“oh, father,”said a little frog to the big one sitting by the side of a pond,“i have seen such a terrible monster! it was as big as a mountain, with horns① on his head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs divided in two②.

“tush③, child, tush,”said the old frog, “that was only the famrer's ox. it isn't so big either, he may be a little bit taller than i, but i could easily make myself quite as broad; just you watch.”so he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew himself out.“was he as big as that?”he asked.“oh, much bigger than that,”said the young frog.

again the old one blew himself out, and asked the young one if the ox was as big as that.“bigger, father, bigger,”the young frog replied.

so the old frog took a deep, deep breath, and blew and blew and blew, and swelled and swelled and swelled. and then he said in a strained ④ voice:“i'm sure the ox is not as big as….”but at that moment he burst.

moral: self-conceit⑤ may lead to self-destruction⑥.

【词语解释】

① horn [h&:n]n. (牛、羊等动物头上的)角

② hoofs divided in two 蹄分为两趾

③tush[t)m] int. (表示轻蔑、指责或不耐烦等)呸!啐!

④strained [streind] a. 拉紧的;紧张的

⑤self-conceit['selfk n'si:t] n. 自负;自高自大

⑥self-destruction ['selfdis'tr)km n] n. 自我毁灭