英语经典小故事汇总

66篇英语小故事在线阅读1. The Dog In The Manger（牛槽裡的狗）Once a dog was taking a nap in the manger of an ox. Itwas full of hay. But soon the ox came back from his workto the manger. He wanted to eat his own hay. Then the dog awoke, stood up and barked at the ox. The ox said to thedog, “Do you want to eat this hay, too?”“Of course not,” said the dog.“Then, go away and let me eat my own hay.”“Oh, no. You go away and let me sleep.”“What a selfish dog! He will neither eat the hay himself, nor let me eat it !” said the ox to himself.2.The Lion, The Bear And The Fox（獅子、熊與狐狸）Long ago a lion and a bear saw a kid. They sprang uponit at the same time. The lion said to the bear, “I caught this kid first, and so this is mine.”"No, no," said the bear.“I found it earlier than you,so this is mine.” And they fought long and fiercely. Atlast both of them got very tired and could no longer fight. A fox who hid himself behind a tree not far awayand was watching the fight between the lion and the bear,came out and walked in between them, and ran off with thekid.The lion and the bear both saw the fox, but theycould not even catch the fox.The lion said to the bear, “We have fought for nothing. That sly fox has got the kid away.”3.The Boys And The Frogs（男孩與青蛙）One spring day some naughty boys were playing near apond. They began to throw stones into the water. In the pond lived many frogs were much afraid of the boys, for thestones hurt some of the frogs. At last an old frog liftedhis head out of the water and said, “Boys, please don’t throw stones at us.”　The boys said, “We are only playing.”“I knowthat, but please stop throwing stones, my b oys. What is play to you is death to us,” said the old frog.So the boys stopped throwing stones and went away.4.The Two Travelers（兩個旅人）Many years ago two men w ere traveling together They were walking along a road in the wood.Then they found a beautiful ax on the ground. One of them picked it up and said, “Look here have found an ax.”　“Don't say I, but we have found the ax,”　said the other “We a re friends. We o ught to share it between us.”　“No,” said the first one, “Ｉ found the ax, soit is mine.”Soon after they heard someone running after them. They looked back. They found He called out, “Stop, thieves! Stop, thieves !”　The first traveler said, “What shall we do? He is running after us. We s hall be caught by him.”　“Don't say we, but I shall be caught. You found the ax, and you sayit is yours,” said the other, and left him alon e.The first traveler tried to hide the ax, but he did not know where to hide it. And at last he was caught by the owner of the ax.5.The Ant And The Dove（螞蟻與鴿子）One day a little ant was walking along the bank of a stream. His foot slipp ed and he fell into the water. “Oh, help, help!”　cried the ant. A dove was sitting on a branch of a tree over the stream and heard his cry of help. “Oh, poor ant!” said the dove. “I will help the ant.”The dove pulled off a leaf and dropped it near the ant. “Here is a leaf. Climb on it,” said the dove. Theant climbed on it at once and floated to the bank.A few days after this a hunter found the dove andwas going to shoot her. Just then the ant passed by and said to himself, “This time I must help the dove.”　The ant ran to the hunter and bit his foot hard. The hunter sprang upand missed to shoot the dove. The dove said to the ant,“Thank you very much, my little friend. You have saved my life,” and she could fly away happily.6. The Cock And The Jewel（公雞與寶石）One fine morning, a cock said to the hens and chickens, “Come, let us go out to find some food. We have not hadour breakfast yet.”Then the cock began to dig the soft earth. Suddenlyhe cried, “Look, look! I have found something strange. I wonder what it is. It is like a ball. But it is not a stone.It may be an egg of some bird.”　The hens heard his cry and came around him. One of them said, “Dear me! This is not an egg, but a jewel.Someone h as lost it.”　A chicken asked, “Can we eat it?”　“No,”　said the hen, “It is very precious to human b eings, but it is of no use to us; we cannot eat it. Throw it awayand try to find some worms. I want to have one worm thanall the jewels in the world.”7.The Wolf and the Goat（狼與山羊）One day a wolf saw a goat on a high cliff. He wasjumping to and fro and was grazing.The wolf wanted to eat him, but he could not climbup there to catch him. So he said to the goat, “Good m orning, my good friend Goat! Come down here!If you slip down the cliff, you will break yourneck. And the grass is short and dry up there. Come down!The grass is long and tender here.”　