| 1. Look before you leap. | Посмотри, прежде чем прыгать (дословный перевод). |
| Не зная броду, не суйся в воду (русская пословица). Семь раз отмерь, один раз отрежь. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: Look before you leap - think well before taking a decision. | |
| 2. So many men, so many minds. | Сколько людей, столько умов. |
| Сколько голов, столько умов. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: We asked the two gentlemen several questions about the man. One of them thought he was foolish. As for the other man he said he was very clever. So many men, so many minds. | |
| 3. Better late than never. | Лучше поздно, чем никогда. Дословный перевод совпадает с русской пословицей. |
| Пословица в ситуации: There is something I want to talk to you about. I wanted to do it long time ago, but I was afraid. However it’s better late than never. | |
| 4. He laughs best who laugh last. | Лучше всех смеется тот, кто смеется последним. |
| Хорошо смеется тот, кто смеется последним. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: As he left them, he knew that they were laughing at him. But he knew also that 'He laughs best who laughs last.' “They think they caught me. I know that I have caught them,” he thought. | |
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The Horse and the Lion
| Once a lion saw a fine young horse and wanted to eat her. But the horse was very careful and he could not catch her. Then the lion decided to tell the beasts in the forest that he was a good doctor and could easily cure any illness. The horse was clever. She understood everything and decided to teach the lion a lesson. |
| So one day when the lion was not far away, the horse asked him to look at her foot, as it gave her great pain. This was just what lion wanted. He was very glad and readily agreed to look. The horse lifted one of her legs from the ground and while the lion was looking at her foot, she gave him such a kick on the head with it that he fell to the ground. The horse ran away and laughed. |
| Look before you leap. So many men, so many minds. Better late than never. He laughs best who laugh last. |
| Lesson 14 |
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The Fox Without a Tail
| Once a young fox with beautiful fur was walking along the path in the forest where a trap was hidden. The fox did not see the trap and touched it with her tail. The trap closed and held her by the tail. The fox pulled and pulled, and at last the tail broke. The fox was in great pain, but she was very glad that she could run away, though without her tail. |
| When the other foxes saw her without a tail, she was very unhappy and ashamed. But our fox was very sly. She asked all the other foxes to come to her house. When they were all there, she said to them, “Dear friends, I have asked you to come here because I want to tell you something very important. Tails are not in fashion now, you know, and they are very inconvenient. It is more graceful to walk without a tail. I advise you to imitate my style and cut your tails off. It is very easy to run without a tail.” An old fox who was also very sly said, "I think you parted with your tail because you had to. But we are going to keep our beautiful tails." |
| It never rains but it pours. Business before pleasure. Never say die. Tastes differ. |
| Lesson 15 |
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The Hares and the Frogs
| Once upon a time the hares were quite unhappy because they lived in fear of everybody. They were afraid of men, of dogs, of wolves, to say nothing of lions and tigers. The saw danger everywhere and could not enjoy life at all. |
| One fine morning they gathered in the forest to discuss things. An old hare, who was very tired of this life, said, “Here we live in fear of danger. We cannot eat quietly, we cannot sleep quietly. Every animal in the forest frightens us. It is better to die than to live in such a way. Our life is worse than death itself.” |
| As the other hares were very unhappy too, they agreed that the only way out was to die. And they decided to jump into the water. There was a deep lake in the forest, and they all ran quickly to it. When they reached the lake, some frogs on the shore saw them and jumped into the water. The hares stopped and one of them cried, “Friends, we are not the most unhappy animals in the forest. Look at those frogs. They are afraid even of us. Our life is not so bad, if there are other animals in the forest with even more danger around them. Let’s be patient and try to enjoy life!” And the hares returned happily to the forest and have lived there ever since. They lead a quite and careful life. They teach their children to hide under the trees and in the grass, and they train them to run fast when danger is near. And they never think of drowning themselves. |
| It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. Honesty is the best policy. Let sleeping dogs lie. Second thoughts are best. |
| Lesson 16 |
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The Professor Could Not Answer It
| Old Mr. Brompton is a very clever man. Yet the other day he could not answer his granddaughter’s question. “Grandpa,” she said, “I saw something so funny running across the kitchen floor without legs. What do you think it was?” Grandpa thought and thought, but at last he had to give up. |
| “What was it?” he asked. |
