A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and had lost all his teeth. —
一位牧羊人养了一只忠实的老狗，名叫苏丹，已经年老，全身失去了牙齿。 —

And one day when the shepherd and his wife were standing together before the house the shepherd said, ‘I will shoot old Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no use now. —
有一天，当牧羊人和他的妻子站在房子前面时，牧羊人说：“明天早上我要射杀老苏丹，因为他现在已经没有用处了。” —

’ But his wife said, ‘Pray let the poor faithful creature live; —
但他的妻子说：“求你让这只可怜的忠诚生物活下去吧；他为我们服务了很多年，我们应该让他度过余生。” —

he has served us well a great many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the rest of his days. —
“可是我们该怎么办呢？”牧羊人说，“他已经没牙了， —

’ ‘But what can we do with him? —
小偷们根本不在乎他。” —

’ said the shepherd, ‘he has not a tooth in his head, and the thieves don’t care for him at all; —
“确实他为我们服务过，但那是为了谋生；明天将是他的最后一天，你看着吧。” —

to be sure he has served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood; —
“他已经为我们服务过了很多年了，我们应该让他负担得起生活。” “但是我们能怎么办呢？ —

tomorrow shall be his last day, depend upon it.’
”牧羊人说，“他现在脑袋里一个牙齿都没有了，小偷们一点也不在乎他；的确，他为我们效劳，但那是为了赚钱生活；明天将是他的最后一天，你看着吧。”

Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd and his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to think tomorrow would be his last day; —
可怜的苏丹躺在他们旁边，听到了牧羊人和他的妻子彼此说的一切，他非常害怕明天将是他最后的一天； —

so in the evening he went to his good friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his sorrows, and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. —
因此，晚上他去找他的好朋友狼，它住在树林里，告诉他所有的苦恼，以及他的主人打算在早上杀了他； —

‘Make yourself easy,’ said the wolf, ‘I will give you some good advice. —
‘别担心，’狼说道，’ 我会给你一些建议。 —

Your master, you know, goes out every morning very early with his wife into the field; —
你知道，你的主人每天早上和他的妻子一起去田地里； —

and they take their little child with them, and lay it down behind the hedge in the shade while they are at work. —
他们带着他们的小孩，把它放在树篱后面的阴影里，他们工作的时候。 —

Now do you lie down close by the child, and pretend to be watching it, and I will come out of the wood and run away with it; —
现在你要躺在孩子旁边，假装在看守它，我会从树林里出来把孩子带走； —

you must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop; —
你必须尽快跟上我，我会让它掉下来； —

then you may carry it back, and they will think you have saved their child, and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live. —
然后你可以把它带回来，他们会认为你救了他们的孩子，并且会感激你一辈子，会照顾你。 —

’ The dog liked this plan very well; —
狗非常喜欢这个计划， —

and accordingly so it was managed. —
并按照计划进行安排。 —

The wolf ran with the child a little way; —
—

the shepherd and his wife screamed out; —
牧羊人和他的妻子尖叫起来； —

but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor little thing back to his master and mistress. —
但是苏丹很快追上了他，并把可怜的小东西带回给主人和妻子。 —

Then the shepherd patted him on the head, and said, ‘Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf, and therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have plenty to eat. —
然后牧羊人拍拍他的头，说：“老苏丹救了我们的孩子，所以他将活下去并得到良好的照顾，还有充足的食物。 —

Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives. —
太太，回家给他做一顿丰盛的晚餐，让他用我的旧垫子睡觉，直到他老去。 —

’ So from this time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for.
所以从那时起，苏丹得到了他想要的一切。

Soon afterwards the wolf came and wished him joy, and said, ‘Now, my good fellow, you must tell no tales, but turn your head the other way when I want to taste one of the old shepherd’s fine fat sheep. —
不久之后，狼来祝贺他，并说：“现在，我的好朋友，你不能说出来，但当我想尝一尝老牧羊人的肥美羊肉时，请把头转向另一边。” —

’ ‘No,’ said the Sultan; —
苏丹说：“不， —

‘I will be true to my master.’ However, the wolf thought he was in joke, and came one night to get a dainty morsel. —
我会忠于我的主人。”然而，狼认为他在开玩笑，并在一天晚上来找到一块美味的食物。 —

But Sultan had told his master what the wolf meant to do; —
然而，苏丹已经将狼的计划告诉了他的主人； —

so he laid wait for him behind the barn door, and when the wolf was busy looking out for a good fat sheep, he had a stout cudgel laid about his back, that combed his locks for him finely.
因此，他在谷仓门后设下了埋伏，当狼忙着寻找一只肥美的羊时，他用一根结实的棍子狠狠地敲了狼的背，把他的毛发梳理得很好。

Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan ‘an old rogue, ’ and swore he would have his revenge. —
然后狼非常生气，称苏丹是“老无赖”，并发誓要报复他。 —

So the next morning the wolf sent the boar to challenge Sultan to come into the wood to fight the matter. —
因此，第二天早上，狼派野猪邀请苏丹到树林里打一场决斗。 —

Now Sultan had nobody he could ask to be his second but the shepherd’s old three-legged cat; —
苏丹找不到其他人能够帮他当副手，只好找了牧羊人的三脚猫； —

so he took her with him, and as the poor thing limped along with some trouble, she stuck up her tail straight in the air.
所以他带着她一起去了，可怜的猫有些困难地一瘸一拐地走着，她的尾巴竖直地竖在空中。

The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; —
狼和野猪先到了现场； —

and when they espied their enemies coming, and saw the cat’s long tail standing straight in the air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; —
当他们看到敌人正在靠近，并看到猫的长尾巴笔直地竖起来时，他们以为她是为苏丹带来的剑； —

and every time she limped, they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at them; —
每次她一瘸一拐地走，他们都以为她是在捡石头扔向他们。 —

so they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped up into a tree. —
所以它们说它们不应该喜欢这种方式的战斗，猪躺在灌木丛后面，狼跳上了一棵树。 —

Sultan and the cat soon came up, and looked about and wondered that no one was there. —
苏丹和猫很快赶到，四处张望，惊讶地发现没有人在那里。 —

The boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the bush; —
然而，猪并没有完全隐藏起来，因为它的耳朵露在灌木丛外； —

and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away, roaring out, ‘Look up in the tree, there sits the one who is to blame. —
当它摇了一下耳朵，猫看见有东西动了，以为是一只老鼠，就扑了上去，咬了它，抓了它，猪被吓得跳了起来，咕噜咕噜地跑开，嚷道，“抬头看树上，有个人是罪魁祸首。” —

’ So they looked up, and espied the wolf sitting amongst the branches; —
他们抬头一看，发现狼坐在树枝上； —

and they called him a cowardly rascal, and would not suffer him to come down till he was heartily ashamed of himself, and had promised to be good friends again with old Sultan.
他们骂他是胆小的坏蛋，不让他下来，直到他感到非常惭愧，答应和老苏丹重新做好朋友为止。