“Thank you, Mr. Wolf, but never mind. I am usedto playing here, and I like the grass here better. I would rather eat dr y grass than be eaten by a wolf,” said the goat.8.The Hare and the Tortoise（野兔與烏龜）One day a hare met with a tortoise at the foot ofa hill.“Hallo, little Tortoise! Where are you going? How short your legs are!” said the hare.“　I am going over to the hill. I am a slow runner,but I can run a race with you,” said the tortoise. “All right. Let's run a race with you to the top of the hill,”　said the hare.The hare and the tortoise started. The hare ranvery fast. The hare said to himself, “ I can much faster than the tortoise, and I may have a lit tle nap here.”So the hare lay down under a tree and was fastasleep. But the tortoise did not stop for a moment. Hewalked on and on. At last he got to the top of the hill.The hare woke up and looked around, but he couldnot see the tortoise. He sprang up and ran as fast as hecould. When the hare got to the top of the hill, he foundthe tortoise was resting there peacefully.The tortoise said to the hare, “Now, Mr. Hare! Which was the faster runner, you or I?”9.The Lion and the Mouse（獅子與老鼠）Once a great lion was sleeping in a wood. A little mouse happened to come and ran over his face. The lion awoke and caught the little mouse i n anger, and was going to kill her. “ Oh, dear kind Lion!” Said the little mouse. " Pleaseforgive me. I didn't mean to do you any harm. Let me go.I shall return your kindness."" Ha, ha, ha," laughed the lion. " How c an a little thing like you help a great lion?" " Thank you very much,kind Lion! I hope I shall be able to do you a good returnsome day," said the little mouse.Some time after this, the lion was caught in a trap. Just then the little mouse came along. At once she ran upto the lion, and said, " You were very kind to me o nce. Now I'll save your life, and repay you the kindness which youshowed me t he other day." Soon she gnawed the ropes of the trap with her sharp teeth, and the lion was happy to be free again." Thank you, little Mouse!" said the lion, and he walked away.10.The Trees and the Ax（樹與斧頭）Once upon a time a man came into a forest. He saidto the trees, “Will you give me a piece of hard wood ?”　The tree said, “Yes, we'll give you a good priceof hard wood.”　He was very glad to get a good piece of wood. Hehurried home with it. At once he made a new handle of hisax.Then he went to the forest again and began to cutdown all the best trees in the forest.The trees were very sad. They said to one another, “We suffer for our own foolishness.”11.The Fox and the Grapes（狐狸與葡萄）Early in the fall, a fox saw ripe grapes in a garden. He wanted to eat them.He said to himself, “How lucky I am! I've found some nice grapes.” He crept into the garden, and came tothe grapes. He jumped up at the grapes, but he could notreach them. He jumped again and again, but in vain.At last he gave it up, and said to himself, “The grapes are sour. I don't want sour grapes.” And he went away.12.The Dog, the Cock and the Fox（狗、公雞和狐狸）A dog and a cock were good friends and they weretraveling together.When night came on, the cock flew up to a tree and slept there, and the god found a hollow in the same treeand slept in it. When the morning came, the cock woke upand began to crow.A hungry fox heard this crow and wanted to get the cock for his dinner. Then the fox said to the cock, “What a beautiful morning this is! I want to talk to you. You have a very sweet voice. Won’t you come down and have a chatwith me?”　“Thank you, M r. Fox. But how about your coming up here? It is very nice and cool here,” replied the cock.“All right, I will. But how can I get up?”　asked the fox. “Just go round the trunk below me, and wake my servant in a hollow. He will open the door for you,” said the cock. The fox came near the hollow. And the dog rushed out, sprang upon the fox and killed it at once.13.The Wolf and the Crane（狼與鶴）One day a wolf was eating his dinner hastily andswallowed a bone. It stuck in his throat. He tried to getit out, but he could not.Just then a crane flew down t o him. “　Dear Crane!”　said the wolf to the crane. “I'm in trouble. A bo ne has stuck in my throat. Will you put your head into my throatand pull it out? You have a very long neck and I'm sure you can reach it. I will pay you well for it.”　“All right. I'll help you. Open y our mouth as wide as you can,” said the crane, and put his head into thewolf’s mouth and pulled out the bone. “Thank you very much, my friend,” said the wolf. “Now I must be paid for the work,” said the crane.