大家好，我是Fiona老師。
今天我們英語閱讀系列要閱讀的文章是The Foolish Lion 愚蠢的獅子
到底它幹了哪些愚蠢的事情呢？為什麼說它是愚蠢的獅子呢？
In a forest there lived a lion. He had grown old and could not run fast anymore. As days went by it became more and more difficult for him to hunt.
One day while he was wandering through the forest in search of food, he came across a cave. He peeped in and smelt the air inside the cave. 「Some animal must be staying here," he said to himself. He crept inside the cave only to find it empty. 「I will hide inside and wait for the animal to return," he thought.
The cave was the home of a jackal. Everyday, the jackal would go out in search of food and return to the cave in the evening to rest. That evening, the jackal after having his meal started towards home. But as he came closer, he felt something wrong. Everything around him very quiet. 「Something is wrong," the jackal said to himself. 「Why are all the birds and insects so silent?"
Very slowly and cautiously, he walked towards his cave. He looked around him, watching for any signs of danger. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave, all his instincts alerted him of danger. 「I have to make sure that everything is alright," thought the jackal. Suddenly, he thought of a plan.
The clever jackal called out to the cave. 「Hello my good cave, what happened to you today? Why are you so quiet?"
The jackal’s voice echoed deep inside the cave. The lion, who by now could control his hunger no longer, thought to himself, 「I think it is because I am here that the cave is silent. Before the jackal realises that something is wrong, I should do something."
The jackal continued to call out, 「Have you forgotten our agreement cave? You are supposed to greet me when I return home." The lion tried to make his voice sound hollow and called out from within the cave, 「Welcome home my friend."
The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lion’s roar. As for the jackal, he shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce on him and eat him up, the jackal ran for his dear life as fast as his legs could carry him.
The lion waited for a long while for the jackal to enter the cave. But when the jackal did not come in, the lion realised that he had been fooled. He cursed himself for his foolishness that made him lose a prey.
在森林裡住著一頭獅子。他老了，跑不快了。日子一天天過去，他越來越難打到獵物了。
有一天，當他在森林裡徘徊尋找食物時，他遇到了一個山洞。他窺視並嗅出洞穴裡的空氣。「有些動物一定待在這兒，」他自言自語地說。他躡手躡腳地爬進洞裡，結果發現裡面空無一人。「我會躲在裡面等動物回來，」他想。
山洞是豺狼的家。每天，豺狼會出去尋找食物，晚上回到洞穴休息。那天晚上，豺狼吃完飯就開始朝家走去。但當他走近時，他感到有些不對勁。他周圍的一切都很安靜。「有些事不對，」豺狼對自己說。「為什麼所有的鳥和昆蟲都這麼沉默？」
他慢慢地小心翼翼地向洞窟走去。他環顧四周，注視著任何危險的跡象。當他走近洞口時，所有的本能都提醒了他危險。「我必須確保一切都好，」豺狼想。突然，他想出了一個計劃。
聰明的豺狼向洞穴喊道。「你好，我的好洞，你今天怎麼了？」你為什麼這麼安靜？」
豺狼的聲音在山洞深處迴響。獅子現在已經不再控制飢餓了，他想，「我想這是因為我在這裡，山洞是寂靜的。在豺狼意識到有什麼不對勁之前，我應該做點什麼。
豺狼繼續喊道：「你忘記我們約定了嗎，洞穴？」當我回家的時候，你應該向我打招呼。「獅子試著讓他的聲音聽起來很空洞，從洞裡喊出來：「歡迎回家，我的朋友。」
鳥兒聽到鳥兒的吼叫，高聲尖叫，飛走了。至於豺狼，他嚇得直發抖。在飢餓的獅子能撲過來咬他之前，豺狼跑得很快。
獅子等了很久，豺狼都不進洞。但是當豺狼不進來的時候，獅子意識到他被愚弄了。他咒罵自己愚蠢，使他失去了獵物。