a frog lived in a shallow well.
one day, it met beside the well a large soft-shelled turtle which had just crawled up from the sea.
the frog bragged1 to the turtle: "look, how happy i am to live here! when i feel glad, i would bounce for a while near the well; and when i am tired, i would return to the well to sleep and rest for a while by the brick hole. sometimes, i would quietly soak my whole body in the water, showing only my head and mouth. sometimes, i would stroll in the soft mud, which is very comfortable. none of those tiny crabs2 and tadpoles3 can compare with me. i am the * of this well, free and unrestrained. why don't you come often to play in the well?"
hearing this, the turtle was itching4 to go down to take a look. but before he put his left foot into the well, his right foot stumbled. he quickly retreated two steps and told the frog about the sea: "have you *r seen the sea? the sea is very, very wide, over 1,000 1i. the sea is very, very deep, over 1,000 zhang (3'/3 metres). in ancient times, in nine years out of ten there were floods, but the water in the sea did not rise much. later, in s*n years out of eight there were droughts, but the water in the sea did not * much. neither *g floods nor *g droughts can affect the sea. only living in the sea can you feel real happiness!"
amazed at what the *g turtle had said, the frog was du*truck.
一只青蛙住在一口浅井里。
有一天，青蛙在井边碰上了一只刚从海里爬上来的大鳖。
青蛙对大鳖夸口说：“你看，我住在这里多么快乐!高兴了，就在井边跳跃一阵子；疲倦了，就回到井里，睡在砖洞边上休息一会儿。有时候，我静静地把全身泡在水里，只露出头和嘴巴；有时候，在软绵绵的泥浆里散散步，也很舒服。那些螃琪和蛾鲜，它们谁也比不上我。我是这个井的主人，自由自在，你为什么不常到井里来游玩游玩呢？”
大鳖听了青蛙的话，心里痒痒的，准备下去看看。但是它的左脚还没伸进去，右脚就已经绊住了。它连忙后退了两步，把大海的情形告诉青蛙，说：“你见过大海吗？海很大很大，哪止千里;海很深很深，哪止千丈。古时候，十年里有九年发大水。但是海里的水涨高不了多少。后来，八年里有七年要大旱，可是海里的水也不见得浅了多少。大涝和大旱都影响不了大海。住在大海里，才是真正的快乐呢！”
听了大鳖的这一番话，青蛙非常吃惊，呆在那里，无话可说了。
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