There are two mice. They are friends. One mouse lives in the country, while the other mouse lives in the city. One day, the Country mouse says to the City mouse, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." The City mouse goes to visit his friend. After seeing what the country is like the City mouse says, "The food here is not good, and your house is not very nice. You must come and see me at my house in the city."

　　The Country mouse goes to the house of the City mouse. It is a very nice house. The City mouse has nice food to eat. Just as they begin to eat, however, they hear a loud noise. The City mouse cries, "Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They run away quickly.

　　The Country mouse thinks to himself, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and frightened."

　　城里老鼠和乡下老鼠

　　有两只老鼠，他们是朋友。一只老鼠住在乡村，另一只住在城里。一天，乡下老鼠对城里老鼠说："你一定要来我乡下的家看看。"城里老鼠就去了。看过了乡下的样子后，城里老鼠说："这些东西不好吃，你的家也不好，你应该到我城里的家看看。"

　　乡下老鼠就到城里老鼠的家去了。房子十分漂亮，东西也好吃。正当他们要开始吃的时候，却听见很大的一阵响声，城里的老鼠叫喊起来："快跑！快跑！猫来了！"他们飞快地跑开了。

　　乡下老鼠对自己说："我不喜欢住在城里，我喜欢住在我那田野里的洞里。虽然贫穷但是快乐自在，比起虽然富有却要过着提心吊胆的生活来说，更好些。"

　　(文/李志学；英语辅导报冀教初一版03~04学年第23期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)