真正的危险往往来自内心对潜在敌人的麻痹大意
Early every morning, a shepherd took his flock of sheep out in the fields to graze1). He would sit by watching, as the sheep lazily munched2) on fresh grass. After they had eaten, he would round them up3) and walk back home. Sometimes while watching his flock, he would curl up in a quiet corner and go off to sleep.
每天一大早，牧羊人都会赶着羊群去草场上吃草。羊儿们慵懒地咀嚼着新鲜的草叶，牧羊人则坐在旁边看着它们。羊儿吃饱后，他便将羊儿赶拢起来回家。有时在放羊的时候，他会蜷缩在一个安静的角落里打个盹儿。
One day, the shepherd caught a wolf which had strayed4) into the field, eyeing his sheep. However, it was some distance away and it made no effort to come nearer. The shepherd at first stood on guard5) against the wolf, as against an enemy, and kept a strict watch over its movements.
一天，牧羊人发现一只狼溜达进了草场，正目不转睛地盯着他的羊群。但是，狼只是站在远处，丝毫没有靠近羊群的举动。牧羊人起初像对待敌人一样对狼保持着高度警惕，时刻监视着狼的一举一动。
But the wolf did not do anything. When the shepherd herded the sheep and headed home with his flock, the wolf quietly followed them at a distance.
然而，狼并未采取任何行动。当牧羊人放羊或把羊赶拢起来回家的时候，它只是与他们保持一定的距离，静静地跟在后面。
This continued for a while. The shepherd would find the wolf waiting at the edge of the field every morning. But it made not the slightest effort to seize the sheep and would just watch. So, by and by, the shepherd let down6) his guard a bit. A few days later, he even began to actually look forward to the wolf's presence.
这种情况持续了一阵子。每天早晨牧羊人都会在草场边看见狼的身影。但它从没试图攻击过羊群，只是那么看着。因此不久以后，牧羊人就稍稍放松了警惕。过了些日子，他竟开始期盼狼的出现。
The wolf, who generally sat on a large piece of rock, looked like a big sheep dog from afar. The shepherd thought that other wild animals or mischief-makers would be scared of the "dog"'s presence and not harm his flock while it was around.
这只狼常常坐在一块大岩石上，从远处看就像只牧羊犬。牧羊人心想，其他野兽或者坏蛋看到这“牧羊犬”准会被吓跑，有它在，谁也不敢害他的羊。
Now, he began to look upon the wolf as a guardian of his flock. One day, in the middle of grazing his sheep, the shepherd was called back to home urgently. Leaving the sheep entirely in charge of the wolf, he left.
后来，牧羊人开始将狼视为自己羊群的“保镖”。一天，他放羊的时候，别人叫他赶紧回家，他就把羊群完全扔给了狼，一个人走了。
When he came back, what did he find? That the wolf had eaten most of his flock, with only a few sheep wandering about. Carcasses7) of the dead sheep lay around, everywhere.
可等他回来时，他看到了什么？狼已经吃掉了他绝大多数的羊，只剩下寥寥几只四处游荡。遍地都是死羊的尸骨。
1. graze [ɡreɪz] vi. (牛、羊等)啃食牧草；放牧
2. munch [mQntF] vi. 用力咀嚼，津津有味地嚼，出声地嚼
3. round up: 驱拢(牲口)；集拢(分散的人或物)
4. stray [streI] vi. 闲逛；漫游
5. on guard: 在岗，警惕
6. let down: 放松；松懈
7. carcass [5kB:(r)kEs] n. (鸟、兽的)尸体；(宰后去内脏去头的)畜体