In a dense1 forest， there was a lake. All the animals used to drink water fromthe lake. The water of this lake was so sweet that many fish lived there for longtime. In this lake there lived a crab. The crab’s best friend was a swan2. Thatswan was in the same lake. They were happy in the company of each other. Theirhappiness lasted until one day a snake made his home near the lake.

在一片茂密的森林中有一個湖。所有的動物都常喝湖里的水。這個湖的水很甜，許多魚在那里生活了很長時間。湖里住著一只螃蟹。螃蟹最好的朋友是一只天鵝。那只天鵝也住在同一個湖里。他們在彼此的陪伴下很快樂。他們的快樂一直持續(xù)到有一天一條蛇在湖邊安家。

Every day the swan laid an egg. The snake would come and eat it up.“Ihave to find a way to save my eggs，”thought the swan.

天鵝每天都下一個蛋。蛇就會過來把它吃了?！拔冶仨毾朕k法救我的蛋?！碧禊Z想。

One day， she went to the crab and said，“Please help me， dear friend. My eggsare under threat3. That cruel4 snake eats all the eggs in the nest. What can I do？”

一天，她走到螃蟹跟前說：“親愛的朋友，請幫幫我吧。我的蛋受到了威脅。那條殘忍的蛇吃掉了窩里所有的蛋。我該怎么辦？”

The crab decided to help his best friend. He thought for a while.Then he said， “I have an idea. Let us catch some fish from this lakeand scatter5 them from the snake’s house till the mongoose6 house.”That mongoose lived in the nearby tree.

螃蟹決定幫幫他最好的朋友。他想了一會兒然后說：“我有個主意。讓我們從湖里抓些魚，把它們一路從蛇窩撒到貓鼬窩?！蹦侵回堶妥≡诟浇臉渖稀?/p>

Then， the crab and the swan caught some fish and dropped themfrom the mongoose’s house all the way to the snake’s house. Then bothof them hid behind a tree and watched. They waited for some time.After a long time， the mongoose came out. He saw the fish and wasoverjoyed. “Wow！ Fish right outside my own house！ ”he said， smacking7 his lips. He happily ate all of them one by one. As he atehe kept following the fish trail8 to the snake’s house. Finally， themongoose reached the house of the snake. Both the crab and the swanwere watching all these events， waiting behind the tree.

然后，螃蟹和天鵝抓了一些魚，把它們從貓鼬窩一路撒到蛇窩。然后他們倆躲在一棵樹后面看著。他們等了一會兒。過了很長時間，貓鼬出來了。他看到魚，喜出望外?！巴?！魚就在我家門外！”他咂著嘴說。他高興地把它們一條一條地吃掉了。他一邊吃，一邊順著魚的蹤跡走到蛇的家。最后，貓鼬來到了蛇的家。螃蟹和天鵝都在樹后觀望著這一切。

When the snake saw the mongoose， he thought，“That mongoose ishere to attack9 me. I had better fight with him.”After some time， thesnake started to fight with the mongoose. They fought for some time andthe mongoose killed the snake.

當蛇看到貓鼬時，他想：“那只貓鼬是來攻擊我的。我最好跟他打一架。”過了一會兒，蛇開始和貓鼬打架。他們打了一陣，貓鼬殺死了那條蛇。

Watching this behind the tree， the swan and the crab got a sigh of relief. Buttheir joy was short-lived. The next day， the mongoose， looking for more fish， cameupon the swan’s nest. There the mongoose found more eggs of the swan. Heimmediately ate all of them. The swan and the crab now felt helpless. They hadbrought this new threat upon themselves. They did not know that the mongoosewas the dangerous helper. “Our thoughtlessness10 has got us a new enemy， evenmore dangerous than the previous enemy，”cried the two friends.

在樹后看到這一幕，天鵝和螃蟹松了一口氣。但他們高興得太早了。第二天，貓鼬在尋找更多的魚，并來到了天鵝的巢。貓鼬在那里發(fā)現了更多天鵝的蛋。他立刻把它們都吃了。天鵝和螃蟹現在感到很無助。新的威脅是他們自找的。他們不知道貓鼬是危險的幫手。“我們的輕率給我們帶來了一個新的敵人，他甚至比以前的敵人更危險?！眱蓚€朋友叫道。

After few days， they decided to form one more plan to get rid of thedangerous helper—mongoose. It is must be careful while fighting with an enemy.

幾天后，他們決定再制定一個計劃來擺脫這個危險的幫手———貓鼬。與敵人作戰(zhàn)時必須慎之又慎。

（英語原文選自：english-for-students.com）