苹果树

There was an old apple tree in a farmer’s garden. It was so old that it hadstopped bearing1 fruit a long time ago. The only thing it could be was a place forthe sparrows， grasshoppers and squirrels in the neighbourhood to live

One day， the farmer decided to cut the tree down. He felt it had no use at all.Besides， he wanted to get some furniture made from the tree. The wood was stillstrong. So， taking an axe2 in his hand， the farmer started cutting the tree.

At once the many animals living in the tree were scared. The grasshoppers， thesparrows and the squirrels came out of their living places and went near the farmer.“Please， sir，”they cried and said to him“. Spare3 this tree’s life. It is our onlyhome.”

But their cries were in vain4. The farmer went on working. As he raised5 hisaxe one more time， something in the tree caught his eye. A beehive6. Upon lookingcloser， the farmer found that it was full of honey. He tasted the honey. It was great.

Then the farmer found that the tree was not so useless7 after all. It was a goodplace for a beehive to rest. And if he took away the honey now， the bees wouldmake more. So he stopped cutting. “Hey you up there，”he said as he threw awaythe axe. “I’m sparing the life of this tree. You can live in the tree now andforever.”

The animals were so happy to hear that. It was so lucky that the farmer hadfound something useful for him in the tree. After all， it was the only reason the treewas still standing.

一个农夫的花园里有一棵老苹果树。它太老了，很久以前就不结果了。唯一能做的就是给附近的麻雀、蚱蜢和松鼠提供一个居住的地方。

一天，农夫决定砍掉这棵树，他觉得它已经毫无用处了。此外，他想用这棵树做些家具。这棵树的木头仍然很结实。于是，农夫手里拿着一把斧子开始砍树。

住在树上的许多动物立刻惊慌不已。蚱蜢、麻雀和松鼠从它们的住处跑出来，来到农夫身前。“求求您了，先生。”它们哭着对他说，“饶这棵树一命吧。这是我们唯一的家。”

但是它们的呼喊是徒劳的。农夫继续干他的活。当他再次举起斧头时，树上的某样东西引起了他的注意，是一个蜂巢。走近一看，农夫发现里面装满了蜂蜜。他尝了尝蜂蜜，味道很棒。

此时农夫才发现这棵树并不是一无是处。它是一个安放蜂窝的好地方。如果他现在拿走这些蜂蜜，蜜蜂会酿更多的。于是他停止了砍树。“嘿，树上的小动物们。”说着他扔掉了斧头，“我现在放过这棵树，你们可以永远住在树上了。”

动物们听了非常高兴。真幸运，农夫在树上找到了对他有用的东西。毕竟，那是这棵树仍然屹立不倒的唯一原因。