| “Water,” replied the little girl triumphantly. |
| Handsome is as handsome does. While there is life there is hope. Live and learn. The early bird catches the worm. |
| Lesson 17 |
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The Devoted Friend
| “Oh! I know nothing about the feeling of parents,” said the Water-rat. “I am not a family man. In fact, I have never been married, and I am not going to. Love is all very well in its way, but friendship is much higher. Indeed, I know of nothing in the world that is either nobler or rarer than a devoted friendship.” |
| “And what is your idea of the duties of a devoted friend?” asked a green little bird who was sitting on a tree and had overhead the conversation. |
| “Yes, that is just what I want to know,” said the Duck, and she swam away. |
| “What a silly question!” cried the Water-rat. “I should expect my devoted friend to be devoted to me, of course.” |
| “And what would you do in return?” said the little bird. |
| “I don’t understand you”, answered the Water-rat. |
| To run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. A friend in need is a friend indeed. All is not gold that glitters. Nothing venture, nothing have. |
| Lesson 18 |
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They Both Made a Mistake
| Two men were staying at a hotel in the same room. One of them could not find his purse and said that his neighbour has taken it. After some time the man found the purse in his pocket and apologized to his neighbour. The man said, “You thought I was a thief and I thought you were a gentleman, and we both made a mistake!” |
| “Well, let’s forget about it,” said the other, “I apologized.” |
| Make hay while the sun shines. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Forewarned is forearmed. Let bygones be bygones. |
| Lesson 19 |
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The Hunter and the Woodman
| A hunter who was not very brave liked to boast to his friends about his brave deeds. Once he went to the forest to hunt. There he met a woodman and asked him, “My good man, can you tell me where I can find the tracks of a lion? Do you know where lions live?” |
| “Yes,” said the woodman, “I can show you not only the tracks of a lion, but, if you come with me, I shall show you the lion himself.” |
| The hunter grew pale and said, “Oh, no, thank you, I have no wish to go anywhere with you. I am looking for a lion’s tracks, and not for the lion himself.” |
| Actions speak louder than words. One man's meat is another man's poison. In for a penny, in for a pound. The leopard cannot change his spots. |
| Lesson 20 |
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The Vain Crow
| A crow who thought that she was very beautiful - though she looked like any other crow - sat on a branch of a tree. She had a piece of cheese in her mouth which she had taken from a farmer’s house. At the foot of the tree sat a fox. The fox saw the piece of cheese in the crow’s mouth and wanted to have it. So he got up and spoke to the crow. |
| “I’m very glad to see you, my friend,” he said. “You look very beautiful today.” |
| The crow sat quietly on her branch and said nothing, though she was very pleased. |
| “You are so beautiful that you could be our queen. Can you talk? I am sure your voice is very beautiful too.” |
| The crow still said nothing, because she still had the cheese in her mouth and did not want to drop it. The fox was silent for a moment, then he said, “Oh, I see. You can’t talk. Well, we can’t make you our queen if you can’t talk.” |
| Now the vain crow wanted to show that she could talk, so she opened her mouth and cried, “Caw, caw!” The piece of cheese fell to the ground. The fox ran to it and ate it up. The foolish crow looked sadly at him from her branch. And the fox laughed. |
| “My dear friend,” he said, “now I see that you have a voice, but there is something more important that you haven’t got - brains.” |
| The least said, the soonest mended. Jack of all trades and master of none. Half a loaf is better than no bread. No pains, no gains. |
Lesson 21
| 1. To make a mountain out of a molehill. | Делать гору из кротовины (дословный перевод). |
| Делать из мухи слона (русская пословица). | |
| Пословица в ситуации: She wondered why he, who had not usually troubled over things of little importance, made such a mountain out of this molehill. | |
| 2. Rome was not built in a day. | Рим строился не один день. |
| Москва не сразу строилась. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: Rome was not built in a day, son. We started on the small jobs too, but now we are all skilled workers. | |
| 3. As well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. | Все равно за что быть повешенным: за овцу или ягненка. |
| Семь бед - один ответ. Двум смертям не бывать, а одной не миновать. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: If you are wise, George, you will go to your office and write me your check for three hundred thousand dollars. You can’t be hanged any more for a sheep than for a lamb. | |
| 4. Where there is a will there is a way. | Где есть желание, там есть и путь. |
| Где хотенье, там и уменье. | |
| Пословица в ситуации: “Still you can learn to do something else, you know. Where there is a will there is a way.” “I am very willing,” said Spike. | |
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