“Well,” said the wolf. “You put your head intomy throat, but I did not bite off your head. Isn't thatenough for you? Go along and don't talk about rewards.”14.The man, his Son and their Donkey（一個人和他的兒子與他們的驢子）A man and his son were driving their donkey alonga country road. They saw some girls drawing water at a well.One of the girls said, “oh, look! How silly theyare! A man a nd a boy are walking along beside their donkey, and nobody is riding it.”The man heard this and said to his son, “You had better ride our donkey. You are light, so you will not tire our donkey.”　In a little while they met three old men. One of them said, “see here! The boy is riding a donkey andhis old father is walking by his side. The young boy doesof take care of his old father.”　And the man got on the donkey and his son walkedalong beside it. Now they were very happy. But soonafterward they met three women. Fastened it to a pole. They lifted it to their shoulders and carried it along to thetown. When t hey came to a bridge, everyone laughed at them. And the donkey did not like the noise and began to kick.It broke the rope, fell into the water and was drowned. So the old man had to take his son and go home. The man saidto his son, “He who tries to please everybody pleasesnobody after all.”15.The Ants and the Grasshopper（螞蟻與蚱蜢）One fine winter day some ants were working in thefield. They were drying their food in the sun, and were very busy. Just then a grasshopper passed by. He was very hungry.“Good d ay, kind Ants,”　said the grasshopper. “I am very hungry. Won't you lend me a little food? I havenothing to eat. I will pay you before the next fall.”　“Have you no food of your own? Why did you not gather anyfood during the summer? Y ou know there was much food in the field last summer. What were you doing then?”　asked an old ant.The grasshopper replied; “I was singing all dayand night during the summer. And so I had no time to gather any food. Please lend me s ome f ood.”　“Well, then,”　said the ant. “As you sang all the summer, you had better dance all the winter. You only played and did not work during the summer. We'll never lend you any food.”　And the ants went on working.16.Jack and the Robber（傑克與強盜）Jack was a farmer's boy. Once he drove his cart to market. He had butter and eggs to sell.He met a woman on the way. She gave him a piece ofsilver for a little butter. Then he met a boy. The boy gave him a piece of silver for six eggs.Soon Jack had plenty of silver in his pocket. AsJack went along, a man came u p to him, and said, “Stop!” So Jack stopped on the way again. The man g ave him some wine. Jack drank it, and fell asleep on the roadside. When J ack woke up, his silver was not in his pocket. It was all gone.The man was a robber, and poor Jack went homesadly.17.Abraham Lincoln（亞伯拉罕?林肯）ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S father and mother were verypoor and the family lived in a log cabin in the wood.Abraham had to walk about five miles to school, as there was no school near his eleven years old, he had toleave school and work He loved to study and after workinghard all day, he user to study to study by the firelight.He grew to be a wise and good man. He was elected President of the United States.At that time there was a war between the North and the South. The people of the South wanted to own slaves,but those of the North thought that it was wrong to ownslaves.Then the South and the North fought for four years and at last the North won and the slaves were set free.18.A Bad Dream（一個惡夢）One afternoon Ben was playing in the back yard, Abig black cat jumped over the fence and lay down among his mother's plants. Ben crept up to the cat. He caught it by the tail and dropped it into a tub of water.His mother looked out of the window and saw him.She called him into the house and scolded him for such acruelty. Then she told him that he must go to bed and staythere till evening.Before long Ben fell asleep. He dreamed that hegrew very small A very very big cat seized him in its mouth and ran away with him He kicked and screamed, but he could not get away, At last the cat dropped him and he fell intoa big pond. He sand down, down into the cold water. Thenhe woke up.19.King Alfred and the Cakes（阿佛列王與糕餅）King ALFRED O f England once led his armyto fight with another army and was beaten. So he had to run away through the woods and swamps to save his life.One evening he came to a woodcutter’s hut. He was very t ired and hungry, so he begged the woodcutter’s wife to give him something to eat and a place to sleep