The Two Soldiers And The Robber

 

　　Two Soldiers travelling together were set upon by a Robber.One of them ran away,but the other stood his ground,and laid about him so lustily with his sword that the Robber was fain to fly and leave him in peace.When the coast was clear the timid one ran back,and,flourishing his weapon,cried in a threatening voice,“Where is he?Let me get at him,and I’ll soon let him know whom he’s got to deal with.”But the other replied,“You are a little late,xiaogushi8.com my friend:I only wish you had backed me up just now,even if you had done no more than speak,for I should have been encouraged,believing your words to be true.As it is,calm yourself,and put up your sword:there is no further use for it.You may delude others into thinking you’re as brave as a lion:but I know that,at the first sign of danger,you run away like a hare.”

 

　　兩個士兵和強盜

 

　　兩個士兵一起趕路，途中被一個強盜所劫。其中一個士兵馬上逃跑了，另一個則勇敢地握著劍立在原地，強盜不得不其他而逃。這時候，那個膽小的士兵跑過來，抽出劍，壯著膽子大喝一聲：“他去哪里了?讓我來對付他，我要讓他知道面對的是什么人。”然而，那名勇敢的士兵說：“你來晚了，我的朋友。要是你剛才能幫我就好了，即便只是嘴上這樣說也好，因為我會受到你這番話的鼓舞，并且相信這些話都說真的。而現在，還是請你把劍收好，已經沒有必要再用它了。你只能欺騙其他人，讓人們以為你像雄獅一樣勇敢;而我卻知道，在遇到危險時，你會像兔子一樣落荒而逃。”