English Original
In a forest near the river bank lived a crane and his wife. They were very unhappy. Every time the wife laid eggs in their nest, a big black cobra living in a hollow of the tree would eat them up.
The crane had a friend, a crab. He went to his friend and shared his misery. "I feel so hopeless. That sneaking thief has eaten our eggs again," complained the crane angrily.
"Don't worry," said the crab comfortingly. "You need not be hopeless when you have a friend like me. We will come up with a solution."
The crab thought for a while and then whispered a plan into the crane's ear. The crane flew back excitedly and told his wife.
"Are you sure this will work?" asked the wife. "Think twice before going ahead."
But the crane was eager to try. He flew to the river bank, caught several little fish, and went to a mongoose's hole. He dropped a fish at the mouth of the hole, then another a little further away, creating a trail of fish leading to his tree.
The mongoose smelled the fish, came out, and joyfully ate it. He followed the trail. When it ended near the tree, he looked around and suddenly came across the black cobra at the foot of the tree. The cobra fought for its life, but after a long struggle, the mongoose killed it. The cranes, watching from their nest, sighed with relief.
The next day, the mongoose followed the same trail hoping for more food. Finding none, he climbed the tree in search of a meal.
When the cranes returned from the river bank, they found the mongoose climbing down from their tree. Looking into their nest, they discovered the mongoose had eaten all their eggs.
"Alas! We got rid of one enemy only to find another," said the crane to his wife.
中文翻译
在靠近河岸的森林里，住着一对鹤夫妇。他们非常不开心。每次雌鹤在巢里下蛋，住在树洞里的黑色大眼镜蛇就会把蛋吃掉。
鹤有一个朋友，是一只螃蟹。鹤去找他的朋友倾诉痛苦，愤怒地抱怨道：“我感到绝望了。那个鬼鬼祟祟的小偷又把我们的蛋吃了。”
螃蟹安慰他说：“别担心。有我这样的朋友在，你不必绝望。我们会想出办法的。”
螃蟹想了一会儿，然后对着鹤的耳朵低声说了一个计划。鹤兴奋地飞回巢里告诉了妻子。
妻子问道：“你确定这能行吗？行动前要三思啊。”
但鹤急于尝试。他飞到河岸，抓了几条小鱼，然后来到一个猫鼬的洞口。他在洞口放了一条鱼，又在稍远一点的地方放了另一条，就这样用鱼铺了一条路，一直通到他住的那棵树。
猫鼬闻到了鱼的味道，钻出洞来，高兴地吃掉了鱼。他沿着鱼路走。当鱼路在鹤住的树附近结束时，他四处张望，突然在树下遇到了那条黑眼镜蛇。眼镜蛇为活命而战，但经过长时间的搏斗，猫鼬杀死了它。在巢里观战的鹤夫妇松了一口气。
第二天，猫鼬沿着同样的路走来，希望能找到更多食物。发现没有鱼后，他爬上树寻找食物。
当鹤夫妇从河岸回来时，发现猫鼬正从他们的树上爬下来。他们查看巢穴，发现这次猫鼬吃光了他们所有的蛋。
鹤对妻子说：“唉！我们摆脱了一个敌人，却迎来了另一个。”