English Original
One very hot day, a carabao went into the river to bathe. He met a shell and they began talking.
"You are very slow," said the carabao to the shell.
"Oh, no," replied the shell. "I can beat you in a race."
"Then let us try and see," said the carabao.
They went out on the bank and started to run. After going a long distance, the carabao stopped and called, "Shell!"
Another shell lying by the river answered, "Here I am!"
The carabao, thinking it was the same shell he was racing, ran on. Soon he stopped again and called, "Shell!"
Yet another shell answered, "Here I am!"
The carabao was surprised the shell could keep up. He ran on and on. Every time he stopped to call, a different shell answered him. But he was determined not to be beaten, so he ran until he dropped dead.
中文翻译
一个非常炎热的日子，一头水牛到河里洗澡。他遇到了一只贝壳，他们开始交谈。
“你太慢了，”水牛对贝壳说。
“哦，不，”贝壳回答。“我可以在赛跑中赢你。”
“那我们就试试看，”水牛说。
他们来到岸上开始奔跑。跑了一大段距离后，水牛停下来喊道：“贝壳！”
躺在河边的一只贝壳答道：“我在这儿呢！”
水牛以为这就是和他赛跑的那只贝壳，便继续跑。很快他又停下来喊道：“贝壳！”
另一只贝壳答道：“我在这儿呢！”
水牛很惊讶贝壳能跟上他。他不停地跑啊跑。每次他停下来喊，总有一只不同的贝壳回应他。但他下定决心不能输，于是他一直跑，直到力竭倒地而死。