雙語·《伊索寓言》 徒勞的寒鴉

THE VAIN JACKDAW

Jupiter announced that he intended to appoint a king over the birds, and named a day on which they were to appear before his throne, when he would select the most beautiful of them all to be their ruler. Wishing to look their best on the occasion they repaired to the banks of a stream, where they busied themselves in washing and preening their feathers. The Jackdaw was there along with the rest, and realised that, with his ugly plumage, he would have no chance of being chosen as he was: so he waited till they were all gone, and then picked up the most gaudy of the feathers they had dropped, and fastened them about his own body, with the result that he looked gayer than any of them. When the appointed day came, the birds assembled before Jupiter's throne; and, after passing them in review, he was about to make the Jackdaw king, when all the rest set upon the king-elect, stripped him of his borrowed plumes, and exposed him for the Jackdaw that he was.

徒勞的寒鴉

朱庇特宣布，他要任命一個鳥類之王，召集眾鳥在指定日期來見他，到時候他會挑選出最漂亮的鳥來做他們的統治者。為了呈現出最好的樣子，鳥兒們成群結隊地來到一條小溪邊，對著水梳洗打扮，整理羽毛。寒鴉也在其中，他意識到自己的羽毛實在丑陋，肯定不會被選中，于是他等到所有的鳥都走了，把他們落下的羽毛中最花哨的收集在一起，粘在了自己身上，這樣他看上去就比其他鳥都好看了。到了指定日期，鳥兒們都集合在朱庇特的寶座之前。朱庇特檢閱過眾鳥之后，準備選寒鴉為王，但其他的鳥對此非常不滿，群起攻擊這位候選的鳥王，把他偽造的羽毛都扯了下來，讓他露出了本來面目。