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 伊索寓言：蜜蜂與宙斯 The Bee and Jupiter |
A queen bee from Hymettus flew up to Olympus with some fresh honey from the hive as a present for Jupiter, who was so pleased with the gift that he promised to give her anything she wanted. She said she would be very grateful if he would give stings to the bees, to kill people who robbed them of their honey. Jupiter was greatly displeased with this request, for he loved mankind, but he had given his word, so he said that stings they should have. The stings he gave them, however, were of such a kind that whenever a bee stings a man, the sting remains in the wound and the bee dies. Evil wishes, like chickens, come home to roost.
一隻女王蜂從伊米托斯山飛到奧林帕斯山，帶了蜂巢裡的新鮮蜂蜜給宙斯當作禮物，宙斯對這禮物感到很滿意，於是承諾答應她的所有要求。她說，如果宙斯能賜螫針給蜜蜂，當人類搶奪牠們的蜂蜜時，牠們便能用螯針殺死人，那她便會感到十分感激。 宙斯對這個請求非常不悅， 因為他很喜愛人類，但是他之前已經承諾過了，所以他說蜜蜂將能獲得螯針，但是他雖然賜螯針給牠們，但是只要蜜蜂用螯針叮人，那螯針就會斷掉留在人的傷口上，而蜜蜂自己也會死去。 懷抱惡意總會自食其果。 |
| ──────選自《FUN學伊索寓言：英語閱讀聽力訓練》 |
