Once a fox and a partridge with seven chicks were friends. One day， when the partridge left her nest to search for food， the fox ate one chick. When the partridge returned， she guessed what had happened， but said nothing. Afterwards， the fox ate one partridge chick every day. The partridge grew even more furious， but remained outwardly calm.
　　One day while out gathering food， the partridge found a piece of meat on the grassland. She guessed that a trap must be under it and decided that now was the time to retaliate. When she reached her nest and found yet another chick missing， she said， “My dear fox， I have found some good food and I'm only too happy to share it with you.” The fox expressed great eagerness and she immediately led him to the meat.
　　The fox gazed at the meat suspiciously and asked， “Is there a trap underneath？” “Let me see，” said the partridge. She flew above the meat and， very gently， removed a small piece without springing the trap. “There is no trap there，” said the partridge， “as you can see from this morsel which I have just got.”
　　The fox was thus convinced and lunged forward to grab the hunk of meat. This sprang the trap， pinning his head between two strong metal jaws. “Help me， my dear partridge，” he pleaded.
　　Just then a hunter approached in the distance and beat the fox to death with a stick.
　　收稿日期：2013-02-18