3到5分钟英语小故事带翻译

Many years ago, there lived a very rich man who wanted to do something for the people of his town. But first he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help. So he placed a very large stone in the center of the main road into town.  Then he hid behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow. 

许多年前，有一个很有钱的人想为他的乡亲做一些事。但是，首先他想知道他们是否值得他的帮助。于，他把一个非常大的石头放在镇上主要道路的中心。然后，他躲在了一棵树，等待着。很快，一个老人牵着牛走来。

"Who put this stone in the center of the road?" said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way. Another man came along and did the same thing; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone in the center of the road, but not one of them tried to remove it. Late in the afternoon, a young man came along. He saw the stone and said, "The night will be very dark. Some neighbor will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone. " 

“谁把石头放在路中心了？ ”老人说，但他没有搬开石头。相反，费了点劲，他绕过石头，继续赶路。另一个人来了，做了同样的事情;然后来了一个又一个。所有这些人都抱怨石头挡在路中间，但是没有一个人试图将其搬走。黄昏时，一个年轻人来了。他看到了石头并且说， “晚上是很黑的。天黑时，邻居走来时，会被石头绊倒的。 ” 

The young man then began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his strength to move it to one side. But imagine his surprise when under the stone he found a bag full of money and this message: "This money is for the thoughtful person who removes this stone from the road. That person deserves help." 

这个年轻人开始把石头搬走。他用劲所有力量连推带拉把石头推倒一边去。而让他吃惊的是，他在石头下发现一个装满金钱的袋子和这条讯息：“这钱是给从这条路上搬走这块石头的深思熟虑的人。这个人值得帮助。”

The Old Cat
An old woman had a cat. The cat was very old; she could not run quickly, and she could not bite, because she was so old. One day the old cat saw a mouse; she jumped and caught the mouse. But she could not bite it; so the mouse got out of her mouth and ran away, because the cat could not bite it.

Then the old woman became very angry because the cat had not killed the mouse. She began to hit the cat. The cat said, "Do not hit your old servant. I have worked for you for many years, and I would work for you still, but I am too old. Do not be unkind to the old, but remember what good work the old did when they were young."

【译文】

老猫

一位老妇有只猫，这只猫很老，它跑不快了，也咬不了东西，因为它年纪太大了。一天，老猫发现一只老鼠，它跳过去抓这只老鼠，然而，它咬不住这只老鼠。因此，老鼠从它的嘴边溜掉了，因为老猫咬不了它。

于是，老妇很生气，因为老猫没有把老鼠咬死。她开始打这只猫，猫说：“不要打你的老仆人，我已经为你服务了很多年，而且还愿意为你效劳，但是，我实在太老了，对年纪大的不要这么无情，要记住老年人在年青时所做过的有益的事情。”

正直的林肯
Lincoln was delighted to advocate the cases of those whom he knew to be
wronged, but he would not defend the cause of the guilty.

If he discovered in the course of a trial that he was on the wrong side, he
lost all interest, and ceased to make any exertion.

Once, while engaged in a prosecution, he discovered that his client's cause
was not a good one, and he refused to make the plea. His associate, who was less
scrupulous(小心谨慎的), made the plea and obtained a decision in their favor. The fee
was nine hundred dollars, half of which was tendered(偿付) to Mr. Lincoln, but he
refused to accept a single cent of it.

His honesty was strongly illustrated by the way he kept his accounts with his
law-partner. When he had taken a fee in the latter's absence, he put one half of
it into his own pocket, and laid the other half carefully away, labeling it
"Billy," the name by which he familiarly addressed his partner. When asked why
be did not make a record of the amount and, for the time being, use the whole,
Mr. Lincoln answered, "Because I promised my mother never to use money belonging
to another person."

林肯非常乐意为那些他认为受到冤屈的人辩护，但是他却拒绝为那些确实有罪的人辩护。

如果在审判中发现自己的立场错误，就立刻都案件失去兴趣，不再辩护。

他参与了一起起诉案件。当他发现他的客户动机不良时，便拒绝为其申辩。他的一位做事不太谨慎的同事参与了辩护，并得到对他们有利的判决。辩护费为900美元，这位同事把其中的一半给了林肯，但是林肯一分钱也没拿。

林肯的诚实在下面的例子里得到最好的证明。他与他的伙伴记有详细的账目。但他的伙伴不在时，他仅拿走所得收入的一半，把另一半仔细地保存，写上同伴的名字：“贝利”。当被问到他这样做的原因，林肯回答道：“因为我曾经答应我的妈妈永远不拿属于别人的钱。”