从前有一只肥壮的雌猫。她和一个漂亮的青年住在城里一所小房子里。青年一向对猫很好，给她牛奶喝，给她鲜鱼片和肉片吃。白天，他让猫在花园里玩儿；夜里，他总把后门旁的一扇小窗开着，让猫随意进出。
猫使这所房子里的老鼠绝迹，以此作为报答。晚上，她坐在主人的膝头；早上，她在主人的床脚喵喵叫，把主人叫醒。
除了这只猫，这个青年就是一个人住着。他没有父母，没有兄弟姐妹，也没有什么朋友。
“你是我惟一的伙伴，”晚上，他跟猫坐在火炉旁时，常对猫说：“没有你，在这冷漠的城里，我会寂寞得要死的。”
猫想道：“我要是能和他说说话该多好，要是我能告诉他我多么爱他就好了。如果我是人，我肯定会使他爱我。那么他就不会感到寂寞了。”
然而，猫只能喵喵叫，用她那软软的鼻子深情地蹭他的袖子。
这时，爱情女神维纳斯恰巧俯视这个青年的家，想为他做点什么。她听到猫的隐秘的想法。
维纳斯寻思：“我想想看，我想想看，对，我该试试。”
那天晚上，猫在花园里搜索时，维纳斯对猫施展魔法，把她变成了人。青年早上打开后门，想看看小猫跑到哪儿去了，却发现那儿站着一个年轻漂亮的姑娘。
青年马上爱上了在花园里发现的那个温柔的姑娘。他从未见过像她这样的人。她长着满头棕黄色的头发，一双大眼睛看上去时绿时黄。她的手指和脚趾又长又尖，步态轻盈自在，仿佛在地面上飘动。奇怪的是，虽然他肯定以前从未见过她，而她却好像对城里的路很熟悉。不久，他们俩就结婚了。
青年和姑娘在一起过得很幸福。白天，他去工作，她收拾房间，做饭，缝补衣服。晚上，他们坐在火炉边，谈着他们要一同做的事儿。青年常说：“你要是见过我那只有趣的小猫就好了！你来之前，我只有她，我知道你也会爱她的。”
那姑娘模模糊糊地回想起过去这个男人所不知道的一些情况，暗自笑起来。
他们结婚一年后，一天晚上，维纳斯又来看他们。
她说：“好像成功了，但不知是否能持久。我想，是考验她一下的时候了。”
那天夜里，姑娘和青年睡着了，维纳斯把一只受惊的小耗子放在他们卧室的角落里。它顺着墙根嗒嗒地转了一会儿，想找个窟窿逃出去。后来，它轻声吱吱一叫，姑娘在床上立刻坐起来，抽抽鼻子，在黑暗中眼睛睁得大大的。老鼠突然在地毯上跑过，转瞬之间那姑娘跳下床来，她用长长的手指猛然抓住耗子，急切地塞到嘴里去。
青年在床上惊惶地看着，只见微光一闪，又听到尖锐的嘶嘶声。当他能看清楚的时候，姑娘不见了。在她刚才站的地方，有一只小母猫。老鼠也不见了。
小猫微微地摇了摇头，好像不知道自己出了什么事儿。接着她一下子跳到床上去，靠在他身边，用鼻子蹭他的胸脯。
“我不知道是怎么回事儿，”青年说，“不过，小猫，看到你又回来了，我很高兴。”
本性难移。
Keys：
①A sleek tabby cat．
②Venus changed the cat into a beautiful girl．
③The young man and the girl got married．They were very happy together．During the day While he was at work she cleaned the house，cooked the dinner and mended his clothes．In the evenings they sat in front of the fire and talked about all the things they would do together．
④You can’t change your own nature.
The Ass，the Ox and the
The Three Rogues
Once there was a Brahmin who bought a goat in another village．When he carried it home on his shoulder，he was seen by three rogues，who said to one another，“If by some contrivance that goat can be taken from him，it will be a great pleasure to us．”
With this view they severally sat down on the road under three trees，at some distance from each other，by which the Brahmin was to pass．One of the scoundrels called out，as he was going by：“O Brahmin！Why dost thou carry that dog on thy shoulder？”
“It is not a dog，”answered the Brahmin，“it is a goat for a sacrifice．”
Then at a certain distance away，the second knave put the same question to him；when the Brahmin heard this，he threw the goat down to the ground，and having looked at it again and again，placed it a second time on his shoulder，and walked on with his mind waving like a swing．When the Brahmin heard the same question from the third villain，was convinced that the goat was really a dog．So he took it from his back，threw it down，and having washed himself，returned to his home．
The three rogues took the goat to their own house，and feasted on it．Thence he who thinks a knave is as honest as himself，will be deceived by him，like this Brahmin who was cheated．
Exercises：
判断对（T）、错（F）：
①The three rogues wanted to take the goat from a Brahmin by some contrivance．
②The three rogues sat down on the road under a tree together by which the Brahmin was to pass．
③The three rogues all thought the Brahmin carried a dog on his shoulder really．
④The Brahmin believed the three rogues and threw the goat down from his shoulder．