一、A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold,the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field.While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy and soon began to sing A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung and promptly dug him out and ate him!

一只小鸟飞往南方去过冬,天气实在太冷了,这只小鸟被冻僵了。掉到了一块田地里。当它僵硬地躺在那里,一头牛走了过来,拉了一堆牛粪在它身上。冻僵的小鸟躺在这堆牛粪里,便开始有了意识,渐渐的意识到躺在那里有多暖和。这堆牛粪的确令它苏醒过来,它躺在上面又暖和又快乐,一会儿便欢乐的唱起歌来。一只路过的猫听到鸟的歌声便过来探个究竟,寻声而来,猫发现了在这堆牛粪下的小鸟,便很快将它挖出来吃掉了。

该篇故事的寓意是:

1)不是所有说你坏话的人都是你的敌人。(不是所有往你身上拉牛粪的人都是你的敌人)

2)不是所有帮你解围的人都是你的朋友。(不是所有将你从牛粪里拉出来的人都是你的朋友)

3)在你还没有完全摆脱困境时,别得意忘形。(当你还没有从粪堆里出来时,把嘴闭上)

二、An ox, grazing in a swampy meadow, chanced to set his foot among a parcel of young frogs, and crushed nearly the whole brood to death .One that escaped ran off to his mother with the dreadful news."and ,oh ,mother !"said he ,"it was a beast -such a big four footed beast!-that did it .""Big?" quoth the old frog , "How big? Was it as big" -- and she puffed herself out to a great degree-"as big as this ?""oh!"said the little one ,"a great deal bigger than that .""well, was it so big ?"and she swelled herself out yet mere ."Indeed ,mother ,but it was ,and of you were to burst yourself you would never reach half its size."provoked at such a disparagement of her powers, the old frog made one more trial ,and burst herself indeed.

So men are ruined by attempting greatness to which they have no claim.

译文:

一头牛在一快泥泞的草地上吃草,偶然把脚踏在一堆小青蛙当中,几乎把所有的幼蛙踩死。脱险的一个带着这可怕的消息跑到他母亲那里去了。"啊,母亲!"他说"是一只野兽-那样一只有四只脚的大野兽-踩的。""大吗?"老青蛙说。"多大?"她股足了气把自己胀得大大的说:"他像这样的吗?""啊!"小青蛙说,"比那大多了。""哦,有这么大吗?"她鼓着气胀地更大了。"真的,母亲,但确实如此,即使你胀破了自己,也不够他一半大。"老青蛙看到自己的力气受到轻视很是激怒,于是又鼓了一下气,果然这次胀破了自己。

妄自尊大的人必将自取灭亡的。

三、Hercules and the Wagoner

A carter was driving a wagon along a country lane, when the wheels sank down deep into a rut. The rustic driver, stupefied and aghast, stood looking at the wagon, and did nothing but utter loud cries to Hercules to come and help him. Hercules, it is said, appeared and thus addressed him: "Put your shoulders to the wheels, my man. Goad on your bullocks, and never more pray to me for help, until you have done your best to help yourself, or depend upon it you will henceforth pray in vain."

一名车夫赶着货车沿着乡间小路行进。途中车轮陷入了很深的车辙中,再也无法前进。这时,愚蠢的车夫吓得茫然失措,一筹莫展,痴呆呆地站在那里,凝视着货车,不断地高声喊叫,求大

力神来助他一把。大力神来到后,对他说:“朋友,用你的肩膀扛起车轮,再抽 打拉车的马。你自己不自力更生,尽力解决,仅靠祈求我,怎么行呢?”

寓言告诉我们:

自力更生,自助自立是克服困难的最好办法。

四、The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller

A Charcoal-Burner carried on his trade in his own house. One day he met a friend, a Fuller, and entreated him to come and live with him, saying that they should be far better neighbors and that their housekeeping expenses would be lessened. The Fuller replied, "The arrangement is impossible as far as I am concerned, for whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken again with your charcoal."

烧炭人在一所房子里干活,看见有一个漂布人搬迁到他的旁边来住时,满怀高兴地走上 去劝他与自己同住,并解释说这样彼此更亲密,更方便,还更省钱。漂布人却回答说:“也 许你说的是真话,但完全不可能办到,因为凡我所漂白的,都将被你弄黑。”

这故事说明:

不同类的人难相处。Like will draw like.

五、The Bat and the Weasels

A BAT who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the ground and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.

It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.

