1. ______We pay more attention to what we want to hear. (Bad news travels fast. / Bad news has
wings.)
2. ______Know which way the wind blows. (People act according to their interests.)
3. ______No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. (An act of kindness is never wasted. /
Even the weak have something to offer the strong.)
4. _____A man is known by the company he keeps. (You are known by the company you keep.)  
5. _____Do not attempt too much at once.
     A. A dog used to run up quietly to the heels of everyone he met, and to bite them without notice. His
master put a bell about his neck so that the dog might give notice of his presence wherever he went.
Thinking it a mark of distinction, the dog grew proud of his bell and went tinkling it all over the
market-place. One day an old dog said to him, "Why do you make such an exhibition of yourself? That
bell that you carry is not, believe me, any order of merit, but on the contrary a public notice to all men to
avoid you as a bad-mannered dog."
     B. A man once stood up at a market-place in the east and said, "I have been ordered by the king to
collect all the well-born and well-bred and bring them before him, since he wishes to reward them."
Everybody that heard him joined him, and he went towards the palace, surrounded by the whole town.
Then he suddenly turned round and said, "The king has just sent me word that he means to help only
those that have been ill-born and ill-bred to make up for their misfortunes." The crowd lingered behind
for a while, and then one after another joined the man as ill-born and ill-bred to receive the king's gifts.
The man said, "The world goes as the wind blows!"
     C. A lion was awakened by a mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, the lion caught the
mouse and was about to kill him, when the mouse begged, "If you would only spare my life, I would be
sure to repay your kindness." The lion laughed at the idea of the mouse being able to repay a favor, but
let him go in the end. Later, the lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him with strong ropes to
the ground. The mouse, recognizing the lion's roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth and set him
free.
     D. A fox had long been the dread of the village poultry yard. One day, he was found lying breathless
in a field. The report went abroad that, after all, he had been caught and killed by someone. In a moment,
everybody in the village came out to see the dead fox. The village cock, with all his hens and chicks, was
also there, to enjoy the sight. The fox then got up and said, "I ate a number of hens and chicks last night.
So I must have slept longer than usual." The cock counted his hens and chicks, and found several chicks
were missing. "Alas!" said he, "how is it that I do not know of it?" "My dear sir," said the fox, as he ran
back to the wood, "it was last night that I had a good meal of your hens and chicks, yet you did not
know of it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of it at once."
     E. A boy put his hand into a pitcher (大罐) full of nuts. He grasped as many as he could possibly
hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the pitcher.
Unwilling to lose his nuts, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears, crying with
disappointment. A person who was passing by said to him, "Be satisfied with half the quantity and you
will draw out your hand at once."
     F. A man wished to purchase an ass (a donkey), and decided to give the animal a test before buying
him. He took the ass home and put him in the field with his other asses. The new ass moved away from
the others to join the one that was the laziest and the biggest eater of them all. Seeing this, the man led
him back to his owner. When the owner asked how he could have tested the ass in such a short time,
the man answered, "I didn't even need to see how he worked. I knew he would be just like the one he
chose to be his friend."