in. Hewas ragged and dirty and she did not know that he was theking. She felt so sorry for him that she told him to comein and gave hem a seat near the fire.She was baking some c akes. She said to King Alfred, “ I must go and milk the cow. Watch the cakes and do notlet them burn. “ The king was willing to do this, but hekept thinking about his army and soon forgot all about the cakes. In a few minutes the woman came back and found thecakes burning. She was so angry that she struck the kingwith a stick and cried, “　You lazy fellow! You want to eat, but you do not want to work.”20.Tony's Lie（湯尼的謊言）One day Tony was a very bad boy. He told a lie tohis mother. That night felt very unhappy. He did not wantto play with the children.He sat on the doorstep alone. He looked up in thesky and saw the big round moon. He thought that it waslooking down upon him, because it knew about the lie. Heran down the street to get away from it, but it keptfollowing him. Then he crept into the house and went to bed, but the moon looked at him through the window. He pulledthe sheet over his head, but he could not sleep. Then hecrawled under the bed and lay there in the dark. He thought and thought about the lie.At last he decided to tell his mother all about it. He told her the truth and she forgave him. He promised never to tell a lie again.He went back to bed and was soon fast asleep. Hedreamed that the moon smiled down upon him.21.Jack and the Beanstalk（傑克和豌豆）(Part 1)Once upon a time there was a poor widow who had an only son named Jack. All that they had was the house they lived inand a cow. At last they became too poor to keep the cow.The widow said to Jack one day, “Take this cow to the market and sell her. Then we’ll be able to buy bread. Try to getas much money as you can.” Jack, who was a good, but thoughtless boy, started for the market with his cow. Onhis may to t he market he met a man who had a pig with him. “Good morning,”　said the man. “Good morning,”　answered Jack. “Won’t you give me your old cow for this fat young pig?” said the man. Jack thought it a good idea. So heax-changed his old cow for the young pig He walked onhappily until he met another man who had some fine beans. “These are magic beans,” said the man. “I’ll give you one of them, if you give me that pig.” Jack thought it wonderful to have a magic bean. So he consented to it andcarried the bean proudly back home. He showed the bean tohis mother. “Is this all that you have got for that cow?”　she said. “Now, we have on cow to give us milk. All we haveis this bean.”　She got angry. She threw it out of the window. The bean fall in their garden. During that night is sprouted and grew in a wonderful way. When jack and his mother woke the next morning, they saw that the beanstalk had grown so high that they could not see the top Jack made up his mindto climb to the top of the beanstalk. Higher and higher up he climbed until he found himself near a window of an oldcastle. Looking in, Jack saw a giant eating his, dinner.The giant finished his dinner and ordered his servant tobring his chief treasures, a hen and a harp. Lay eggs,”　said the giant to the hen. The hen began to lay eggs. Theywere eggs of gold. “Play,” said the giant t o the harp. The harp began to play sweet music. The harp played on and on until the giant grew tired and fell asleep.(Part 2)Jack had crawled into the room by this time. When t he giant was asleep, a servant beckoned to Jack. “Look here. These are the treasures which the giant stole from your fatherbefore you were born,” said he. “Take them back to your mother, if you like. But, be quiet. He may wake.” Jack thanked him, and picked up the hen and the harp verycarefully. When he was climbing down the beanstalk, theharp happened to make a loud noise. The giant woke. Jack climbed down the beanstalk, with the hen and the harp under his arms. The giant ran down after Jack, but Jack ran faster than the giant. When he was near his home, he called outto his mother, “Mother, bring an ax.”　