Early in the morning,deep in the forest,the trees were having a discussion.
清晨的深林深處,樹正討論著什么：
“Animals come and rest in our shade (蔭) but they leave a mess behind,” said the Jamun.“The smell on some days is so bad!”
Jamun說：“動(dòng)物在我們的樹蔭下休養(yǎng)生息,卻留給我們一片狼藉,一段時(shí)間過后臭氣熏天!”
“They never think about us because we’re silent,” said the Sal.“But I’ve had enough!I’ve made up my mind to drive away any animal that comes here!”
Sal說：“因?yàn)槲覀兇耗┕蜒?所以他們根本不在意我們?cè)谙胧裁?可我已經(jīng)受夠了!我已經(jīng)決定了,不管哪個(gè)動(dòng)物來了我都會(huì)把它趕走!”
“That may not be a good thing to do,” said the Peepul,the oldest and biggest tree there.“The animals cause trouble,I agree,but they serve a useful purpose.We are all interdependent－trees,animals,men…”
一棵年紀(jì)大些個(gè)頭高些的Peepul說：“這樣做恐怕不好,我承認(rèn)動(dòng)物們是給我們?nèi)橇瞬簧俾闊?但是他們也的確有很好的理由.森林,動(dòng)物,人類都是相互依賴的……”
“I’m sorry,” said the Sal.“I must say your opinion is right but in this matter I will not listen to anyone.I won’t allow animals here any more!”
Sal說“真抱歉,我也承認(rèn)你的想法是對(duì)的,但在這件事情上我不會(huì)為任何人所左右.我這里不會(huì)再允許任何動(dòng)物逗留!”
True to his word when a leopard came to rest in the shade later that day,the Sal began to move itself strongly from side to side.The leopard,terrified,jumped up and ran.The Sal drove away all the animals that came to that part of the forest that day and in the days that followed.In course of time animals stopped coming here.
它真這樣做了,后來有個(gè)豹子來樹蔭下休息,Sal用力地左右搖晃,豹子嚇壞了,縱身逃之夭夭.Sal從那天開始趕走了所有來到那片森林的動(dòng)物.久而久之,再也沒有動(dòng)物來了.
The Sal became a great hero to the younger trees in the neighborhood and even some of the older ones began bowing (鞠躬) to him when the Peepul was not looking.
Sal成了附近小輩們的大英雄,甚至比他年紀(jì)大的樹也向他點(diǎn)頭哈腰,而Peepul卻不以為然.
Then one day two woodcutters came to this part of the forest.
有一天,兩個(gè)伐木工人來到了這片森林.
“Men!” shouted the Sal.“Why have they come here?They’ve never come here before.”
Sal大喊：“人類!他們?cè)趺磿?huì)來這里?他們之前可從未來過.”
“If they’ve never come here before it was because of the animals,” said the Peepul.“Now the leopard and the tiger no longer come here,and they are no longer afraid.”
Peepul說：“他們之前不曾來過是因?yàn)楹ε逻@些動(dòng)物,如今豹子和老虎已經(jīng)不在了,他們也就不再怕什么了.”
The Sal began to worry with good reason.It was the first tree the woodcutters cut down.