A fowler was setting his nets for little birds when a lark1 came up to him and asked him what he was doing. "I am engaged in founding a city," said he, and with that he withdrew to a short distance and concealed2 himself. The lark examined the nets with great curiosity, and presently, catching3 sight of the bait, hopped4 on to them in order to secure it, and became entangled5 in the meshes6. The fowler then ran up quickly and captured her. "What a fool I was!" said she: "but at any rate, if that's the kind of city you are founding, it'll be a long time before you find fools enough to fill it."
一个捕鸟人正在撒网，好让小鸟们自投罗网。这时，一只百灵鸟走过来，问他在干什么。“我正在建造一座漂亮的城市。”捕鸟人回答道，说完便跑到远处藏起来。百灵鸟带着极大的好奇心，跑过去想看个究竟，她小心地冲着网中的诱饵跳过去，结果却被缠在网中。捕鸟人很快跑过来，抓住了她。百灵鸟说：“我可真是个傻瓜，但无论如何，如果这就是你建造的城市，那么估计要花很长时间才能找到足够多的傻瓜来填补空缺！”
