Simple past tense reporting advice.
Once, a weasel challenged a lion, seeking to determine who was superior. The lion decisively refused. "What's the matter?" the weasel asked. "Are you afraid?" "I am very afraid," the lion replied. "If I agree, you might earn the honor of having fought a lion, but what about me? From then on, all the animals will mock me for ever engaging in a fight with a weasel."
There was once a young American writer who, in his early years, produced many popular works that were well-received by readers and sold quite well. One day, the writer had a dispute with a local petty man over trivial matters, and neither would back down. A friend advised the writer not to argue with the man, noting that his time was precious and should be spent on writing. However, the writer could not let it go; he felt the man had damaged his reputation and insulted his character, and he was determined to defeat him and make him submit. From then on, the writer was constantly at odds with this "enemy," leading to continuous conflicts and friction. Consequently, the writer lost his passion for creation and failed to produce any more satisfying works. Many years later, most people had completely forgotten that such a writer ever existed.
有一次，一只鼬鼠向狮子发起挑战，想要一决雌雄。狮子果断地拒绝了。“怎么，”鼬鼠挑衅道，“你害怕了吗？”“非常害怕，”狮子回答，“如果答应了你，你可能会获得曾与狮子比武的殊荣，而我呢？从此以后，所有的动物都会嘲笑我竟然会和一只鼬鼠纠缠不清。”
美国曾有一位年轻作家，早年创作了许多脍炙人口的作品，销量颇佳，深受读者好评。有一天，这位作家与当地一名市侩因琐事发生了矛盾，两人陷入了僵持。朋友劝他不要与市侩争辩，因为作家时间宝贵，应将更多精力投入到写作中。然而，作家却难以释怀，他认为对方破坏了自己的声誉，侮辱了人格，非要战胜对方，让他心服口服。从此，作家与这位“敌人”针锋相对，不断发生冲突与摩擦。作家从此再无心创作，也再未能写出令人满意的作品。多年以后，许多人已不再记得曾经有过这样一位作家了。