Hukumusume fairy tale collection > Foreign language (English) > Aesop’s Fables

The hares and the frogs.

(Aesop’s Fables)

Translation　ちいさな翻訳屋さん

Japanese　←→　Japanese ＆ English　←→　English

　One day, when the hares gathered together and talked, they all got sad.

　Because they are always cowardly and feeling insecure.

“Literally, man, dogs, and eagles are aiming at us.

　There are also other animals that are aiming us all the time. It is really scary to live in this world.

　We should venture to die rather than living in such awful time.

　The hares discussed and decided to drown themselves in the lake.

　They began to run toward the lake all together.

　However, as they got close to the lake shore, there was a group of frogs,

　and the frogs jumped into the water as soon as they heard the hares’ approach.

　By looking at it, the smartest hare said to all the hares,

“Look, everyone. Let’s hold on a moment. I suggest not to drown ourselves in the lake.

　Because as you can see, there are actually creatures who are much weaker and more cowardly than we are.”



　This story shows you that unhappy people are relieved by the sight of someone who is worse off than they are.

The end

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