小馬過河 A Little Horse Crosses a River 小馬吃驚地問：“水很深嗎?”

"Is the water very deep?" The little horse asked the squirrel with curiosity.
松鼠認(rèn)真地說：“當(dāng)然啦!昨天,我的一個(gè)伙伴就是在這條河里淹死的!”
The squirrel said earnestly: "Of course! Just yesterday one of my friends drowned in this very same river."
小馬連忙收住腳步,不知道怎么辦好.他嘆了口氣說：“唉!還是回家問問媽媽吧!” 小馬甩甩尾巴,跑回了家.

The little horse stopped at once and didn't know what to do. He sighed and said: "Well, it's better to go home and ask mother." So he went home with his tail between his legs.
媽媽問：“怎么回來啦?”
His mother asked: "Why have you come back?"
小馬難為情地說：“有一條河擋住了去路,過……過不去.”
The little horse said embarrassedly: "There is a river and I cannot cross it."
媽媽說：“那條河不是很淺嗎?”
His mother said: "But that river is shallow."
小馬說：“是呀!牛伯伯也是這么說的.可是松鼠說河水很深,還淹死過他的伙伴呢.”
The little horse replied: "Yes! Uncle Bull also thought it was shallow but the squirrel said it was deep and one of his friends had drowned in it."
媽媽說：“那么到底是深還是淺?你仔細(xì)想過他們的話嗎?”
His mother said: "So is the water deep or shallow? Have you thought carefully about their words?"
小馬低下了頭,說：“沒……沒想過.”
The little horse lowered his head and said: "No, I didn't think about it."
媽媽親切地對小馬說：“孩子,光聽別人說,自己不動腦筋,不去試試,是不行的,你去試一試,就會明白了.”
His mother said kindly to him: "My son, it won't do if you just listen to others and don't think for yourself. You should try and learn from the experience."
小馬回到河邊,剛剛抬起前蹄,松鼠又大叫起來：“怎么,你不要命了?”
The little horse came back to the riverside and was ready to cross the river. Then the squirrel shouted loudly: "You don't want to live?"
“讓我自己試試吧.”小馬一面回答,一面下了河,小心地過去了.原來河水既不像老牛說的那樣淺,也不像松鼠說的那樣深.
"I want to try it myself." The little horse said as he was crossing the river. The water was not as shallow as the bull had said but also not as deep as the squirrel had described.