蝙蝠掉落在地上,被黄鼠狼叼去,他请求饶命。黄鼠狼说绝不会放过他,自己生来痛恨 鸟类。蝙蝠说他是老鼠,不是鸟,便被放了。后来蝙蝠又掉落了下来,被另一只黄鼠狼叼 住,他再三请求不要吃他。这只黄鼠狼说他恨一切鼠类。蝙蝠改口说自己是鸟类,并非老 鼠,又被放了。这样,蝙蝠两次改变了自己的名字,终于死里逃生。

这故事说明,我们遇事要随机应变方能避免危险。

第二篇：英语寓言小故事

英语寓言小故事

Making His Mark “刻舟求剑”

A man from the state of Chu was taking a boat across a river when he dropped his sword into the water carelessly. Immediately he made a mark on the side of the boat where the sword dropped, hoping to find it later. When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to search for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. As we know, the boat had moved but the sword had not. Isn’t this a very foolish way to look for a sword?

楚国有个人坐船渡江时，他不小心把自己的一把宝剑掉落江中。他马上掏出一把小刀，在宝剑落水的船舷上刻上一个记号。船靠岸后，那楚人立即从船上刻记号的地方跳下水去捞取掉落的宝剑。他怎么找得到宝剑呢？船继续行驶，而宝剑却不会再移动。像他这样去找剑，真是太愚蠢可笑了。

To Pull up the Seedlings to Help Them Grow “拔苗助长”

Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who planted a plot of rice. After he planted the seedlings, every day he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow. He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day, but still, he thought they were growing too slowly. Eventually he got impatient with the young plants and suddenly he hit upon an idea that one by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. The next early morning, the young man couldn’t wait to check his “achievement”, but he was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.

从前，有个农夫，种了稻苗（seedlings）后，便希望能早早收成。每天他到稻田时，都发觉那些稻苗长得非常慢。他等得很不耐烦。想了又想，他终于想到一个“最佳方法”，他将稻苗全都拔高了几分。第二天，一早起身，他迫不及待地去稻田看他的“成果”。 哪知，却看到所有的稻苗都枯萎了。

Plugging One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell “掩耳盗铃”

Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to steal his neighbor’s doorbell. However, he knew clearly that the bell would ring and catch the other people’s attention as long as he touched the bell. So he thought hard and suddenly hit on a clever “idea”. He plugged his ears with something, thinking that everything would go well when he stole the bell. Unfortunately to his disappointment, the bell still rang loudly and he was caught on the spot as a thief.

从前，有一个人想偷邻居门上的铃，但是他知道一碰到铃，铃就会响起来，被人发现。他想啊想，终于他想出一个“妙极”，他把自己的耳朵用东西塞起来，就听不见铃声了。但是当他去偷铃时，铃声仍旧响起来，他被别人当场抓住

1

The Fox and the Crow “狐狸和乌鸦”

One day a crow stood on a branch near his nest and felt very happy with the meat in his mouth. At that time, a fox saw the crow with the meat, so he swallowed and eagerly thought of a plan to get the meat. However, whatever the fox said to the crow, the crow just kept silent. Until the fox thought highly of the crow’s beautiful voice, the crow felt flattered and opened his mouth to sing. As soon as the meat fell down to the ground, the fox took the meat and went into his hole.

有一天,一只乌鸦站在窝旁的树枝上嘴里叼着一片肉，心里非常高兴。这时候，一只狐狸看见了乌鸦，馋得直流口水，非常想得到那片肉。但是，无论狐狸说什么，乌鸦就是不理睬狐狸。最后，狐狸赞美乌鸦的嗓音最优美，并要求乌鸦唱几句让他欣赏欣赏。乌鸦听了狐狸赞美的话，得意极了，就唱起歌来。没想到，肉一掉下来，狐狸就叼起肉，钻回了洞

Draw a Snake and Add Feet to It “画蛇添足”

Long long ago, several people had a jar of wine among them and all of them wanted to drink it by himself. So they set a rule that every one would draw a snake on the ground and the man who finished first would have the wine. One man finished his snake very soon and he was about to drink the wine when he saw the others were still busy drawing, so he decided to draw the feet to the snake. However, before he could finish the feet, another man finished and grabbed the jar from him, saying, "Who has ever seen a snake with feet?” The story of "Draw a snake and add feet to It.” tells us going too far is as bad as not going far enough.

