伊索寓言猫和公鸡英文版：伊索寓言猫头鹰与草蜢
猫头鹰总是在白天睡觉。待到日落以后，当玫红色的光逐渐从天空消退，夜幕渐渐笼罩整片森林，她抖着羽毛睡眼惺忪地从那棵老空心树里出来。现在她那古怪的“咕咕苗，咕咕苗”回荡在寂静的森林里。她开始寻找她最爱吃的蠕虫、甲壳虫、青蛙和老鼠。
话说有一只老猫头鹰，随着年龄的增长，她变得很是易怒而挑剔，尤其反感任何东西打搅她每天的清梦。一个温暖夏日的午后，她正在老橡树的窝里瞌睡，一只草蜢在附近开始了快乐却颇为刺耳的鸣唱。蓦地，老猫头鹰从既作窗户又当门的树洞里探出头来。
“离开这儿，先生，”她对草蜢说。“你不懂礼貌吗？你至少该尊重一下我的年龄，让我安静地睡上一觉吧。”
但草蜢傲慢地回答说，他有权呆在太阳底下，就像猫头鹰有权呆在老橡树里一样。然后他更加响亮，更加刺耳地鸣唱起来。
明智的老猫头鹰很明白与草蜢争辩无济于事，关于这一点找其他人理论也于事无补。再说，她的眼睛在白天也不够锋利，不允许她给予草蜢应得的惩罚。因此她放下犀利的言辞，而是和颜悦色对他说。
“好吧先生，”她说，“如果非得醒着，那就让我停在这儿欣赏你的歌声吧。我刚想起来，这儿有一瓶很棒的红酒，从奥林匹斯山送来的，据说阿波罗会先喝了它，再向众神歌唱。请过来与我一起品尝美酒吧。我知道它会使你唱得就像阿波罗本人一样好。”
愚蠢的草蜢被猫头鹰的花言巧语冲昏了头。他向猫头鹰的窝蹦跶过去，然而一靠近老猫头鹰能够看清楚他的地方，她就猛扑上去，一口把他吃掉了。
奉承并不能证明真正的钦佩。
不要让奉承让你对敌人失去警惕。
THE OWL AND THE GRASSHOPPER
The Owl always takes her sleep during the day. Then after sundown, when the rosy light fades from the sky and the shadows rise slowly through the wood, out she comes ruffling and blinking from the old hollow tree. Now her weird "hoo-hoo-hoo-oo-oo" echoes through the quiet wood, and she begins her hunt for the bugs and beetles, frogs and mice she likes so well to eat.
Now there was a certain old Owl who had become very cross and hard to please as she grew older, especially if anything disturbed her daily slumbers. One warm summer afternoon as she dozed away in her den in the old oak tree, a Grasshopper nearby began a joyous but very raspy song. Out popped the old Owl's head from the opening in the tree that served her both for door and for window.
"Get away from here, sir," she said to the Grasshopper. "Have you no manners? You should at least respect my age and leave me to sleep in quiet!"
But the Grasshopper answered saucily that he had as much right to his place in the sun as the Owl had to her place in the old oak. Then he struck up a louder and still more rasping tune.
The wise old Owl knew quite well that it would do no good to argue with the Grasshopper, nor with anybody else for that matter. Besides, her eyes were not sharp enough by day to permit her to punish the Grasshopper as he deserved. So she laid aside all hard words and spoke very kindly to him.
"Well sir," she said, "if I must stay awake, I am going to settle right down to enjoy your singing. Now that I think of it, I have a wonderful wine here, sent me from Olympus, of which I am told Apollo drinks before he sings to the high gods. Please come up and taste this delicious drink with me. I know it will make you sing like Apollo himself."
The foolish Grasshopper was taken in by the Owl's flattering words. Up he jumped to the Owl's den, but as soon as he was near enough so the old Owl could see him clearly, she pounced upon him and ate him up.
Flattery is not a proof of true admiration.
Do not let flattery throw you off your guard against an enemy.