兔死狐悲

從前，一隻兔子和一隻狐狸為對付共同的敵人－－獵人，彼此聯盟發誓，發誓要同生死，共患難。一天，當他們正在田野裡享受大自然的美景時，不料一群獵人突然前來，一箭就射死了兔子，狐狸也險遭不測。獵人走後，狐狸就跑到兔子身旁，哀泣悲悼。

有個長者經過，看見狐狸在兔子旁邊哭泣，覺得奇怪，就問狐狸哭泣的原因。 狐狸悲哀的說：「我和兔子同樣是微小的動物，是獵人捕獵的對象。我們相約共同對敵， 共生死，同患難。現在我的同盟被獵人射死，他今日的死亡，意味著我明天的死亡。我們是真正的朋友，我哪能不傷心哭泣呢！」

長者聽了，歎著氣，說：「你為這樣的同伴哀悼哭得有理！」

「兔死狐悲」這個成語就是由這個故事而來的。表示對同類的死亡或不幸的傷心。

The Fox Is Sad At The Death of The Hare

Once a fox and a hare became friends with the purpose of defending themselves against their joint enemy, hunters, and swore to partake their fate for each other in weal or woe. One day as they were enjoying the natural beauty together in the fields, all of a sudden, a party of hunters came and the hare was instantly shot dead. The fox had a narrow escape. After the hunters had gone, the fox came and wept over the death of his mate.

An elderly gentleman who happened to pass by was surprised at the scene. Curiously, he asked the fox the reason of her bitter weeping.
The fox sorrowfully replied: "We are small animals and being the prey of hunters had planned to defend ourselves against our joint enemy, hunters, promising to partake our fate for each others in weal or woe. Now our enemy has killed my companion his death may mean the death of me tomorrow. We are real friends and real friends must share everything. How could I not help weeping!"

"Oh, I see. You have good reasons to weep over the death of a partner," exclaimed the elderly gentleman.

The idiom "The fox is sad at the death of the hare" comes for the story above, illustrating one feels sad for the death or misfortunes of his companions.

中華典故：兔死狐悲

 「兔死狐悲」記載於《三國演義 第八十九回》：兔死狐悲，物傷其類。吾與汝皆是各洞之主，往日無冤，何故害我？故後人用它來比喻「同情悲憫同類的不幸遭遇，也為自己的危險處境感到悲傷」。

一般人的觀念常誤認：「狐」是肉食性動物而「兔」是草食性動物，兩者在科學上分類是不同類的，而且「狐」最喜歡獵食「兔」，當「兔」死時「狐」焉有不拍手叫好，所以「兔死狐悲」常被誤用為假惺惺的意思。

其實「兔死狐悲，物傷其類」，是指「兔」和「狐」是被獵人捕殺的對象是同類的，所以「兔」死則「狐」就將成為下一個獵殺的對象，那「狐」就會擔憂自己的危險處境！就會對死去的「兔」感到同情悲憫！

後記：我們常說的「狐狸」是指其中的「狐」，它在科學分類上歸屬於動物界、脊索動物門、哺乳綱、食肉目、犬科、狐屬。而「狐」和「狸」是兩種不同的動物，因為他們都是犬科動物，在特徵上又很相似，所以在習慣上已經將「狸」作為「狐」的修飾詞而刪除其意。

「兔」是草食性動物在科學分類上歸屬於動物界、脊索動物門、哺乳綱、兔形目、兔科。兔不會流汗因沒有汗腺，所以用耳朵來散熱。兔的排尿機制屬濃縮性，故對水的需求量只要靠青草上的些微露水，或從蔬菜中攝取的一些水分就足夠，所以飼養的寵物兔仍要喝適量的水，否則會缺水而死。@*
(http://www.dajiyuan.com)