古时几个人分一壶酒。他们都想独自喝完那壶酒，所以就定了一个规矩：每人在地上画一条蛇，谁画得最快，这壶酒就归谁。有一个人很快就把蛇画好了。他正打算喝这壶酒时，看见别人都还在忙着画，就决定给蛇再画上几只脚。结果，他的蛇脚还没加完，另一个人已经把蛇画好了。那人一下把酒壶夺了过去，说：“有谁见过长脚的蛇？”。这个故事告诉我们这样的道理：做得过分和做得不够都是不对的

On a vacation trip, Duke Huan of the state of Qi came to the ruin of the capital of Guo Shi , which perished long ago.

Seeing the desolate and bleak prospects of broken tiles, collapsed walls, and clusters of weeds, he could not help asking the local people about the reason of the ruin of Guo Shi.

They replied,"Guo Shi was fond of doing good deeds, and averse to evildoing, which led to the perdition."

When the Duke could not understand the answer, people explained ," Though he liked doing good, he had never been able to do so; though he hated evildoing, never could he help not 2

participating. That caused the ruin of his capital."

郭氏之墟

齐桓公出游途中，来到已经灭亡许久的郭氏都城的废墟。

看到瓦砾残垣、杂草丛生的萧条景象，忍不住问当地百姓郭氏灭亡的原因。

百姓们回答说："郭氏由于喜爱善行善事。厌恶邪恶丑行而导致灭亡。"

齐桓公不能理解这种回答，百姓们便解释说："郭氏虽然喜爱善行善事，但从来都不能做到；尽管厌恶邪恶丑行，却总是忍不住参与其中。这就是他的都城变成废墟的原因。"

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A mouse once took a bite out of a bull's tail as he lay dozing. The bull jumped up in a rage and, with his head low to the ground, chased the mouse right across the yard. The mouse was too quick for him, however, and slipped easily into a hole in the wall.

The bull charged the wall furiously again and again, but although he bruised his head and chipped his horns, the mouse stayed safely inside his hole. After a time the bull gave up and sank down to rest again.

As soon as the bull was asleep, the little mouse crept to the mouth of the hole, pattered across the yard, bit the bull again -- this time on the nose -- and rushed back to safety. As the bull roared helplessly the mouse squeaked:

"It's not always the big people who come off best. Sometimes the small ones win, you know."

老鼠和公牛

有一次，公牛躺着打盹，一只老鼠咬了他的尾巴。公牛怒气冲冲地跳起来，低着头追老鼠，一直追过院子。然而，老鼠跑得比他快多了，从容地钻到墙洞里去了。

公牛一次又一次地猛撞墙壁，尽管头撞肿了，角撞裂了，老鼠却安然待在洞里。过了一会儿，公牛不撞了，倒下歇着。

公牛刚睡着，小老鼠就爬到洞口，嗒嗒地跑过院子，又咬了公牛一口 ?? 这回咬了鼻子 ?? 又跑回安全的地方去。当公牛毫无办法地吼叫时，老鼠吱吱叫道：

"大人物并不总占上风。有时小人物也会取胜。"

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A boy was playing in the fields when he was stung by a nettle . He ran home to tell his mother what had happened.

"I only touched it lightly," he said, "and the nasty thing stung me."

"It stung you because you only touched it lightly," his mother told him." Next time you touch a nettle grasp it as tightly as you can. Then it won't sting you at all." Face danger boldly.

男孩和荨麻

有个男孩子在地里玩耍，被荨麻刺痛了。他跑回家去，告诉妈妈出了什么事。

"我不过轻轻地碰了它一下，"他说，"那讨厌的东西就把我刺痛了。"

"你只轻轻地碰了它一下，所以它才刺痛你，"妈妈对他说，"下一回你再碰到荨麻，就尽量紧紧地抓 3

住它。那它就根本不会刺痛你了。"

要敢于面对危险。

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A man once bought a brilliantly-coloured parrot. Instead of locking it up in a cage or chaining it to a perch, he allowed it to fly free all over the house. The parrot was delighted at this and flapped from room to room, shrieking and screaming with happiness. At last he settled on the edge of a rich curtain.

"Who on earth are you ?" said a cross voice from below. "Stop that terrible noise at once."

The parrot saw a cat staring up at him from the carpet.

"I 'm a parrot. I 've just arrived and I 'm to make as much noise as I can," he said. "Well, I 've lived here all my life," replied the cat ."I was born in this very house and I learned from my mother that it is best to keep quiet here."

"Keep quiet then, "said the parrot cheerfully. "I don't know what you do around here, but I know my job. My master bought me for my voice and I'm going to make sure he hears it."

Different people are valued for different things.

