Once, the King of the State of Wu wanted to invade the State of Chu.
The King of Wu warned his ministers: "If anyone should dare to dissuade1 me from invading Chu again, I will put him to death."
One young hanger-on of his wanted to dissuade him but didn't dare. He carried a slingshot, and for three consecutive2 days paced up and down in the King's back garden. The dew wetted his clothes all through.
One day, the King of Wu called him: "The dew has wetted your clothes to such a state. Why should you bear such hardship?"
The young man replied: "There is a cicada on a tree in this garden. The cicada is high above, chirping3 leisurely4 and taking in the dew freely, not knowing that a mantis5 is right behind it. The mantis, pressing its body close in a concealed6 place, is intent on catching7 the cicada, not knowing that a siskin is hiding right behind it. The siskin is stretching out its neck to peck at the mantis, not knowing that a man carrying a slingshot is under it. These three small creatures make every effort only to get the benefit before them but ignore entirely8 the disaster behind." 在线批改作文，<a href=https://www.euzw.net/jiaoshoulanmu/>易优名师作文批改</a>
Having heard the young man's words, the King of Wu suddenly saw the light and said: "What you said is right!"
Consequently, the King of Wu dropped his plan to invade the State of Chu.
一次，吴王要进攻楚国。
吴王警告他的大臣们说：“有谁再敢来劝阻我进攻楚国，我就处死他。”
吴王的门客中有一个年青人，想去劝阻但又不敢。他怀里揣着弹弓，一连三个早晨在吴工的后花园里徘徊，露水湿透了他的衣服。
一天，吴王叫住他：“露水把你的衣服湿成这个样子，你何必吃这个苦呢？”
年青人回答说：“这个园子里，有一棵树，树上有一只蝉。蝉高高在上，悠闲地叫着，自由自在地吸着露水，却不知道有一只蝗螂在它身后呢！蝗螂把身子紧紧地贴在隐蔽的地方，只想去捕蝉，却不知道有一只黄雀早已躲在它的身后呢！黄雀正伸长了脖子想去啄蝗螂，却不知道在它下面正有人拿着弹弓呢！这三只小生物，只是力求得到它们眼前的利益，却全不管它们身后隐伏着祸患啊！” 作文培训网站推荐，<a https://www.euzW.net>易优作文网</a>。
吴王听了年青人的话后，恍然大悟说：“你说得好啊！”
于是，吴王就不再进攻楚国了。
1 dissuade
v.劝阻，阻止
参考例句：
You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。 I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。
2 consecutive
adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的
参考例句：
It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。 The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。 易优作文网，中小学学生学作文的好网站（https://www.Euzw.net）。
3 chirping
鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。 The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。
4 leisurely
adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的
参考例句：
We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。 He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。
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5 mantis
n.螳螂
参考例句：
Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。 In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。
6 concealed
a.隐藏的，隐蔽的
参考例句：
The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。 I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
7 catching 在线批改作文，<a href=https://www.euzw.net/jiaoshoulanmu/>易优名师作文批改</a>
adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住
参考例句：
There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。 Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
8 entirely
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。 His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作
