幽默的英語兒童的小故事
有時候我們多多看看英語的小故事，也是很有趣的，下面小編就給大家整理了英語的小故事，要好好啊學習一下哦
The Frog and the Ox
"Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the side of a pool, "I have seen such a terrible monster!
It was as big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it
had hoofs divided in two."
"Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, "that was only Farmer White's Ox.
It isn't so big either; he may be a little bit taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just you see."
So he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew
himself out.
"Was he as big as that?" asked he.
"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog.
Again the old one blew himself out, and asked the young one if
the Ox was as big as that.
"Bigger, father, bigger," was the reply.
So the Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and blew,
and swelled and swelled and swelled.
And then he said: "I'm sure
the Ox is not as big as But at this moment he burst.
Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.
退避三舍
春秋時候，晉獻公聽信讒言，殺了太子申生，又派人捉拿申生的弟弟重耳。重耳聞訊，逃出了晉國，在外流忘十幾年。
經過千幸萬苦,重耳來到楚國。楚成王認爲重耳日後必有大作爲，就以國羣之禮相迎，待他如上賓。
一天，楚王設宴招待重耳，兩人飲灑敘話，氣氛十分融洽。忽然楚王問重耳：“你若有一天回晉國當上國君，該怎麼報答我呢?”重耳略一思索說：“美女待從、珍寶絲綢，大王您有的是，珍禽羽毛，象牙獸皮，更是楚地的盛產，晉國哪有什麼珍奇物品獻給大王呢?”楚王說：“公子過謙了。話雖然這麼說，可總該對我有所表示吧?”重耳笑笑回答道：“要是託您的福。果真能回國當政的話，我願與貴國友好。假如有一天，晉楚國之間發生戰爭，我一定命令軍隊先退避三舍(一舍等於三十里)，如果還不能得到您的原諒，我再與您交戰。”
四年後，重耳真的回到晉國當了國君，就是歷有名的晉文公。晉國在他的治理下日益強大。
公元前633年，楚國和晉國的軍隊在作戰時相遇。晉文公爲了實現他許下的諾言，下令軍隊後退九十里，駐紮在城濮。楚軍見晉軍後退，以爲對方害怕了，馬上追擊。晉軍利用楚軍驕傲輕敵的弱點，集中兵力，大破楚軍，取得了城濮之戰的勝利。
故事出自《左傳·僖公二十二年》。成語“退避三舍”比喻不與人相爭或主動讓步。
retreating about thirty miles as condition for peace
during the spring and autumn period (770-476 b.c.), duke xian of the state of jin killed the crown prince sheng because he had heard slanders about sheng and believed them. he also sent his men to arrest chong er, shen sheng and believed them. he also sent his men to arrest chonh er, shen sheng's brother. hearing the news, chong er escaped from the state of jin, remaining a fugitive for more than ten years.
after innumerable hardships, chong er arrived at the state of chu at last. king cheng of the state of chu treated him with high respect as he would have treated the ruler of a state, believing that he would have a vright fuure.
one day, king cheng of the state of chu gave a banquet in honoudr of chong er. suddenly, amid the harmonious atmosphere of drinking and talking, king cheng of the state of chu asked chong er. "how will you repay me when you return to the state of jin and become its ruler one day?" after thinking for a moment, chong er said, "you have plenty of beauties and attendants as well as jewelry and silk cloth, and the state of chu abounds in rare brides and animals. what treasure can the state of jin boast having to present to your majesty?" king cheng of the state of chu said, "you are too modest. nevertheless, you still have to show your gratitude to me in one way or another, i presume?" smiling, chong er answered, "if i should be fortunate enouge to return to the state of jin and become its ruler, the state of jin would be friendly to the state of chu. if, one day, there should be a war between the two states, i would definitely order my troops to retreat three she (one she is equivalent to thirty li. the li is a chinese unit of length equivalent to 1/2 kilometre. and, therefore, three she is about thirty miles.) as a condition for peace. if, under that condition, you were still not reconciled, i would have to fight with you."
four years later, as might be expected, chong er returned to the state of jin and became its ruler. he was none other than duke wen of the state of jin famous in ancient chinese history. ruled by him, the state of jin became increasingly powerful.
in the year 533 b.c., the chu troops and the jin troops confronted each other in a battle. faithful to his promise, duke wen of the state of jin ordered his troops to retreat about thirty miles. after retreating, the jin troops were stationed at chengpu. seeing that the jin troops were retreating, the chu troops thought that the enemy troops were afraid, and began chasing them. taking advantage of the chu troops' arrogance and their talking the jin troops lightly, the jin troops concentrated their forces and inflicted a crushing defeat on the chu troops, thus winning the victory of the battle of chengpu.
this set phrase, "retreating about thirty miles as a condition for peace," is derived from the chapter "the twenty-second year of duke xi" in zuozhuan, the famous commentary by zuo qiuming on the spring and autumn annals. the idea of this set phrase is to give way to somebody in order to avoid a conflict.