His mother brought an ax. She saw her son climbing down the beanstalk. As soon as he got down to the ground, he chopped down the beanstalk. Down f ell the giant with the beanstalk. He broke his neck, and was dead. Jack and his mother were rich all the restof their lives and lived happily ever after.22.The Happy Shoemaker（快樂的鞋匠）(1)Once there lived a rich merchant and a poor shoemaker inthe same house. The merchant occupied in the same house.The merchant occupied the second floor, but the shoemakerlived and worked in a small room on the first floor. Theshoemaker was one of the happiest persons on earth. Heworked from morning till night, singing merrily. His heartwas filled with joy, whenever he looked at the boots andshoes to be repaired. Now t he merchant upstairs was so rich that he hardly knew how much wealth he had. He was always counting over his gold and silver coins far into the night. Even in bed his uneasiness about his riches kept him awake when at last he had been asleep for an hour or two, up came the song of the happy shoemaker, who was an early riser.It continued all day and was a trouble to the merchant dayby day the merchant grew more and more tired through wantof sleep he asked a wise friend of his how he could put anend to the shoemaker's song. “Well, if I were you, I would give the shoemaker a hundred pounds,”　answered his friend. “You are rich enough to do that, I suppose. Ask for nothing in return. Simply give the money. ”The merchant readily followed the advice.(2)When t he shoemaker opened the bag that had been sent by the merchant, he was amazed t o find shining coins. “I must hide this from the eyes of my neighbors. If they see it, theywill think that I have stolen it,” he thought. “I will keep it away even from my wife.”　So he hid the bag of moneyunder the floor. From then on he avoided his neighbors asmuch as he could. His wife who had been the best companion to him, became troublesome now his mind was too much seton the money bag to attend to his work with diligence. Hecould not sing merrily now. Whenever he thought of the money bag, he became uneasy and unhappy. At length one day hiswife said to him in tears, ---“dear husband, what makes you so sad and uneasy? All our neighbors say you havechanged. I wish you were as good and gentle as before.”　He was so sorry for her that he told her everything. “We were happy before the merchant gave us the money, ” said his wife, when she heard the story. “We h ave good health. We have plenty of work to do. What more do we need? Sendthe money back to the merchant, and the happy life that was once ours will return to us.”　The shoemaker agreed and went to the merchant to return the bag of money. “Sir”　he said, “let me r eturn this to you. By giving this to m e, you have spoiled my happy and easy life. So I want to have it backby returning your present.”　Merry song was again heard all over the house. He was as happy as he had ever been.23.The Three Wishes三個願望A man and his wife were always wishing for luck. One nighta fairy came to them and said, “You may have three wishes.” In the morning the woman went to a neighbor’s house to get some bread. She saw a nice pudding there. When she came back, she said, “I wish I had a pudding like that! She did not think of the three wishes, but there was apudding beside her. “Silly!”　cried the man, you have lost one of your wishes, and we have only a pudding. I wish itwere on your nose!”　At that, the pudding jumped up and grew fast to her nose. “Silly, yourself!” cried the woman, “you have lost another wish. We h ave only one wish more.”　“What shall it be?” asked the man. “We must wish this pudding off,” said the woman. “I can’t have it on my nose.” So they wished it wou ld go away, and away it went. They had had their three wishes, but they were on betteroff than when the fairy came to them.24.Childe Rowland恰德羅蘭(1)Long ago there was a little princess named Ellen. Shelived with her mother, the queen in a great castle by thesea. She had three brothers. One day. As they were playing ball, one of her brothers threw the ball over the castle.Ellen ran to get it, and did not come back. The threebrothers looked for her. They looked and looked, but theycould not find her. Day after day went by. At last the oldest brother went to a wise man and asked that man. The wise man told him as he had told the oldest brother. Then the nextbrother set out to find the dark tower. The youngest brother waited. He waited long, but no one came back. Now theyoungest brother was called childe Rowland. At last childe Rowland went to his mother, the queen, and said, “mother, let me go and find the dark tower and bring home Ellen andmy brothers. “I cannot let you go. You are all that I have now,” said the queen. But childe Rowland asked again and again, until at last the queen said, “go, my boy. ”then she gave him his father’s sword, and he set out. He wentto the wise man and asked the way. The wise man told himand said: “I will tell you two things: one thing is foryou to do, and one thing is for you not to do. “the thing to do is this: when you get to the country of the elves,hold your father’s sword, pull it out quickly, and cut off the head of anyone who speaks to you, until you find theprincess Ellen. “the thing not to do is this: bite no bit and drink no drop until you come b ack. Go hungry and thirsty while you are in the country of the elves.”　