Once a crow and his wife built their nest atop a huge banyan tree beside a river. They were very happy there. But when the female crow laid her eggs, they were in for an unpleasant shock. A huge snake who lived in a hole at the bottom of the tree came up and ate all their beautiful eggs.
The crows were helpless with anger and pain. “You can’t let this wicked snake eat our children anymore," cried the female crow bitterly. “You have to find a way to save them from him,’ she said.
“Let us go to our friend the jackal. He is very clever. He will surely be able to help us with a solution," said the male crow.
They both flew to the cave in the forest where their friend the jackal lived.
The jackal saw them coming. “Hello my friends. Why do you look so sad and worried? Can I help you in any way?" he asked.
“Every time my wife lays eggs in our nest, a wicked snake living at the foot of the tree eats them up," explained the crow.
“We want to get rid of him and save our children. Please tell us what we can do."
The jackal thought for some time. “I know what you should do," said the jackal and he told the plan to the crows.
It was a habit of the queen to come with her maids for a bath to the river. When they did so, they removed all their clothes and jewels and placed them on the river bank. On the following day the queen and her maids as usual entered the river.
“You know what to do right?" asked the crow to his wife. “Yes," she answered.
Both of them flew over the pile of clothes and jewels. The female crow swiftly picked up a precious pearl necklace in her beak. At the same time the male crow began to caw loudly to gain the attention of the queen and her maids.
“Oh, those crows have taken my pearl necklace." cried the queen. “Guards!" she cried. “Get that necklace back from those pesky crows." Her guards chased the crows shouting loudly.
The crows flew straight to the banyan tree with the guards close behind. Hearing all the noise, the snake came out of his hole at the foot of the tree. Immediately, the female crow dropped the necklace right where the snake was.
“Look out! There is a huge snake near the necklace," alerted one guard.
Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp spears and killed him. The guards then picked up the necklace and took it back to their queen.
The crows thanked their friend the jackal for helping them get rid of their enemy. They lived happily with their children.
【關(guān)鍵詞】
1、 atop （adv.） 在頂上
2、 banyan tree （n.） 榕樹
3、 habit （n.） 習(xí)慣
4、 maid （n.） 女仆；侍女
5、 pile （n.） 堆
6、 jewel （n.） 珠寶
7、 swiftly （adv.） 迅速地；敏捷地
8、 precious （adj.） 珍貴的
9、 pearl （n.） 珍珠
10、 necklace （n.） 項(xiàng)鏈
11、 attention （n.） 注意；注意力
12、 guard（n.）衛(wèi)兵
13、 pesky （adj.） 討厭的
14、 alert (vt.) 使意識到；警惕
15、 spear (n.) 矛
【譯文】烏鴉和項(xiàng)鏈
從前，有一只烏鴉和他的妻子在河邊一棵巨大的榕樹頂上筑巢。它們在那里很開心。但是，當(dāng)母烏鴉產(chǎn)蛋時(shí)，它們總是遭受惱人的打擊。一條大蛇住在樹底的一個(gè)洞里，會(huì)不失時(shí)機(jī)的現(xiàn)身，將這些漂亮的蛋統(tǒng)統(tǒng)吃掉。
烏鴉怒火滿腔和痛苦不堪，卻也無能為力。 “你不能讓這條邪惡的蛇再吃掉我們的孩子了，”母烏鴉痛哭道，“你必須想辦法從毒蛇嘴里救它們，”她說。
“咱們?nèi)フ遗笥巡蚶前伞Ｋ浅Ｂ斆?。它肯定能幫我們找到辦法，“公烏鴉說。
它倆一起飛往森林，來到它們的朋友豺狼所居住的洞穴里。
豺狼看到它們走來。 “你好，我的朋友。為什么你們看起來如此悲傷和不安呢？我?guī)兔ψ鍪裁磫?？“它問道?/p>
“每奉我妻子在巢中生蛋時(shí)，住在樹腳下的一條邪惡的蛇會(huì)把蛋吃掉，”烏鴉解釋說。
“我們想除掉它，拯救我們的孩子。請您指點(diǎn)迷津。“
豺狼想了想。 “我知道你們應(yīng)該怎么做了，”豺狼說道，它計(jì)劃告訴了這對烏鴉。
女王陛下有一個(gè)習(xí)慣，就是和侍女們一起去河邊洗澡。她們洗澡時(shí)，會(huì)脫光衣服、摘下珠寶，并將它們放置在岸上。第二天，女王和她的侍女們像往常一樣走入河中。
“你知道眼下該怎么做嗎？”烏鴉問它的妻子?！笆堑?，”她回答。
它倆那堆衣服和珠寶上空盤旋。母烏鴉迅速用嘴巴叼起一條珍貴的珍珠項(xiàng)鏈。與此同時(shí)，公烏鴉開始呱呱大叫，從而喚起女王和她的女仆們的注意。
“啊，烏鴉叼走了我的珍珠項(xiàng)鏈。”女王喊道，“衛(wèi)兵！”她叫道。 “從那些討厭的烏鴉那里搶回那條項(xiàng)鏈。”衛(wèi)兵大聲呼喊著追趕烏鴉。
烏鴉徑直飛向榕樹，身后的衛(wèi)兵緊追不舍。聽到外面的噪雜聲，蛇從樹腳下的洞里爬出身來。母烏鴉立刻拋下項(xiàng)鏈，那項(xiàng)鏈恰好落在蛇所在的地方。
“當(dāng)心！項(xiàng)鏈附近有一條大蛇，“一名衛(wèi)兵警告說。
Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp spears and killed him. 隨后，衛(wèi)兵撿起項(xiàng)鏈，并把它交還給他們的女王。
烏鴉夫婦非常感謝它們的朋友豺狼，在它的幫助下，它們除掉了敵人。它倆和孩子們一起幸福地生活著。
（完）
問題：Before the snake could realise what was happening, the guards attacked him with sharp spears and killed him. 這句話怎么譯？可以展開討論，也可以通過點(diǎn)擊“贊賞”獲得答案。
