让.德。拉。封登（油画）
In the summer, ants looking for food everywhere, find, the food in droves to move back home, cicada, all day long the "cicadas, cicadas, cicadas" has been constantly called.
夏天的日子里，蚂蚁们到处找吃的东西，成群结队的，要找到食物搬回家，而蝉呢，成天一直在“知了，知了，知了”不停地叫。（注意主要句子结构：Ants in droves find the food, 是用一般现在时的复数形式。）
The ant and the cicada one day, the sun is very hot, the earth seems to be the hot cooked, droves of ants looking for food cicada or desperately call: "cicadas, cicadas, cicadas, cicada..." The ants said to him: "cicada! You're going to be ready for the food, and then go hungry or come to our house for us!"
有一天，蚂蚁和蝉相遇，烈日发出酷热，大地好像就要被酷热烤熟了，蚂蚁成群结队地找吃的，那只蝉还是拼命地叫喊：“知了，知了，知了，知了……” 蚂蚁们对它说：“蝉啊！你快准备食物吧，不然到时候会挨饿，或者到我们家来找我们吧！” （the hot cooked作代词，被烤熟了的东西；be going to 指不远的将来。）
"Who would have found you all the little things, I sang so well that other animals would give me food." "That's all right! You're hungry. Come and see us!" The ant said kindly. "Just don't look for you!" The cicada cried, "really arrogant!" Ant said.
“谁会去找你们这些小东西，我的歌唱得这么好听，别的动物会给我吃的东西。” 蚂蚁友善地说：“好吧！你饿了就来找我们吧！” 那只蝉大声说：“就是不去找你们！” 蚂蚁说：“真的是狂妄自大！” （Who would have, 虚拟语气，指不可能发生；You’re hungry. 前面省略了if。）
In winter, the hungry, went to the street to food, animal who ignored him. It went to the front of the ants, "how to do? I even when he became hungry, but I summer of cicada said, not to its home to food, don't and will starve to death, to the lack of dignity, dignity? Still want food? Forget it I want food, anyway, dignity and can not be a meal to eat!"
冬天里，饥肠辘辘的蝉，到大街上去要东西吃，动物都不理它。它到了蚂蚁的家门前，“怎么办？我居然会饿，但我夏天时作为蝉说过，不会来蚂蚁家吃东西，不吃又要饿死，去吃又没有尊严，是要尊严呢？还是要食物呢？算了！我要食物，反正尊严也不能当饭吃！” （the hungry, 形容词作代词，指cicada; animal前面省略了to; summer of cicada, 夏天的蝉，仍然有优越感。）
The road so it to automatic speaking, ant home, said: "ants in? Open the door!" Ant opened the door, cicada a cheeky way of ant said: "dude, we are friends, please give me a bit of food! I haven't had a meal for a few days!" Ants to bring home the cicada cicada even a word of thanks the words didn't say began to eat special food and wolfed the food killed.
蝉一路自言自语地说着，走到蚂蚁的家，说：“蚂蚁在吗？开开门！” 蚂蚁开了门，蝉厚着脸皮对蚂蚁说：“哥们，我们是朋友吧，求你给我一点吃的吧！我几天都没有吃一顿饭了！”蚂蚁把蝉带回家，蝉连一句感谢的话都没说，就开始吃专门给它的食物，狼吞虎咽地把东西吃光了。（way of ant, 在蚂蚁面前，指方式；killed, 消灭了，过去分词作后置定语。）
A few months later, spring has come and the ants go out for a walk, after the cicada, see the cicada's body, said: "Alas, who call you early do not prepare food." Take the lead of the ants, "brothers, to this, the big harvest, first come first served." The cicada say: "ah! Wronged you!" Hey...... Hey...... "One or two, one or two, one or two......" The ants echoed in the valley......
几个月之后，春天来了，蚂蚁们出去散步，就去找蝉，看到了蝉的尸体，说：“唉，谁叫你不早点准备食物呢。” 蚂蚁们就争先恐后干了起来：“兄弟们，到这来，大丰收了，先到先得。”它们对蝉说：“哎！对不起你了！” 嘿……嘿……“一二，一二，一二……”蚂蚁们的声音在山谷里回响…… （after the cicada, 让蝉先请，有礼貌的含义；Take the lead of, 注意其一般现在时的复数形式，The cicada say，也要注意其复数形式，蚂蚁对蝉说。）
拉封登寓言插图
还有一个最简短的版本，适合幼儿教育：
During the summer, the Ant went around the fields collecting grains of wheat and barley so that he could store up some food for the winter.
夏天里，蚂蚁在田野里跑来跑去，收集小麦和大麦颗粒，以便能够储存一些食物过冬。
A Cicada while singing watched the Ant and decided that he must be a wretched creature since he worked all the time, never taking a moment's rest, unlike the other animals. The ant didn't pay attention to the cicada and simply went about his business.
一只知了唱着歌，看见蚂蚁，就认定它准是一个可怜虫，因为它老是干活，一刻也不休息，与其它动物不一样。蚂蚁没有注意到那只蝉，只是做它自己的事。
When winter came and the dung was washed away by the rain, the Cicada grew hungry. He went to the Ant and begged him to share a little bit of his food. The ant replied, "O cicada, if you had done some work yourself instead of singing and making fun of me while I was working so hard, then you would not need to be asking me for food."
冬天来了，雨水冲走了垃圾，蝉肚子饿了。它去找蚂蚁，乞求给它一点东西吃。蚂蚁回答说：“蝉啊，在我拼命干活的时候，假如你自己干了一点活，而不是唱歌和取笑我，就不需要来问我要吃的了。”
儿童现代舞剧《蝉和蚂蚁》
