English Original
Nothing stirred on the African plains. The sun glared down, and Hare crept inside the cool hollow of a baobab tree for his afternoon nap.
Suddenly, he was wide awake. A booming sound echoed in his ears, growing closer. Hare peeped out from the tree nervously. Across the clearing, the bushes snapped and parted, and a huge gray shape loomed.
"Oh, it's you!" said Hare irritably. "How can a fellow sleep with all your racket?"
The rhinoceros squinted down at him short-sightedly.
"Greetings!" he bellowed slowly. "Tembo the elephant sent me to fetch you to the waterhole. He's going to announce our new king. All the animals have voted."
"Oh fiddlesticks!" cried Hare rudely. "What do I want with a new king? He'll bully us from morning till night and make our lives miserable."
"Don't you want to see who's been chosen?" asked Rhino.
"I already know," snapped Hare. "It will be that sly old lion, Kali. He bribed the others, promising not to eat their children if they voted for him."
Rhino seemed unconvinced. Finally, Hare relented.
"Oh, very well, I'll come. But you'll see I'm right."
As the sun set, Hare and Rhino reached the waterhole. All the animals had gathered—giraffes, hippos, antelope, buffalo, warthogs, zebras, aardvarks, hyenas, mongooses, storks, and weaver birds. Seeing everyone present, Tembo the elephant raised his trunk and trumpeted.
"Animals of the plains, I am proud to announce that Kali the lion will be our new king. It is a wise choice, my friends."
The animals cheered, but Hare only sighed. "They'll soon see what a horrible mistake they've made."
Kali strode out onto a rocky ledge above the waterhole. He stared down at his subjects, a wicked glint in his eye.
"You've made me your king," he growled, "and now you'll serve me!" His roar made the animals tremble.
"My first decree," declared Kali, "is that you must build a palace to shade my royal fur from the hot sun. I want it here beside the waterhole, and I want it finished by sunset tomorrow."
中文翻译
非洲平原上一片寂静。烈日当空，野兔溜进凉爽的猴面包树洞里，准备午睡。
突然，他完全清醒了。一阵轰隆声在他耳边回响，越来越近。野兔紧张地从树洞里窥视。空地对面，灌木丛噼啪作响地分开，一个巨大的灰色身影赫然出现。
"哦，是你啊！"野兔烦躁地说。"你弄出这么大动静，让人怎么睡觉？"
犀牛眯着近视眼低头看他。
"你好啊！"他慢吞吞地吼道。"大象坦博派我来叫你去水坑。他要宣布我们的新国王了。所有的动物都投了票。"
"胡说八道！"野兔粗鲁地喊道。"我要新国王干什么？他会从早到晚欺负我们，让我们的生活苦不堪言。"
"你不想看看谁被选上了吗？"犀牛问。
"我早就知道了，"野兔厉声说。"肯定是那个狡猾的老狮子卡利。他贿赂了其他动物，承诺只要他们投他的票，就不吃他们的孩子。"
犀牛似乎不相信。最后，野兔让步了。
"哦，好吧，我去。但你会看到我是对的。"
日落时分，野兔和犀牛到达了水坑。所有的动物都聚集在那里——长颈鹿、河马、羚羊、水牛、疣猪、斑马、土豚、鬣狗、猫鼬、鹳和织巢鸟。看到大家都到齐了，大象坦博扬起鼻子，发出喇叭般的叫声。
"平原上的动物们，我很自豪地宣布，狮子卡利将成为我们的新国王。这是一个明智的选择，朋友们。"
动物们欢呼起来，但野兔只是叹了口气。"他们很快就会明白自己犯了一个多么可怕的错误。"
卡利大步走到水坑上方的一块岩石上。他俯视着他的臣民，眼中闪过一丝邪恶的光芒。
"你们让我当了国王，"他咆哮道，"所以现在你们要为我服务！"他的吼声让动物们瑟瑟发抖。
"我的第一道法令，"卡利宣布，"就是你们必须建造一座宫殿，为我尊贵的皮毛遮挡烈日。我要它建在水坑旁边，并且明天日落前必须完工。"