English Original
A crow had snatched a goodly piece of cheese out of a window and flew with it into a high tree, intent on enjoying her prize. A fox spied the dainty morsel and thus planned his approach.
"Oh, crow," said he, "how beautiful are thy wings! How bright thine eye! How graceful thy neck! Thy breast is the breast of an eagle! Thy claws—I beg pardon—thy talons are a match for all the beasts of the field. Oh, that such a bird should be dumb and want only a voice."
The crow, pleased with the flattery and chuckling to think how she would surprise the fox with her caw, opened her mouth. Down dropped the cheese! Snapping it up, the fox observed, as he walked away, that whatever he had remarked of her beauty, he had said nothing yet of her brains.
Men seldom flatter without some private end in view, and they who listen to such music may expect to have to pay the piper.
中文翻译
一只乌鸦从窗户里叼走了一大块奶酪，飞到一棵高树上，打算享用她的战利品。一只狐狸发现了这块美味的食物，于是盘算着如何接近。
“哦，乌鸦，”他说，“你的翅膀多么美丽！你的眼睛多么明亮！你的脖子多么优雅！你的胸膛堪比雄鹰！你的爪子——请原谅——你的利爪足以匹敌田野间所有的野兽。哦，可惜这样一只鸟竟是哑巴，只缺一副好嗓音。”
乌鸦听了这番奉承很是高兴，心里窃笑着，想着自己一开口哇哇叫，准会让狐狸大吃一惊，于是张开了嘴。奶酪“啪”地掉了下去！狐狸猛地叼起奶酪，一边走开一边评论道，无论他怎么夸赞她的美貌，他可没提过她的头脑。
人们奉承他人，很少不是别有私心的；而听信这种甜言蜜语的人，就得准备好付出代价。