雙語·《伊索寓言》 擠奶女工和奶桶

THE MILKMAID AND HER PAIL

A farmer's daughter had been out to milk the cows, and was returning to the dairy carrying her pail of milk upon her head. As she walked along, she fell a-musing after this fashion: “The milk in this pail will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter and take to market to sell. With the money I will buy a number of eggs, and these, when hatched, will produce chickens, and by and by I shall have quite a large poultry-yard. Then I shall sell some of my fowls, and with the money which they will bring in I will buy myself a new gown, which I shall wear when I go to the fair; and all the young fellows will admire it, and come and make love to me, but I shall toss my head and have nothing to say to them.” Forgetting all about the pail, and suiting the action to the word, she tossed her head. Down went the pail, all the milk was spilled, and all her fine castles in the air vanished in a moment!

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

擠奶女工和奶桶

一個農(nóng)夫的女兒擠完了牛奶，把奶桶頂在頭頂上往回走。她一邊走一邊開心地想：“這桶里的奶可以用來做奶油，我可以做成黃油拿到市場上去賣，有了錢我就可以買些雞蛋回來，然后孵出小雞來，雞生蛋，蛋生雞，我就能有一個很大的家禽場。然后我就可以賣掉一些雞，拿賣雞的錢來給自己買條新裙子。我穿著新裙子去市場，所有的年輕人都會眼前一亮，跑來向我求愛，我會高傲地甩開頭，不理他們?！彼恢毕胫@些，忘了頭頂上的奶桶，想著想著就做出了相應的動作，甩了一下頭，于是奶桶從她頭上滾落，所有的奶都灑了出來，她剛才空想出來的一切，全都一瞬間消失了。

訓誡：不要過早樂觀。