导语：多看多读英语寓意故事，在看故事的同时还能学英语。小编精选了三篇英语寓言故事，喜欢大家喜欢。
功亏一篑
Once a man planned to build a terrace1.
He worked very hard and spent a lot of time digging and carrying earth.
When the mound2 was almost completed and only one more basket of earth was needed, the man gave up.
The terrace was never completed.
This idiom means to fail to succeed for lack of final effort.
古时，有一个人要筑一座九仞(八尺=一仞)高的山。
他十分努力的建造这座山，并且花了很多时间挖土、搬运泥土。
终于当山快要建成的时候，几乎只差最后一篮子的泥土就行了的时候，他放弃了。
这座山便永远无法完工。
这个典故用以形容“离成功只有一步之遥，但最终失败告终”的意思。
The Neighbour and the Snake
A snake, having made his hole close to the door of a cottage, inflicted1 a sever2 bite on the cottager's little son. So the child died.
This caused much sorrow to his parents. The father decided3 to kill the snake. The next day, on its coming out of its hole for food, he took up his ax, but, making too much haste to hit the snake, missed its head, and cut off only the end of its tail.
After some time the cottager, lest the snake should also bite him, tried to make peace, and placed some bread and salt beside its hole, the snake, slightly hissing4, said, "From now on there can be no peace between us; for whenever I see you I shall remember the loss of my tail, and whenever you see me you will be thinking of the death of your son."
No one truly forgets injuries in the presence of him who caused the injury.
有条蛇在一家农舍的门边打了个洞，并把主人的小孩咬了一口，孩子就一命呜呼。
这对夫妇痛不欲生。孩子的父亲决意弄死那条蛇。第二天，当蛇出洞觅食之时，他举起斧头就砍那条蛇。可惜太操之过急，没砍中蛇头，只砍断了尾巴。
过了一阵子，屋主很害怕那条蛇会以牙还牙，就想同蛇讲和，于是就将一些面包和盐放在洞口。那条蛇发出丝丝的声音作出回答：“从今以后，在我们之间不会有和平。因为我一看到你，就会想自己被砍掉的尾巴;同样当你见到我时， 你会想起你死去的儿子。”
面对伤害过自己的人，我们难以真正忘记有过的创痛。
杀猪教子
Zeng Zi was one of Confucius1' disciples2.
One day, Zeng Zi's wife wanted to go to market. Their son wanted to go together with her. He made a row, crying and fussing3 without stop. His wife could do nothing but bend down to humour4 him, saying: "My darling, go home now. Mama will be back soon. When I'm back, I'll kill the pig to make a meal for you."
When the son heard this, he went home happily.
Not long after, the wife returned home from the market. Zeng Zi tied up their fat pig, took out a shining sharp knife and prepared to kill it. When his wife saw this, she hurriedly held Zeng Zi by the hand and said: "What's the matter with you? I was only trying to humour the child."
Zeng Zi said seriously: "How can you cheat a child? The child is still small and doesn't understand things. He only follows the example of his parents. Now you cheat him, then he will follow your example and cheat others. Furthermore5, when a mother cheats her child, the child will no longer trust his mother. Then, how can you educate the child well?"
Having said this, Zeng Zi raised his knife and killed the fat pig.
曾子是孔子的一个学生。
有一天，曾子的妻子要上街。儿子吵着要跟妈妈一起去，又哭又闹，吵个不停。妻子没有办法，只好弯腰哄他，说：“我的小宝贝，回家去吧!妈妈去了就回来，一回来就杀猪给你吃。”
儿子听了，高高兴兴地回家去了。
过了不久，妻子从街上回到了家。曾子就把家里的肥猪捆住，拿出雪亮的尖刀，准备杀猪。妻子看见了就急忙拉住曾子的手，说：“你这是怎么了?我只不过是哄哄小孩的。”
曾子严肃地说：“你怎么能够哄骗孩子呢?现在，孩子还小，不懂事，他只会照着父母的样子去做。你现在哄骗孩子，孩子就会学你的样子，去哄骗别人。做母亲的哄骗儿子，做儿子的就不会再信任母亲。这样，怎么能教育好孩子呢?”
曾子话一说完，就一刀宰了肥猪。