El lobo en la piel de la oveja

1.The Wolf in Lamb’s Skin (El lobo en la piel de la oveja): Hablemos de la autenticidad y su importancia

Once upon a time, a wolf contemplated altering its looks to secure an effortless meal. It disguised itself as a sheep and joined the grazing flock, completely cheating the shepherd.

As the sun set, the wolf, now mingled with the entire flock, was led to an enclosure, and the door was securely locked. Later that night, the shepherd went in search of his meat supply for the following day. He seized the wolf, under the impression that it was a lamb, and promptly sacrificed it.

En esta fábula en donde el lobo se disfraza de oveja para poder estar entre ellas sin ser reconocido y poder asegurar su comida, la mentira le salió muy cara ya que fue él el que se convirtió en la comida del granjero. 

La moraleja, es que las apariencias pueden engañar, ¡mucho cuidado!

The moral is that appearances can be deceiving, be very careful!

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El zorro y el cuervo

2. The Fox and the Crow (El zorro y el cuervo): No confíes en quien te habla bonito.

On a radiant morning, the fox, guided by its sense of smell, navigated through the woods in search of food. It spotted a crow perched on a tree, and while this wasn't the fox's first encounter with a crow, something peculiar caught its attention this time – the fortunate crow had a piece of cheese in its beak.

"No need to search any farther," thought the fox. "Here is a delicious bite for my breakfast."

Approaching the tree where the crow was stationed, the fox looked up with admiration and exclaimed, "Good-morning, beautiful creature!"

The crow, with its head cocked to the side, regarded the fox suspiciously. However, it kept its beak firmly closed on the cheese and refrained from returning the greeting.

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"What a charming creature he is!" praised the fox. "How his feathers shine! What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful bird should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about him is so perfect. Could he sing just one song, I know I should call him King of Birds."

Lured by these flattering words, the crow abandoned all suspicion and its breakfast. Eager to be acknowledged as the King of Birds, it opened its beak wide to unleash its loudest caw, dropping the cheese straight into the fox's awaiting mouth.

"Thank you," said the fox sweetly as it strolled away. "Though it is cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?"

Aquí, el astuto zorro se encargó de llenar de elogios al cuervo que posaba tranquilamente en un árbol con su “queso en el pico”. Tras muchos halagos, el cuervo abrió el pico para contestar pero hizo caer su queso directamente al zorro. 

Moraleja: La confianza debe ser ganada, no regalada.

The moral: Trust must be earned, not given.

El niño y los dulces

3. The Boy and the Candies (El niño y los dulces): La avaricia no deja nada bueno

In this short tale, a young boy dipped his hand into a vessel filled with candies, grabbing as many as he could take. However, his joy turned into despair when, attempting to retract his hand, he found it trapped by the narrow neck of the container.

Faced with the predicament of being unable to free his hand with all those candies, the boy couldn't contain his sorrow, and tears fell down his face as he lamented his misfortune.

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A compassionate onlooker approached him with wisdom:

"Be happy with half the quantity, and you will easily retrieve your hand."

En este caso, un niño quiere abusar llevándose todos los dulces que están dentro de un contenedor, sin embargo no puede sacar su mano llena de ellos del frasco en donde están guardados. Un sabio observador le dice que si deja la mitad de ellos, podrá sacar su mano sin problemas pero el niño siente mucha frustración al no poderse quedar con el botín entero. 

La moraleja es: No acaparar más de lo que te corresponde o puedes, la avaricia puede hacerte perder todo. 

The moral is not to hoard more than what you have or can, greed can make you lose everything.

El zorro y las uvas

4. The Fox and the Grapes (El zorro y las uvas): No te dejes llevar por las primeras impresiones.

After a day of relentless hunting, a thirsty fox found himself yearning for a drink. 'How I long for some water,' said the fox. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to clusters of succulent grapes dangling just above him. The grapes appeared enticing, ready to burst with delectable juice.

Driven by the desire to quench his thirst with the sweet grape nectar, the fox extended himself, standing on tiptoe, and leaped as high as possible. However, the grapes remained out of reach. Sad, the fox retreated a short distance, then sprinted and leaped towards the grapes once more. Despite his efforts, success eluded him.

Repeated attempts to seize the grapes were useless, leaving the fox fatigued. Frustrated, he exclaimed, 'I am a fool! These grapes are sour and unsuitable for consumption. Why would I desire them anyway?

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En esta fábula, el zorro se encuentra muy sediento cuando de repente, encuentra un árbol lleno de deliciosas uvas. Tras varios intentos y sentir mucha frustración de no poder alcanzarlas, recuerda que él no puede comer esas uvas ya que a su especie le hacen daño. 

La moraleja es que recuerdes siempre el verdadero valor de las cosas y no dejes que los deseos iniciales te cieguen ante la realidad de la situación.

The moral is that you should always remember the true value of things and not allow your main desires to blind you on behalf of the reality of the situation.

La reunión de los ratones

5. The Mouse Meeting (La reunión de los ratones): Hablemos de plan y acción

The mice convened a meeting to devise a plan for liberating themselves from the constant threat of a menacing cat. Their primary goal was to discover a way to anticipate the cat's approach, affording them sufficient time to escape the situation.

Numerous strategies were proposed but none seemed robust enough to guarantee success. Eventually, a very young mouse stood up and presented a simple but potentially effective plan. The proposal involved placing a bell around the cat's neck so that its jingling sound would serve as an alarm, alerting the mice to the impending danger and allowing them to run away and hide.

The mice, initially taken aback, soon found themselves jubilant at the prospect of a solution. However, their celebration was interrupted by an old mouse who offered a cautionary perspective. 

He posed a crucial question: "Who will bell the cat?" Unfortunately, no one volunteered for the task.

En esta bonita fábula, los ratones se juntan para crear un plan y evitar convertirse en presas del gato. Tras mucho pensar, uno de ellos sugiere ponerle un cascabel al felino para poderlo escuchar cuando se acerque y así poder esconderse. Todos festejan la gran idea, pero un ratón mayor y sabio les pregunta que quién lo hará y nadie se ofrece a hacerlo. 

La moraleja es que proponer ideas es una cosa, pero ejecutarlas es un desafío completamente diferente.

The moral is that coming up with ideas is one thing, but executing them is a completely different challenge.

Estas fábulas no solo son cuentos encantadores sino también herramientas pedagógicas esenciales para sumergirte en el idioma inglés. Permiten a los niños no solo mejorar sus habilidades lingüísticas, sino, también absorber valiosas lecciones de vida y cultura.

En Berlitz, nos enorgullece utilizar estas fábulas como catalizadores del aprendizaje ya sea estudiando inglés online o presencial, proporcionando una experiencia educativa rica y estimulante para nuestros jóvenes estudiantes. A través de estas historias, no solo exploramos el idioma, sino también inculcamos importantes valores.

¡Gracias por acompañarnos en este viaje mágico a través de las fábulas! ¡Hasta luego!