Childe Rowland said the two things over and over, lest he should forget.Then he went on his way. He went on and on and on, untilhe came to some horses with eyes of fire. Then he knew hewas in the country of the elves. A man w as with the horses. “where is the dark tower?” asked childe Rowland. “I cannot tell. Ask the woman that keeps the hens,”said the man. Childe Rowland took the sword and off went the man’s head. Then he went on and on, until he came to some henswith eyes of fire. An old woman was with them. “where is the dark tower?” asked childe Rowland. “go and look fora hill,” said the old woman. “go around the hill three times. Each time you go around say: “open, door! Open, door! Let me come in. “when you have gone three times around,door will open. Go in.”“when you have gone three times around, door will open. Go in.”(2)Childe Rowland did not like to cut off the head of theold woman, but he thought of what the wise man h ad told him. So he took hold of the sword, and off went her head. Afterthis he went on and on and on, until at last he came to ahill. He went three times around it, and each time he said: “open, door! Open, door! Let me c ome in.”　when he had gone three times around, a door opened. In he went. The door shut after him, and he was in the dark. Soon he began to see adim light. It seemed to come from the walls. He went downa long way, and at last he came to another door. All at once it flew open, and he found himself in a great hall. The walls were of gold and silver, and were hung with diamonds. Howthe diamonds shone! And there sat the princess Ellen in abig chair of gold, with diamonds all about her head. Whenshe saw childe Rowland, she came t o him and said: “brother, why are you here? If the king of the elves comes, it willbe a sad ay for you.” But this did not frighten childe Rowland. He sat down and told her all that he had done. She told him that the two brothers were in the tower. The king of the elves had turned them into stone. Soon childe Rowland began to be very hungry, and asked for something to eat.All at once he thought of what the wise man had said. Sohe threw the bowl down upon the floor, and said: “Not a bit will I bite, Not a drop will I drink, till Ellen isfree.”　Then they heard a great noise outside, and someone cried out:---” fee-fi-fo- fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!” the door of the hall flew open and the kingof the elves came in. childe Rowland took his sword. Theyfought and they fought. At last childe Rowland beat the king of the elves down to the ground. “stop!” cried the kingof the elves. “I have had enough.”　“I will stop w hen you set free the princess Ellen and my brothers,”　said childe Rowland. “I will set them free,” said the king. He wentat once to a cupboard and took out a blood-red bottle. Outof this bottle he let a drop or tow fall upon the eyes ofthe two brothers, and up they jumped. Childe Rowland tookthe hand of his sister Ellen and went out of the hall, andup the long way. The two brothers went after them. And they all came out from the hill and found their way back to their own home. How glad their mother was!25.The Monkey and the Turtle猴子與海龜One day a monkey who was very hungry met with a turtlecreeping along the road. “My dear Slow Foot, can’t you find anything to eat for me?” said the monkey. “O yes, Sly Head, I can,”　said the turtle. “　Come t his way;there is a banana-plant just over there.”　Soon they came to the banana-plant bearing lot of ripe fruit. The monkey climbed the plant, but before he could pick some b ananas, the turtle cried, “Run, Sly Head, run! Here comes a man!”　Instantly he came down and ran in a hurry. But the turtle could notrun, but she caught the monkey’s tail in her mouth and the monkey p ulled her away. When they were safe, the monkey s aid, “Slow Foot, that man did not catch you because I pulledyou away.”　“O no, Sly Head, on!”　the turtle said, “you were not pulling me. I was pushing you.”26.Dickens and His Cat狄更斯與他的貓Charles Dickens, the famous English novelist, wrote a great many books. He had a cat of which he was very fond. She was a fine Persian cat with pure white fur. One evening, as he was absorbed in reading one of his favorite books by acandle-light, the candle suddenly went out. He was。