The Fox and the Cat

　　It happened that the cat met Mr. Fox in the woods. She thought, "He is intelligent and well experienced, and is highly regarded in the world," so she spoke to him in a friendly manner, "Good-day, my dear Mr. Fox. How is it going? How are you? How are you getting by in these hard times?"

　　The fox, filled with arrogance, examined the cat from head to feet, and for a long time did not know whether he should give an answer. At last he said, "Oh, you poor beard-licker, you speckled fool, you hungry mouse hunter, what are you thinking? Have you the nerve to ask how I am doing? What do you know? How many tricks do you understand?"

　　"I understand but one," answered the cat, modestly.
　　"What kind of a trick is it?" asked the fox.
　　"When the dogs are chasing me, I can jump into a tree and save myself."
　 　"Is that all?" said the fox. "I am master of a hundred tricks, and in addition to that I have a sackful of cunning. I feel sorry for you. Come with me, and I will teach you how one escapes from the dogs."
　　 Just then a hunter came by with four dogs. The cat jumped nimbly up a tree, and sat down at its top, where the branches and foliage completely hid her.
　　"Untie your sack, Mr. Fox, untie your sack," the cat shouted to him, but the dogs had already seized him, and were holding him fast.
　　"Oh, Mr. Fox," shouted the cat. "You and your hundred tricks are left in the lurch. If you been able to climb like I can, you would not have lost your life."

Fox, just at the time of the vintage

A Fox, just at the time of the vintage, stole into a vine-yard where the ripe sunny Grapes were trellised up on high in most tempting show. He made many a spring and a jump after the luscious prize, but, failing in all his attempts, he muttered as he retreated："Well what does it matter! The Grapes are sour!"

The Story of Chopsticks

Chopsticks are used every day in China. Now I'd like to take this opportunity to share their interesting history with you.  I think you'll agree that even an ordinary item used in daily life can have a fascinating story.Although chopsticks originated in China, they are widely used in many Asian countries. The first chopsticks were made from bone and jade.In the Spring and Autumn period, copper and iron chopsticks came into being.  In ancient times, the rich used jade or gold chopsticks to display their wealth.  Many kings and emperors used silver chopsticks to see if their food had been poisoned. Chopsticks are traditionally placed in brides' dowries,because "chopsticks" in Chinese is pronounced "kuaizi", which sounds like "get a son soon." Many foreign friends try to use chopsticks when they visit China. Even the former president of the United States Richard Nixon, used chopsticks at the welcoming banquet held in his honor.  As soon as he left his table, a foreign diplomat grabbed his chopsticks as a historical souvenir.  Remember to tell this interesting story the next time you eat with foreign friends and show off your knowledge.

Lying by the Tree to wait for

  Once upon a time there was a farmer who worked hard in the fields every day.One day, while he was ploughing the fields, he heard a bumping sound. He saw a rabbit lying by the trunk. He picked it up and found that it was a fat rabbit. He thought to himself,"Since it is so easy to get a rabbit like that, why should I work so hard all daylong?＇! He threw his hoe away and lay by the tree every day, dreaming for more rabbits to come. When he finally realized his foolishness and returned to his fields, he found that all his crops were dead. The story tells us that we should not wait for unexpected gains by trusting chance and luck. Or, we should not hope to get rewards without hard work.

The Hare and the Tortoise

A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue. Slow but steady wins the race.

Fox Basked in Tiger's Reflected Glory

A tiger caught a fox in a forest, and was just about to eat it, when the fox said, 'You mustn't eat me. I was sent by Heaven to rule the animals. By eating me, you will violate the command of Heaven. If you don't believe me, just follow me to see whether the animals are of me.' The tiger agreed, and followed the fox as it walked around the forest. The animals all ran away on seeing them. The tiger thought they were of the fox, so he let it go. He didn't realise that it was him that the beasts were really of.
This idiom means relying on another's power to bully or frighten others.

Miss Mouse Takes a Husband

“Miss Mouse Takes a Husband” is an extremely popular Chinese folktale, which tells the fable of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse’s efforts to marry off their daughter. Once upon a time, Miss Mouse has grown up and was able to marry. She told her parents that she liked to have the strongest and the finest man to be her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Mouse thought that the Sun must be the one, so they went to ask him, “You must be the strongest in the world. Would you like to be my daughter’s husband?” However, the Sun didn’t think so. He thought that Mr. Cloud was stronger than him, for Mr. Cloud could easily cover him. So they went to ask Mr. Cloud, but Mr. Cloud told them that, “The Wind can blow me to any place as he wants.” So they went on to the Mr. Wind’s home. But Mr. Wind suggested them to meet the Wall, “Because I can blow everything away, except the Wall. He is very, very strong. I can’t blow him away, even go through it.” At last, Mr. and Mrs. Mouse came to the Wall with their daughter, asked him the same question. But, surprisingly, the Wall replied, “You should ask for a mouse. I can never stop you mouse making a hole in my body.” Suddenly, they all realized that mice are the strongest in the world, so Mr. and Mrs. Mouse finally decided to marry their daughter to their neighbor— the son of the next door. At the end of the story, Miss Mouse and the son of the next door had a beautiful life...