What does each story’s meaning?

2. Can you use your own words to paraphrase the story?

3. Can you use one word to describe each story?