刘基·《九头鸟争食》英译

孽摇之虚有鸟焉，一身而九头。得食则八头皆争，呀然而相衔，洒血飞毛，食不得入咽，而九头皆伤。海凫观而笑之曰：“而胡不思，九口之食，同归于一腹乎？而奚其争也。”<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The Nine-Headed Bird

Liu Ji

On Nieyao Mountain there was a bird with nine heads. Whenever one of the heads snatched at food, all the other eight contended for it. They fought and pecked each other, their blood oozing and their feathers flying. Finally all nine heads were injured and could not eat any food. A sea bird watching the scene laughed. “Why don’t you think how the food which enters your nine mouths fills the same belly? There’s no reason for your nine heads to vie with each other.”