The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once upon a time,in a small village nestled at the foot of a green mountain,there lived a young shepherd boy named Peter.He was a bright,cheerful lad with a mop of curly brown hairand a freckled facethat was always ready to smile.But Peter had one problem.He was very,very bored.

从前，在一座青山脚下的小村庄里，住着一个年轻的牧羊少年，名叫彼得。他是个聪明活泼的孩子，一头卷卷的棕色头发，满脸雀斑，总是一副笑眯眯的样子。可是彼得有一个烦恼：他实在太无聊了。

Peter's job was to take the village sheep up to the green hills every morning and watch over them all daywhile they grazed.It was an important job.The sheep provided wool for the villagers' clothesand meat for their tables.Without Peter,the sheep would wander off or be attacked by wild animals.But Peter did not feel important.He felt lonelyand bored.

彼得的工作是每天早晨把村里的羊赶到翠绿的山坡上，整天看着它们吃草。这份工作很重要——羊身上的毛给村里人做衣服，羊肉给大家当饭吃。没有彼得，羊就会走丢，或者被野兽吃掉。可彼得不觉得自己重要，他只感到孤独和无聊。

Day after day,Peter sat on the same large rock,watching the same sheep eat the same grass.He watched the clouds drift by.He watched the birds fly overhead.He threw pebbles into the stream.He counted the sheep overand over again.There were always sixty-three sheep.Always."This is the most boring job in the whole world," Peter sighed."Nothing ever happens up here.I wish something—anything—would happen."

日复一日，彼得坐在同一块大石头上，看着同一群羊吃着同一片草。他看着云朵飘过，看着鸟儿飞过，往小溪里扔石子，一遍又一遍地数羊。羊总是六十三只，永远都是。"这真是天底下最无聊的活儿了，"彼得叹着气说，"山上从来不会发生什么事。我真希望——随便什么事都好——能出点事。"

One afternoon,Peter was lying on his back,staring at the sky,when an idea popped into his head.It was a mischievous idea,and his mother would have scolded him if she knew."What if I pretend there is a wolf?" he thought."The villagers would all come running up the hill with their sticksand their pitchforks.They would be so worried!And then I would jump outand say,'Ha!I tricked you!' Wouldn'tthat be funny?"

一天下午，彼得正仰面躺着看天，脑子里突然冒出了一个主意。那是个调皮的主意，要是他妈妈知道了一定会骂他的。"要是我假装有狼来了呢？"他想，"村里的人都会拿着棍子和干草叉冲上山来。他们会多着急呀！然后我跳出来说：'哈！我骗了你们！'那该多好玩啊！"

The more Peter thought about it,the funnier it seemed.He stood up on his big rock,cupped his hands around his mouth,and shouted as loudly as he could:"WOLF!WOLF!HELP!A WOLF IS ATTACKING THE SHEEP!"

彼得越想越好笑。他站到大石头上，双手拢在嘴边，用尽全身力气大声喊道："狼来了！狼来了！救命！狼在咬羊了！"

Down in the village,the people heard his cries.The blacksmith dropped his hammer.The baker wiped flour from his hands.The women left their washing by the stream.Everyone grabbed whatever they could find—a stick,a hoe,a pitchfork—and ran up the hill as fast as their legs could carry them.They arrived pantingand sweating,their hearts pounding with fear for the sheepand for the boy.

山下的村子里，人们听到了他的呼救声。铁匠扔下铁锤，面包师擦了擦手上的面粉，妇女们放下溪边的衣服。每个人都随手抓起能拿的东西——棍子、锄头、干草叉——拼命往山上跑。他们跑到山上，喘着粗气，满头大汗，心怦怦直跳，又担心羊又担心男孩。

"Where is the wolf?" cried the blacksmith,brandishing his heavy hammer."Where is it?Did you see it?Which way did it go?"

"狼在哪儿？"铁匠挥舞着重重的大锤喊道，"狼呢？你看见了吗？它往哪边跑了？"