英語故事短文:杜鵑和斑鳩 The Cuckoo and the Turtledove
一隻杜鵑在樹枝上發出陣陣哀啼，一隻可愛的斑鳩聽到了，便向它詢問，希望能幫助它排憂解難。
A cuckoo in a tree was crowing sorrowfully. Hearing this, a caring turtledove asked about her sadness in the hope of helping her out.
斑鳩站在枝頭與它絮語：“杜鵑，你的嗚叫為什麼這樣哀怨啊？是不是因為春天即將離開，冬天逼近，愛情也將逝去，陽光也不再和煦溫暖啊？”
Standing on a branch, the turtledove whispered to her, “my dear friend(注意中英文表達的差異), why are you crowing so gloomily? Are you worried about your love to be vanishing with the spring while the winter is approaching? Are you worried that the sunshine will soon be no longer warm?”
杜鵑悲哀地說：“我這樣可憐，怎能不傷心？請你幫我評評理。今年春天我曾幸福地戀愛，不久就當上了母親。誰知孩子們完全不想與我相認，難道這就是我所盼望的報恩？當我看到小鴨子把母鴨圍住，十分親呢，而母雞一聲召喚，小雞就向母雞撲去，我怎能不感到羨慕？而我無依無靠，孤孤單單，我根本不知道什麼是孩子們對母親的依戀。”
The cuckoo replied ruefully, “How can I not feel sad at my current poor situation? You see, this spring I was in a happy love, and soon had my own babies. Unexpectedly my children were unwilling to recognize me as their mother. Is this the gratefulness from children that every mother has been awaiting for？When seeing a mother duck crowded around intimately by her baby ducks and the chicks rushing to their mother joyfully with a simple call from the hen, how could I not feel jealous? But for me, I am alone and very lonely. I never feel the love from my children. ”
斑鳩回答道：“可憐的杜鵑，我對你深表同情。如果孩子們如此不孝順，那我可無法忍受，儘管這類事層出不窮。可是你說你已經生育過孩子？你什麼時候築的巢，我怎麼從沒有看到呢？在我印象中你總是不停地飛來飛去。”
The turtledove replied with great sympathy, “My poor friend, I feel so sorry to hear that. If my children are not filial to me, I can by no means bear it even if it happens fairly often. But you say you have babies. However, I have not seen your nest until now! As far as I can remember, you are always flying here and there.”
杜鵑不屑地說：“浪費大好時光，臥在巢裡去孵雛，做那種事簡直愚笨如豬！我總是在別的鳥巢裡下蛋，讓它們替我孵。”
The cuckoo explained with disdainfulness, “It’s literally a waste of time and stupid to stay in the nest and hatch eggs. Instead I have laid eggs in others’ nests and let other birds to do the hatching job.
斑鳩禁不住諷刺道：“那你還希望從孩子們那裡得到什麼溫暖？”
The turtledove mocked ironically, “If so, how can you expect any care from your children?”
讓孩子缺少愛與關懷是一種罪過。如果在孩子的成長過程中，你沒有給予足夠的關愛，為他們營造一個溫暖的環境，而把他們託付給那些冷漠的人照料，那麼，當你年老時，孩子們不關愛你，也是你自己造成的！
It is a kind of guilt for parents not to give their children enough love and care. As a parent, if you do not bestow enough care and love on your children and create a warm living environment for them, and leave it done in others’ hands, then you should find no way to complain about your children’s apathy towards you when you become old because it is the result of what you have done!”
