Everybody’s business is nobody’s business
There are four people named everybody, somebody, anybody and nobody. There was an important job to be done and everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but nobody did it. Some body got angry about that because it was everybody’s job. Everybody thought anybody could do it, but nobody realized that everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when nobody did what anybody could have done.
有四个人分别叫做：“每个人”、“某个人”、“任何人”和“没有人”.有一次,他们每个人都要被要求去完成一件重要的工作.大家都相信某个人会去做这件事.其实,任何人都可以完成这项工作的,但就是没有人去做.某个人对此感到非常气愤,因为这是大家的任务.每个人都认为任何人可以完成这件事,但没有人认识到大家都不会去做这件事.结果呢,当没有人去做其实任何人都可以做到的事情的时候,每个人都在抱怨某个人.
Springtime
Days get longer and warmer in the spring.
There are new leaves on the trees.
Flowers begin to grow.
Rain makes the grass green and helps the plants grow.
Spring is the time of new life. Nature puts on new clothes in many colors —red, yellow, blue, white, and purple.
Birds build nests in the spring.
Many baby animals appear.
People like to make gardens and farmers plant crops in the fields.
Spring is the season for young love. “In the spring a young man’s thoughts turn to love.” according to an old saying.
The Cat and the Bell (猫和铃）
There were many mice in a house. The man of the house got a cat. The cat killed many of the mice.
Then the oldest mouse said, " All mice must come to my hole tonight, and we will think what we can do about this cat."
All the mice came. Many mice spoke, but none knew what to do. At last a young mouse stood up and said, "We must put a bell on the cat. Then, when the cat comes near, we shall hear the bell and run away and hide. So the cat will not catch any more mice."
Then the old mouse asked, " Who will put the bell on the cat?"
No mouse answered.
He waited, but still no one answered.
At last he said, "It is not hard to say things; but it is harder to do them."
A Woodman came into a forest to ask the Trees to give him a handle for Ax. It seemed so modest a request that the principal tree at once agreed to it, and it was settled among them that the plain, homely Ash should furnish what was wanted.
No sooner had the Woodman fitted the staff to his purpose ,than he began laying about him on all side. felling the whole matter too late, whispered to the Cedar: "the first concession has lost all ;if we has not a sacrificed our humble neighbor, we might have yet stood for ages ourselves."
译文：
有一个樵夫来到森林里,要求树给他一跟斧柄,看来他的请求非常谦虚,立刻得到了树的首领的同意.他们决定由平凡而朴素的白杨树来提供所需要的东西.樵夫刚按好斧柄,就开始到处乱砍,森林里最高的树都砍倒了,树林现在察觉大势已去,就小声对衫树说："第一次的让步已失去了一切.如果我们不牺牲我们的小小的邻居,我们自己还可以活无数年呢."