The Boy Who Cried Wolf

His grandfather sat down beside him."Let me tell you something,Peter.Trust is like a mirror.When it is whole,you can see yourself clearly in it.Butwhen it breaks,you can put the pieces back together,but you will always see the cracks.Do you understand?"

爷爷在他身边坐了下来。"我跟你说几句话，彼得。信任就像一面镜子。完整的时候，你能清清楚楚地看见自己。可是碎了以后，你可以把碎片拼回去，可那些裂纹永远都在。你明白吗？"

Peter shook his head."It was just a joke,Grandpa.Can't people take a joke?"

彼得摇了摇头。"那只是个玩笑呀，爷爷。大家开不起玩笑吗？"

"There are some things you should never joke about," said his grandfather."People's trust is one of them.When you shout for help,people come because they care about you.Every time you trick them,you break a little piece ofthat trust.And one day,when you really need them,there will be no trust left to bring them to you."

"有些事永远不能拿来开玩笑，"爷爷说，"别人对你的信任就是其中之一。你喊救命的时候，大家来是因为他们关心你。你每骗他们一次，就把那份信任打碎一小块。有一天，当你真的需要他们的时候，就再也没有信任可以让他们来救你了。"

"But that will never happen," said Peter."There is no wolf on this mountain.There hasn't been a wolf here for yearsand years."

"可那种事不会发生的，"彼得说，"这山上根本没有狼。好多年好多年都没有见过狼了。"

His grandfather stood up."I hope you are right,Peter.I truly do." And he walked away,leaving Peter alone with his thoughts.

爷爷站了起来。"但愿你是对的，彼得。真的但愿如此。"他走了，留下彼得一个人琢磨那些话。

Peter did not think about his grandfather's words for long."Grandpa is just oldand serious," he told himself."Nothing bad is going to happen."

彼得没有把爷爷的话放在心上太久。"爷爷就是老了，爱较真，"他对自己说，"不会有坏事发生的。"

A week later,Peter was on the hill with his sheep.The afternoon sun was warm,and Peter was half asleep under his favourite tree.The sheep were grazing peacefully.The birds were singing.Everything was calmand quiet.Then Peter heard a soundthat made his blood run cold.It was a low,deep growl.

一个星期后，彼得又在山上看羊。午后的阳光暖洋洋的，彼得在他最喜欢的那棵树下迷迷糊糊地打着盹。羊在安静地吃草，小鸟在唱歌，一切都又宁静又平和。突然，彼得听到了一个让他浑身汗毛倒竖的声音——一声低沉、深重的咆哮。

Peter opened his eyes.At the edge of the forest,half-hidden in the shadows,stood a huge,grey Wolf.Its eyes were yellowand hungry.Its teeth were longand sharp.A thick,rope-like tail hung down behind it.It was not a pretend wolf.It was not a joke.It was a real wolf.

彼得睁开眼睛。在森林边上，半掩在阴影之中，站着一只巨大的灰狼。它的眼睛黄澄澄的，饿得发亮。它的牙齿又长又尖。一条粗粗的、像绳索一样的尾巴垂在身后。这不是假装的狼，不是玩笑，这是一只真正的狼。

Peter scrambled to his feet.His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears."WOLF!WOLF!" he screamed,his voice cracking with terror."HELP!PLEASE,SOMEONE HELP!THERE IS A WOLF!A REAL WOLF!IT IS ATTACKING THE SHEEP!PLEASE!PLEASE COME!"

彼得连滚带爬地站了起来，心怦怦跳得连耳朵里都能听见。"狼来了！狼来了！"他尖叫着，声音都劈了，"救命！求求你们，救命！有狼！真的有一只狼！它在咬羊了！求求你们！求求你们快来！"