草木皆兵
東晉時代，秦王苻堅控制了北部中國。公元383年，苻堅率領步兵、騎兵90萬，攻打江南的晉朝。晉軍大將謝石、謝玄領兵8萬前去抵抗。苻堅得知晉軍兵力不足，就想以多勝少，抓住機會，迅速出擊。
誰料，苻堅的先鋒部隊25萬在壽春一帶被晉軍出奇擊敗，損失慘重，大將被殺，士兵死傷萬餘。秦軍的銳氣大挫，軍心動搖，士兵驚恐萬狀，紛紛逃跑。此時，苻堅在壽春城上望見晉軍隊伍嚴整，士氣高昂，再北望八公山，只見山上一草一木都像晉軍的士兵一樣。苻堅回過頭對弟弟說：“這是多麼強大的敵人啊!怎麼能說晉軍兵力不足呢?”他後悔自己過於輕敵了。
出師不利給苻堅心頭蒙上了不祥的陰影，他令部隊靠淝水北岸佈陣，企圖憑藉地理優勢扭轉戰局。這時晉軍將領謝玄提出要求，要秦軍稍往後退，讓出一點地方，以便渡河作戰。苻堅暗笑晉軍將領不懂作戰常識，想利用晉軍忙於渡河難於作戰之機，給它來個突然襲擊，於是欣然接受了晉軍的請求。
誰知，後退的軍令一下，秦軍如潮水一般潰不成軍，而晉軍則趁勢渡河追擊，把秦軍殺得丟盔棄甲，屍橫遍地。苻堅中箭而逃。
故事出自《晉書·苻堅·載記》。成語“草木皆兵”，形容神經過敏、疑神疑鬼的驚恐心理。
every bush and tree looks like an enemy
during the eastern jin dynasty, fu jian, king of the state of qin, controlled northern china. in the year383, fu jian led 900,000 infantry and cavalry troops to assault the state of jin which was south of the yangtze river. xie shi and xie xuan, senior generals of the jin army, led 80,000 troops to offer resistance. knowing that the jin army was short of men, fu jian wanted to seize this opportunity of being much more numerous in armed forces to stage a quick attack.
unexpectedly, the van of fu jian's army of 250,000 troops was defeated in the shouchun area by an ingenious military move of the jin army and suffered heavy losses. the senior general of the van of fu jian's army was killed, and there were heavy casualties of more than 10,000 soldiers. fu jian's army was dispirited and its morale was shaken. many soldiers were in such a great panic that they waited for opportunities to run away. standing on the city wall of the shouchun city, fu jian and his brother fu rong saw that the ranks of the jin army were in good order and that the morale of the jin army was high. turning to his brother, fu jian said, "what a powerful enemy this is! why did people say that the jin army was short of men?" he deeply regretted that he had taken the enemy too lightly.
overshadowed by the disastrous defeat, fu jian ordered his troops to be deployed in battle formation on the north side of the feishui river, in an attempt to regain the initiative by relying on the superior geographical conditions. then xie shi and xie xuan, the senior generals of the jin army, suggested that fu jian's army retreat a little bit, leaving some space, so that the jin army could cross the river to conduct ooperations. fu jian thought that his chance had come, believing that the senior generals of the jin army did not have the elementary knowledge of warfare. it was his plan to stage a sudden attack while the troops of the jin army was busy crossing the river, and he was sure that his plan would word. so he willingly accepted the suggestion of the jin army.
unexpectedly, the moment the order to retreat was given, fu jian's troops were utterly routed and could by no means be controlled. taking advantage of this favorable situation, the jin army crossed the river, pursuing and attacking the enemy. the trooops of fu jian's army threw away everything in headlong flight, and the field was littered with the corpses of the soldiers of fu jian's army. fu rong was killed in the tangled fighting, and fu jian was hit by an arrow and ran away. the jin army won a brilliant victory by defeating a big army with its limited armed forces.
this story comes from "the life of fu jian" in the volume "records" of the history of the jin dynasty. the set phrase "every bush and tree looks like an enemy" is subsequently used to refer to a state of extreme nervousness.
