阅读经典是通过文本与古今中外的作者进行对话,并不断汲取文化的营养的最直接形式。阅读经典美文是拓宽思维、增长见识、丰富情感、涵养素质的最有效手段。本文是关于短的英语美文，希望对大家有帮助!

关于短的英语美文：苛政猛于虎

In ancient times, at the foot of Mount Tai surrounded by mountains, one often heard of tales of tigers devouring people

One day, Confucius and his disciples passed by Mount Tai. As they walked along, his disciples talked about what they had heard and seen.

Suddenly, they heard someone weeping in the distance. They went over and saw a young woman who, with her head covered with a white kerchief, wore white cotton clothes, trousers, shoes and stockings. She was kneeling in front of a new grave and weeping bitterly. The disciples didn't know what to do. Confucius ordered one of them to go forward and ask: "Who has died? Why are you weeping in such sorrow?"

The woman raised her head, wiped her red and swollen eyes, sobbed and answered intermittently: "In the past, my father-in-law was devoured by a tiger. Later, my husband was devoured by a tiger too. Now my son has also been bitten to death by a tiger."

Confucius' disciple asked worriedly: "The tiger harmed the lives of three generations of your family. Why didn't you leave this place earlier and move to somewhere else?"

The woman sobbed, saying: "There are tigers here, but there are no exorbitant taxes, levies or heavy corvee here!" When Confucius heard this, he turned to his disciples and said: "Remember, tigers devour people, but tyranny is fiercer than tigers!"

古代，在群山环抱的泰山脚下，常常听到老虎吃人的事情。

有一天，孔子带着弟子路过泰山。弟子们一边走，一边谈论着所见所闻。

忽然，听到远处传来哭声。大家便走了过去，一看原来是一个年轻的妇女，头上包着白色的头巾，身上穿着白布衣裤，脚上套着白布鞋袜，正跪在一座新坟前面痛哭。弟子们不知如何是好，孔子叫弟子上前询问：“死了谁?你为什么哭得这么伤心?”

妇女抬起头来，擦着红肿的眼睛，抽泣着断断续续地回答：“从前，我的公公被老虎吃掉了。后来，我的丈夫又被老虎吃掉了。如今，我的儿子也被老虎咬死了。”

孔子的弟子着急地问道：“老虎伤害了你家三代人的性命，你为什么不早点儿离开这里，搬到别处去呢?”

妇女哭着说：“这里有老虎，但是没有苛捐杂税和繁重的摇役啊!孔子听到这儿，回过头来，对弟子们说：“你们记住，老虎吃人，可是苛政比老虎还要凶猛啊!”

关于短的英语美文：The Blind Man and the Little Animal

A blind man is good at touching all the things.

No matter whatever the thing is he can distinguish it as soon as he touches it

A man brings a young wolf and lets him touch it.

Having touched the animal, he says, "This is a fox or a wolf, I am not sure. But I know that putting this kind of animal into the sheep pen is not safe"

The story means: we can know someone's bad habits from when he is young.

一个瞎子精于用手触摸各种动物。

什么动物只要他一摸，就能分辨出来。

有人带来一只小狼，请他摸一摸，说出是什么东西。

他摸了摸这个小野兽后说：“这是一只狐狸或者一匹狼，啊，我不太清楚。不过有一点我却十分地明白，让这种动物进羊栏是不安全的。”

这个故事是说一个人的恶习在年幼时便可得知。

关于短的英语美文：The Man Selling the Idol

A man carves an idol and takes it to the fair. No one buys it, so he begins to shout in order to canvass the customer.

He says that this idol can bring in wealth and good luck. One man says to the seller, "Hello, My friend, if this is so, you should have the advantages that the idol can bring, why do you want to sell it?" The seller says, "What I want is that I can get cash in at once. The profit from the idol is so slow."

This story means: God will never respect people who make a profit by hook or crook.

有人雕刻了一个赫尔墨斯的木像，拿到市场上去卖。因为没有一个买主上前购买，他便大声叫喊，想招揽生意。

他说有赐福招财的神出售。这时旁边有一个人对他说道：“喂，朋友，既然这样，你自己应该享受他的好处哇，为什么还要卖掉他呢?”他回答说：“我要的是现在马上可以兑现的利益，这个神的利益却来得很慢哪。”

这故事正是说那种不择手段地求利，连神也不尊敬的人。