The Twelve Huntsmen

　　原文：

　　A crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a pitcher1 which he saw at a distance. But when he came up to it, he found the water so low that with all his stooping and straining he was unable to reach it. Thereupon he tried to bread the pitcher, then to overturn it, seeing some small pebbles2 at hand, he dropped a great many of them, one by one, into the pitcher, and so raised the water to the brim, and quenched3 his thirst.

　　Skill and patience will succeed where force fails necessity is the mother of invention.

　　译文：

　　一只快渴死的乌鸦，远远地看见一只水壶，就高兴地飞了过去，但是当他飞到的时候发现壶里的水浅得怎么用力弯腰伸颈也够不着，于是他试着把水壶打破，又试着把他推倒。但是力量不足，都做不到，最后看见近边有许多小石子，他一个个地把很多石子丢进了水壶，这样使水上升到壶口，就解了渴。

　　在体力做不到的时候，技巧和耐心会帮助人成功，需要是发明之母。

　　词汇：

　　with all his stooping and straining 用尽一切力量弯腰伸颈