提 要
幾乎每個人在很小的時候，就聽過「龜兔賽跑」的故事，但是在同儕之間能夠用英文說這故事，仍然是一件很酷的事；而用英文繼續說若干則「Morals of this story」，就更神氣了。
1.One day a rabbit was boasting about how fast he could run. He was laughing at the turtle for being so slow. Much to the rabbit's surprise, the turtle challenged him to a race.
The rabbit thought this was a good joke and accepted the challenge. The fox was to be the umpire of the race. As the race began, the rabbit raced way ahead of the turtle, just like everyone thought.
The rabbit got to the halfway point and could not see the turtle anywhere. He was hot and tired and decided to stop and take a short nap. Even if the turtle passed him, he would be able to race to the finish line ahead of him.
All this time the turtle kept walking step by step. He never quit no matter how hot or tired he got. He just kept going.
However, the rabbit slept longer than he had thought and woke up. He could not see the turtle anywhere! He went at full speed to the finish line but found the turtle there waiting for him.
Moral: never underestimate your opponent.
解 說
有一天，一隻兔子正吹噓自己跑得快，同時嘲笑烏龜動作緩慢。讓兔子大為吃驚的是，烏龜向牠挑戰跑步。
兔子認為這是個好笑話，接受了牠的挑戰。 狐狸是比賽的裁判。 正如所有人想的一樣，比賽一開始，兔子就飛快地衝出，把烏龜遠遠地拋在身後。
兔子到了中途，瞻前顧後也看不到烏龜。 又熱又悶的牠，決定停下來打個盹。牠認為，就算是烏龜超越了，也可以在到達終點線之前趕上。
另一方面，烏龜一步接一步地走著。不管覺得多麼熱或多麼累，牠都不會放棄而停下，只是卯足全力繼續前進。
然而，兔子打盹比牠想像的還要久得多，等到終於睡醒了，牠怎麼也看不到烏龜。匆匆趕到終點線時，發現烏龜在那裡等著牠。
寓意：千萬不要低估對手，牢記：「不可輕敵」。
never underestimate your opponent
不可輕敵
2.★ 漢朝時，邊疆地區的軍隊經常和匈奴發生戰爭。在公元前六十八年，又發生了一次戰爭。漢軍奪了車師，匈奴也派騎兵襲擊車師。
聽到這個消息，漢宣帝急忙召集群臣商量對策。將軍趙充國主張攻打匈奴，使他們不再騷擾西域；丞相魏丞則不以為然：「近年來匈奴並沒侵犯邊境。邊境的老百姓生活困難，怎能為了一個小小的車師勞民傷財？況且國內不但有天災還有人禍。擺在眼前的大事不是去攻打匈奴，而是整頓朝政、治理官吏。」
魏丞接著又指出攻打匈奴的錯誤：「如果我們出兵的話，既使是打勝仗，也會後患無窮。仗著國大人多而出兵攻打別人，炫耀武力，這樣的軍隊就是驕橫的軍隊，『驕兵必敗！』」
★ 英美國家的軍事領導者非常尊崇《孫子兵法》，稱呼孫子為「Master Sun」（孫師父）。「孫師父」談論「不可輕敵」的部分也有英譯：
Master Sun talks often about deception and therefore warns against being deceived by the enemy and underestimating their ability."He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them." It's important to properly assess your opponent without prejudice or assumption.
兵非貴益多也，惟無武進，足以併力、料敵、取人而已。夫惟無慮而易敵者，必擒於人。（白話文的意思是：打仗不在於兵力愈多愈好，只要不輕敵冒進，並集中兵力、判明敵情，取得部下的信任和支持，也就足夠了。那種既無深謀遠慮而又輕敵的人，必定會被敵人俘虜。）