The Donkey in the Lion's Skin
披着狮皮的驴
There was once a foolish donkey who wished he was something else.
从前有一头愚蠢的驴子，他希望自己是别的什么东西。
‘If only I was a giraffe,’ he would say, 'then I could look over the tops of trees...if only I was an elephant then I could remember where I left things...if only I was a cheetah then I could run like the wind...or fierce as a rhinoceros... ...or cunning as a crocodile...
“要是我是长颈鹿就好了，”他会说，“那样我就可以从树梢往上看了。”...如果我是一头大象，我就能记得我把东西放在哪里了...如果我是一只猎豹，我就能像风一样奔跑...或者像犀牛一样凶猛...或者像鳄鱼一样狡猾...
...or strong as a hippo.’
...或者像河马一样强壮。”
Anything was better than being a donkey. Everyone laughed at donkeys and he didn’t like it one little bit.
任何事都比当驴子好。大家都嘲笑驴子，他一点也不喜欢。
One day, when he was walking through the forest the donkey saw something draped over the branch of a tree. When he got closer he could see it was a lion costume. ‘I’d look good in that,’ he thought.
一天，当驴子穿过森林时，他看到一棵树枝上挂着什么东西。当他走近时，他看到那是一件狮子装“我穿上它会好看的，”他想。
So he put it on.
所以他戴上了。
It covered him from head to foot. The donkey found a pool and looked at his reflection.
它从头到脚覆盖了他。驴子找到一个池塘，看着自己的倒影。
‘I look magnificent,’ he said.
“我看起来气派极了，”他说。
He paraded up and down looking at his reflection from every angle. The massive head of the lion covered his donkey’s head and the lion’s golden mane flowed round his neck.
他走来走去，从各个角度看着自己的倒影。巨大的狮子头盖住了他的驴头，狮子的金色鬃毛绕着他的脖子。
‘I look like a lion and I feel like a lion,’ he said. ‘No-one will laugh at me now. I am King of the beasts!’
“我看起来像头狮子，感觉也像头狮子，”他说现在没人会嘲笑我了。我是百兽之王
The donkey couldn’t wait to show himself to other animals. He walked up to a giraffe who was eating leaves from the top of a tall tree. She stopped when she saw the donkey and bent her long legs in a curtsy.
驴子迫不及待地向其他动物展示自己。他走到一只长颈鹿跟前，长颈鹿正在吃一棵大树顶上的叶子。当她看到驴子时，她停了下来，弯下长腿行屈膝礼。
‘Your Majesty,’ she said, in a fearful voice.
“陛下，”她用可怕的声音说。
‘Greetings, giraffe,’ said the donkey in a deep, lion-like voice. ‘Won’t you join me in a stroll?’
“你好，长颈鹿，”驴用狮子般低沉的声音说你不跟我一起散步吗？”
‘I can’t today,’ said the giraffe, ‘I have to get tea for my children.’
“今天不行，”长颈鹿说，“我得给孩子们弄杯茶。”
And she ran away as quickly as she could.
她尽可能快地跑开了。
The donkey smiled to himself.
驴子对自己笑了。
He saw a hippo in the river. The hippo bowed his head when he saw the donkey.
他看见河里有一只河马。河马看到驴子时低下头。
‘Your Majesty,’ he said, in hushed tones. ‘Greetings hippo,’ said the donkey.
“陛下，”他平静地说“你好，河马。”驴子说。
‘Won’t you join me in a stroll?’ ‘I can’t today,’ said the hippo. ‘I have to call on a friend who is sick.’ And he sank out of sight.
“你愿意和我一起散步吗？”“今天不行，”河马说我得去拜访一位生病的朋友。”然后他就消失了。
Inside the lion costume the donkey was grinning all over his face. He tripped over a crocodile sunbathing on a rock.
在狮子的服装里，驴子满脸笑容。他在岩石上晒日光浴时被鳄鱼绊倒了。
‘Your Majesty!’ said the crocodile, smiling with his teeth on the outside of his lips.
“陛下！”鳄鱼笑着说，他的牙齿在嘴唇外面。
‘Greetings crocodile,’ said the donkey. ‘Won’t you…’ But the crocodile had slipped into the water and disappeared.
“你好，鳄鱼，”驴子说“你会不会……”但鳄鱼已经掉进水里消失了。
The donkey was jubilant.
驴子高兴极了。
He wanted to leap up and down with delight. What a marvellous thing it was to be a lion. A lion was admired and feared by all the other animals. He felt like a king.
他想高兴得跳上跳下。成为一头狮子是多么奇妙的事啊。一头狮子受到所有其他动物的崇拜和恐惧。他觉得自己像个国王。
Just then a wily fox came into view. When he saw the donkey he turned to run.
就在这时，一只狡猾的狐狸出现了。当他看到驴子时，他转身就跑。
The donkey could contain his delight no longer. ‘I’m a lion,’ he thought. ‘I look like a lion, I act like a lion. I feel like a lion. I bet I even sound like a lion.’
驴子再也抑制不住他的喜悦了“我是一头狮子，”他想我看起来像狮子，我的行为像狮子。我感觉自己像头狮子。我敢打赌，我甚至听起来像头狮子。”
And the foolish donkey lifted his head and roared.
愚蠢的驴子抬起头咆哮。
‘Hee-Haw, Hee-Haw, Hee-Haw!’
“嘿嘿，嘿嘿，嘿嘿！”
The fox stopped in his tracks. He knew that sound. He grabbed the lion's mane and pulled. The lion costume came off in his hands. The donkey stood there, trembling. The fox began to laugh. So did the crocodile. So did the giraffe. And so did the hippo.
狐狸停下脚步。他知道那声音。他抓住狮子的鬃毛，拔了下来。狮子的服装在他手里脱掉了。驴子站在那里发抖。狐狸笑了起来。鳄鱼也是。长颈鹿也是。河马也是。
‘If only I had kept my mouth shut,’ thought the donkey.
“要是我闭嘴就好了，”驴想。
The other animals put their arms round him.
其他动物用胳膊搂着他。
‘Don’t worry,’ they said, ‘we like you just as you are.’
“别担心，”他们说，“我们喜欢你的本来面目。”
And they all hurried away before the real lion came along.
在真正的狮子出现之前，他们都匆匆离开了。