English Original
This is the story of Bear's tail, told in Germany and by the Iroquois Indians of North America.
Long ago, Bear had a beautiful, long, furry tail. He was very proud of it and often asked others, "Don't you think my tail is the most beautiful you've ever seen?" People thought he was vain, but they feared his claws and told him his tail looked magnificent.
One cold winter day, Bear went lumbering down to a lake. Fox was sitting on the frozen ice, surrounded by fish. Knowing Bear was hungry, Fox decided to play a trick.
"Hello, Brother Fox," said Bear, his mouth watering. "Where did you get all those fish?"
"I caught them," replied Fox, pointing to a hole in the ice.
"But you have nothing to fish with," said Bear.
"I used my tail," said Fox. Bear was amazed. "It's the best thing for catching fish. Shall I show you? Then you can have all the fish you want."
"Yes, please!" said Bear eagerly.
Fox pointed to the hole. "There are no more fish here. Let's go to another spot." Trying not to laugh, he led Bear to a shallow part of the lake. Bear dug a new hole with his claws.
"Now," instructed Fox, "sit with your back to the hole and lower your beautiful tail into the water. You'll feel when a fish bites, then pull your tail out with the fish on it."
Bear wanted fish desperately. He put his tail into the icy water.
"This is important," said Fox. "You must sit very still and only think of fish. Count the fish you catch in your mind. The more you count, the more you'll catch."
Bear was pleased. "My tail will catch more than any other."
"Sit still," said Fox. "I'll watch from the trees so I don't scare the fish."
Bear sat still, thinking of fish jumping onto his tail and counting each one. It was tiring, and he fell asleep. It grew colder and began to snow. Fox went home with his fish.
Hours later, Fox returned. Bear was still asleep, his black fur white with snow. Fox laughed so hard he fell over. Gasping, he said, "This is such a cool trick!" Then he quietly sneaked up and shouted, "Bear! Bear! I see a fish on your tail! Can you feel it?"
Bear woke with a start and felt a sharp pain in his frozen tail. "I can feel it!" he shouted. He leaped up, and his frozen tail snapped off.
中文翻译
这是一个关于熊的尾巴的故事，在德国和北美易洛魁印第安人中流传。
很久以前，熊有一条美丽、蓬松的长尾巴。他为此非常骄傲，经常问别人：“你不觉得我的尾巴是你见过最漂亮的吗？”人们觉得他很虚荣，但害怕他的爪子，于是都说他的尾巴非常壮观。
一个寒冷的冬日，熊笨重地走向湖边。狐狸坐在结冰的湖面上，身边围着鱼。狐狸知道熊饿了，便决定捉弄他一下。
“你好啊，狐狸兄弟，”熊流着口水说，“你从哪儿弄来这么多鱼？”
“我抓的，”狐狸指着冰面上的一个洞说。
“可你什么都没有，怎么抓鱼？”熊问。
“我用我的尾巴，”狐狸说。熊大吃一惊。“尾巴是抓鱼最好的工具。要我教你吗？这样你就能想吃多少鱼就吃多少了。”
“好啊，拜托了！”熊急切地说。
狐狸指着那个洞说：“这里没鱼了。我们去湖的另一边吧。”他强忍着笑，把熊领到一处浅水区。熊用爪子挖了一个新洞。
“现在，”狐狸指导道，“背对着洞坐下，把你漂亮的尾巴放进水里。有鱼咬钩时你会感觉到，然后就把尾巴连同鱼一起拉出来。”
熊极度渴望得到鱼。他把尾巴放进了冰冷的水中。
“这很重要，”狐狸说，“你必须坐着一动不动，只想着鱼。在心里数你抓到的鱼。你数得越多，抓到的就越多。”
熊很高兴。“我的尾巴会比任何人的都抓得多。”
“坐好别动，”狐狸说，“我到树那边看着，免得吓跑鱼。”
熊一动不动地坐着，想象着鱼跳到他的尾巴上，并数着每一条。这很累人，他睡着了。天变得更冷，开始下雪。狐狸带着他的鱼回家了。
几小时后，狐狸回来了。熊还在睡觉，黑色的皮毛被雪染白了。狐狸笑得前仰后合，喘着气说：“这招太绝了！”然后他悄悄靠近，大喊：“熊！熊！我看到有鱼在你尾巴上了！你能感觉到吗？”
熊惊醒过来，感到冻僵的尾巴一阵剧痛。“我能感觉到！”他喊道。他猛地跳起来，冻住的尾巴咔嚓一声断掉了。