鹦鹉和猫

从前，有人买了一只毛色鲜艳的鹦鹉。他没有把鹦鹉关在笼子里，也没有用链条把他拴在栖木上，而让他在家里自由自在地飞来飞去。鹦鹉对此非常高兴，扑动翅膀，从一间屋子飞到另一间屋子，愉快地尖声叫着，最后停在华丽的帷幔的边上。

"你到底是谁？"从下面传来怒气冲冲的说话声，"马上住嘴，别发出那难听的声音。"

鹦鹉看见地毯上有一只猫抬头看着他。

"我是鹦鹉。 我刚到，我要使劲地吵吵。"他说。 "那你就一声不响吧，"鹦鹉欢快地说，"我不知道你在这儿干什么，可我知道我的活儿。主人为了我的声音才买我，我一定得让他听到。" 不同的人因有不同的特点而受重视。

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A man once had four sons who never stopped quarrelling with one another. He was always telling them how much easier life would be if they worked together but they took absolutely no notice of him. One day he decided to show them what he meant.

He called all the sons together and put a tightly tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them.

"Can you break that ? " he asked the youngest son. The boy put his knee on the bundle but though he pressed and pulled with his arms he could not bend the wood. The father asked each son in turn to try to break the bundle, but none of them could do it .

Then he untied the string and scattered the sticks.

" Now try, " he said . The boys broke the sticks easily in their hands.

"Do you see what I mean ?" asked the father. "if only you stand together no one can hurt you . If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways, the first enemy you meet will be able to destroy you. "

United we stand ; divided we fall.

4

一捆树枝

从前有一个人，他有四个儿子。儿子们不断地争吵。他一再告诫他们说，如果他们一起干活儿，生活会舒适得多，但他们丝毫不理会他的意见。有一天，他决定通过示范把自己的意思告诉他们。 他把四个儿子都叫来，又把一捆扎得很紧的细树枝放在他们面前的地上。

"你能折断这个吗？"他问最小的儿子。小伙子用膝盖顶住，两只手又压又拉，都不能把那捆树枝弄弯。父亲让别的儿子挨个儿试试，看他们是否能把那捆树枝折断，但谁也做不到。

然后，他解开绳子，把树枝撒开。

"试试吧。"他说。四个小伙子用手轻轻一撅，树枝就断了。

"你们明白我的意思了吗？"父亲问，"只要你们联合起来，谁也不能伤害你们。如果你们老吵架，一定要各行其是，那么你们一遇到敌人，就会被打败。"

合则存，分则败。

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A wolf once met a donkey on the road outside the village.

"I 'm going to eat you up, "said the wolf .

"Certainly, " replied the donkey, thinking fast. "But please don't eat me out here on the road where everyone can see. I shall be so ashamed . Take me into the forest. Don't be afraid that I shall try to escape. Here, tie this rope round your neck and fasten it to my bridle. Then I will lead you to a quiet spot I know."

The wolf thought this was a good idea so he fastened the rope round his neck and knotted it firmly to the donkey's bridle.

"Now I will go wherever you say, " said the donkey.

"Show me the way to your quiet spot , " ordered the wolf.

"Very well," said the donkey, setting off down the road towards the village. As they came to the first houses the wolf began to suspect that he had been tricked.

"This is not the way to the forest, " he said, tugging at his end of the rope. "This road goes to the village."

"Don't worry," said the donkey cheerfully , "This is a short cut. "

The donkey began to trot faster , then to gallop. The rope round the wolf's neck drew tight; in a very short time he was dragged right up to the donkey's door.

The master, his wife and their three sons all came running out to rescue the donkey . They were so angry that they would have killed the wolf there and then. Fortunately for the wolf , however , one of the sons threw a knife at him. The knife missed , but it cut the ro 5

pe round his neck. The next moment all the family could see was a cloud of dust in the road as the wolf fled to safety in the dark forest.

If you keep your head you will be all right.

狼和驴

有一回，狼在村外的路上碰见驴。

"我要把你吃掉。"狼说。

"当然可以，"驴灵机一动，回答说，"但请不要在这条路上吃，人人都会看见的， 我会感到难为情。把我带到森林里去吧。别担心我们会逃跑。喏， 把这根绳子一头饶在你脖子上，一头拴在我的缰绳上，然后我把你带到一个我熟悉的安静的地方去。"

狼认为这是个好主意，于是把绳子饶在脖子上，把另一头牢牢系在驴缰绳上。

"现在你说到什么地方去，我就到什么地方去。"驴说。

"带我到你说的那个安静的地方去。"狼吩咐道。

"很好。"驴说着，就沿通向村子的路走去。他们来到头几所房子附近时，狼怀疑自己受骗上当了。 "这不是到森林去的路，"他使劲拉绳子的一头说， "这条路是到村子里去的。"

