獅子與老鼠
A lion was sleeping in the forest when a little mouse ran across his face by mistake. The lion woke up with a roar and trapped the mouse under his huge paw.
"Please don't eat me!" squeaked the mouse. "Let me go, and one day I'll repay you."
The lion laughed. "How could a tiny thing like you ever help a lion like me?" But he was amused, and he wasn't very hungry, so he lifted his paw and let the mouse go.
Some time later, the lion was out hunting when he walked straight into a hunters' trap. A thick rope net fell over him. He roared and struggled, but the more he pulled, the tighter the net became.
The mouse heard the roaring and recognised the lion's voice. She ran to him at once and began to gnaw through the ropes with her sharp little teeth. One by one, the ropes snapped, until there was a hole big enough for the lion to crawl out.
"You laughed at me when I said I would help you," said the mouse. "Now you know that even a mouse can help a lion."
No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
一頭獅子正在森林裡睡覺，一隻小老鼠不小心從牠臉上跑了過去。獅子吼了一聲醒過來，用巨大的爪子一把壓住了老鼠。
「拜託不要吃我！」老鼠吱吱地叫著，「放了我吧，總有一天我會報答你的。」
獅子笑了：「你這麼個小不點，怎麼可能幫得了我這樣的獅子？」不過，牠覺得挺好笑的，肚子也不太餓，就抬起爪子，把老鼠放了。
過了一陣子，獅子出去打獵，一不小心闖進了獵人設下的陷阱。一張粗繩編成的大網從天而降，把牠罩住了。牠又吼又掙扎，可是越用力，網就收得越緊。
老鼠聽見了吼聲，認出那是獅子的聲音。牠馬上跑過去，用尖尖的小牙齒啃起繩子。繩子一根接一根斷了，最後網子上破了一個大洞，獅子終於從裡面爬了出來。
「我說要幫你的時候，你還笑我，」老鼠說，「現在你知道了吧，就連老鼠也能幫獅子的忙。」
善意再小，也不會白費。