English Original
There lived a heron by a big lake. He used to catch fish and eat them. But he had become old and could not catch fish like before. He went without food for many days.
“I have to think of a plan. Otherwise I won't live for long," thought the heron. Soon he came out with a clever plan. The heron sat at the water’s edge looking depressed and thoughtful. In the same lake lived a crab who was friendly and thoughtful. As he went past, he noticed how the heron looked and asked him, “Why are you looking depressed, my friend?"
“What can I say," said the heron in a sad voice. “Something terrible is going to happen."
“What is that?" asked the crab anxiously.
“When I was on my way here this morning, I heard an astrologer say that there will be no rains in these parts for the next twelve years. The lake will dry up and we will all die. I am quite old. It does not matter if I die. But you all are so young. There is so much for you to see and enjoy," said the heron.
The crab went to the fishes in the lake and told them what the heron had told him. They were all filled with fear. “Oh no! What do we do? We will all die!" they cried.
“There is a very big lake some distance from here. I can take you all there one by one," offered the heron. All the fishes were comforted and they agreed to be carried to the bigger lake one by one.
Every day, the heron would fly the fishes one by one. He would hold one gingerly between his long beak and fly away. But instead of taking them to any lake, he would land on a rock some distance away and eat them. Then he would rest till evening and return to the lake.
After some days, the crab went up to the heron. “You have been taking the fishes to the other lake. When will you take me?" he asked.
The heron thought to himself, “I am tired of eating fish. Crab meat should be a pleasant change."
The heron agreed to take the crab to the other lake.
But the crab was too large for the heron to carry in his beak. So the crab climbed onto the heron’s back and they started the journey. After a while, the crab grew impatient.
“How far is the lake?" he asked the heron.
“You fool," laughed the heron. “I am not taking you to any lake. I am going to dash you against those rocks and eat you like I ate all those fishes."
“I am not a fool to allow you to kill me," said the crab.
He held the heron’s neck in his powerful claws and strangled the wicked heron to death.
中文翻译
一只鹭生活在一个大湖边。它过去常常捕鱼为食。但它变老了，无法像以前那样捕鱼。它连续很多天没有吃东西了。
“我必须想个办法。否则我活不了多久了，”鹭想。很快，它想出了一个聪明的计划。鹭坐在水边，看起来沮丧而心事重重。同一片湖里住着一只螃蟹，它友好且善思。当它经过时，注意到了鹭的神情，便问道：“我的朋友，你为什么看起来这么沮丧？”
“我能说什么呢，”鹭用悲伤的声音说。“有可怕的事情要发生了。”
“什么事？”螃蟹焦急地问。
“今天早上我来这里的路上，听到一位占星家说，未来十二年这里都不会下雨。湖水会干涸，我们都会死。我已经很老了，死了也无所谓。但你们都还这么年轻，还有那么多东西要看，要享受，”鹭说。
螃蟹去找湖里的鱼，把鹭告诉它的话转告了它们。大家都充满了恐惧。“哦不！我们该怎么办？我们都会死的！”它们哭喊道。
“离这里不远有一个非常大的湖。我可以把你们一个一个地带过去，”鹭主动提议。所有的鱼都得到了安慰，同意被一只一只地带到大湖去。
每天，鹭都会把鱼一只一只地运走。它会用长长的喙小心翼翼地叼起一条鱼飞走。但它并没有带它们去任何湖，而是降落在远处的一块岩石上，把它们吃掉。然后它会休息到傍晚，再返回湖边。
几天后，螃蟹去找鹭。“你一直在把鱼运到另一个湖去。什么时候轮到我？”它问。
鹭心想：“我吃鱼都吃腻了。螃蟹肉应该是个不错的改变。”
鹭同意带螃蟹去另一个湖。
但螃蟹太大了，鹭无法用喙叼着它。于是螃蟹爬到了鹭的背上，它们开始了旅程。过了一会儿，螃蟹变得不耐烦了。
“湖还有多远？”它问鹭。
“你这个傻瓜，”鹭笑道。“我不是带你去什么湖。我要把你撞向那些岩石，然后像吃掉所有那些鱼一样吃掉你。”
“我才不是傻瓜，不会让你杀了我，”螃蟹说。
它用有力的钳子夹住鹭的脖子，勒死了这个邪恶的鹭。