"别着急，"驴高兴地说， "这是一条近路。" 驴加快了步子，接着跑起来。套在狼脖子上的绳子抽紧了；一会儿功夫，就把狼拉到驴的家门口。

驴的主人、主人的妻子和三个儿子都跑出来救驴。他们非常生气，要立即就地把狼打死。不过，狼很幸运，主人的一个儿子拿刀砍狼，没砍着，却把套在狼脖子上的绳子砍断了。转眼之间，这一家子看到路上尘土飞扬，狼安然逃向黑暗的树林里去了。

保持镇静，就没问题。

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A wild boar was sharpening his tusks against a tree one day when a fox came by.

"What are you doing that for?" asked the fox . "There are no hunters around. Everything looks very peaceful to me ."

"Quite true, "said the boar, "but when the hunter does come with his dogs I shall be too busy running away to have time for this . So let me sharpen my tusks while I can." Be prepared .

野猪和狐狸

有一天，野猪在树上磨牙齿，狐狸走过来。

"你为什么干这个呀？"狐狸问，"附近又没有猎人，我觉得平安无事。"

"不错，"野猪说，"但是，如果猎人真的带着猎狗来了，我只能逃走，就没工夫干这个了。趁我现在可以磨，就让我磨磨牙齿吧。"

时刻准备着（有备无患）

6

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The swallows and sparrows are very pleased to find a place on the roof of the hall for their nests.

The mother birds are feeding their babies with pleasure, which assumes a scene of peace and harmony.

But they have never thought of the following scene: the chimney at the top of the kitchen might break, the fire might leap up to the roof and the burning purling might destroy their nests.

But those swallows and sparrows are unmindful of the coming disaster.

They go on with their superficial happiness brought by peace and calm.

燕雀处室

燕雀为拥有屋顶下面的一个位置而欣慰不已。

母鸟用叼来的食物喂养啁啾鸣叫的幼鸟，整个儿是一派欢乐自得的祥和景象。

它们完全没有考虑到：炉灶上的烟囱有可能会炸裂，火苗将会窜上屋梁，烧着的椽 将会摧毁它们的巢穴。

不知大祸将要降临到自己头上的燕雀们正在安然自若地品味这表面上的安宁所带来的幸福。 ————————————————————————————————

Long ago a great mountain began to rumble and shake .

People came from far and near to see what would happen.

"A great river will be born." said one.

"Surely nothing less than a mighty dragon will come out." said another.

"A god himself will spring form these rocks." said a third.

Finally , after days of expectation a small crack appeared in the mountain. And out popped ---- a mouse.

Just because someone makes a lot of fuss, it doesn't mean he is important.

山

很久以前，一座大山隆隆作响，摇晃起来。远近各处的人都来看是怎么回事。

一个人说："要出现一条大河了。"

另一个人说："准会出现一条巨龙。"

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第三个人说："从这些岩石中会出现一尊神来。"

等了几天之后，山坡上终于裂开一条小缝，却蹦出来一只耗子。

正因为某人大肆张扬，所以他没有什么了不起。

A lion had come to the end of his days. He lay helpless under a tree.

The animals came around him. When they saw that he was going to die, they thought to themselves, "Now is the time to pay him back."

So the boar came up and rushed at him with his tusks.

Then a bull gored him with his horns. The lion still lay helpless before them.

So the ass felt quite safe. He turned his tail to the lion and kicked up his heels into his face.

"This is a double death." growled the lion.

The Frog in the Shallow Well（井底之蛙）

Have you heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water,it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. I’m happy. My dear sir, why don"t you come over and look around my place?"

Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.

"Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea"s width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. In the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea." After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.

The Wolf And The Lion（骄傲的狼）

As a lion was bigger and stronger than a wolf, he often snatched the wolf's prey. Thus, the wolf always thought, "If I could be stronger than him, I could fight against him."

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One day, the wolf kept walking on grassland till sunset. Suddenly, he found his own shadow was long and big.

He thought he had become strong, so he happily said, "Thank God. You make me stronger than the lion." So, he went to the lion and yelled, "Come out. Let's fight. Now, I'm stronger than you. I'm not afraid of you any more."

The lion walked out and saw the wolf challenging him.

Thus, the lion roared and jumped onto the wolf. They had a big fight and the wolf was totally beaten and ran away quickly.

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