In the heat of the day a lion lay asleep at the edge of a wood. He lay so still that a mouse ran right across his nose without knowing it was a nose, and a lion’s at that.

炎热的一天，狮子躺在一小片树林边上睡觉。他睡得很沉，使得一只老鼠从他的鼻子上跑过时，竟然完全没意识到这是鼻子，还是一只狮子的鼻子。

Bang! The lion clapped his paw to his face and felt something caught. It was furry. Lazily he opened his eyes. He lifted up one side of his huge paw just a little bit to see what was under it and was amused to find a mouse.

砰!狮子举起爪子在脸上拍了拍，然后感到有什么东西被他抓住了。毛茸茸的。他懒洋洋地睁开眼睛，缓缓抬起一边的巨大爪子，想看看到底是什么东西。当他发现是一只老鼠时，被逗乐了。

"Spare me, Great King!" he heard the little creature squeak in its tiny voice. "I didn’t mean to do it! Let me go, and someday I will repay you."

“放开我吧，伟大的国王!”他听到小家伙用微小的声音吱吱叫着。“我不是有意要这样做!放我走吧，总有一天我会报答你的。”

"That’s very funny," said the lion, and he laughed. "How can a little thing like you help me, the great king of beasts?"

“太有意思了!”狮子说，然后笑了起来：“一只小小的老鼠如何帮我，这个野兽之王呢?”

"I don’t know," the mouse replied. "But a little creature can sometimes help a big one."

“我不知道，”老鼠回答：“但是，小动物有时候能够帮上大动物。”

"Well, you have made me laugh," the lion said, "which is something I seldom do. And anyway, you would hardly make half amouthful. So…" He raised his paw and let the mouse go.

“好吧，你把我逗乐了。”狮子说：“我很少这么笑。而且，你那一点肉还不够我塞牙缝，所以……“他抬起爪子，松开了老鼠，放它走了。

A few days later the lion was caught in a hunter’s net. The woods rang with his angry roaring and the little mouse heard him.

几天后，狮子被猎人的网套住了。树林里响起了他愤怒的咆哮，老鼠听见了。

"That is my kind lion!" she cried. "He is in trouble!" As fast as she could, she ran toward the spot from which the roaring came, and there he was. The lion was thrashing around so in the net that the mouse didn’t dare to come near for fear of being crushed.

“那是我的恩人狮子!”她叫喊着：“他有麻烦了!“她竭尽所能朝咆哮声的方向跑去，狮子就在那里。网中的狮子正剧烈地动弹着，老鼠不敢靠近，怕被压死。

"O king, be patient!" she cried. "I will gnaw through the ropes and set you free."

“王啊，要有耐心!”她大声说：“我会咬通断绳索，让你重获自由的。”

So the lion lay still while the mouse worked away with her sharp teeth. And in a short time he was able to creep out of the net.

狮子安静地躺着，老鼠用锋利的牙齿咬绳子。不一会儿功夫，狮子从绳索里挣脱了出来。

"You see? I told you I would repay you, "the mouse said happily. "A little creature sometimes really can help a big one."

“你看?我说过我会报答你的。”老鼠高兴地说：“小动物有时候能够帮上大动物。”

And the lion had to admit it was true.

狮子不得不承认这话是对的。

Moral: Little friends may prove to be great friends.

故事的寓意：朋友虽小也能帮上大忙。