The wily lion

A lion watched a fat bull feeding in a meadow, and his mouth watered when he thought of the royal feast he would make, but he did not dare to attack him, for he was afraid of his sharp horns. Hunger, however, presently compelled him to do something: and as the use of force did not promise success, he determined¹ to resort to artifice². Going up to the bull in friendly fashion, he said to him, "I cannot help saying how much I admire your magnificent figure, What a fine head! What powerful shoulders and thighs³! But, my dear friend, what in the world makes you wear those ugly horns? You must find them as awkward as they are unsightly. Believe me, you would do much better without them." The bull was foolish enough to be persuaded by this flattery to have his horns cut off; and, having now lost his only means of defence, fell an easy prey⁴ to the lion.

 

一只狮子看见一头肥壮的公牛正在吃草，一想到这是一顿美味佳肴，口水不禁就流了出来，可是他又畏惧公牛的尖角，不敢轻易发起进攻。然而，饥饿促使他一定要做点什么，单凭武力，他肯定无法成功，于是，狮子决定用诡计智取。他带着友好的姿态走到公牛旁边，对公牛说：“简直无法用语言来表达我对您那魔鬼般的身材有多羡慕，这是多么漂亮的头呀，多么宽阔结实的肩膀和大腿呀！不过，亲爱的朋友，究竟是什么让你戴着这两只奇丑无比的角呢？你一定也发现了，它们又笨拙又丑陋。相信我，若是没有了这两只角，你肯定会更好。”公牛也够蠢的，竟然被这番恭维的话所说服，把自己的两只角折断了，刚刚失去用以防卫的武器，公牛就轻易地被狮子俘获了。

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