Aesop's Fables · chapter 2 of 6
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
狼来了
Little Squirrel plays a mean trick on Little Rabbit, so Grandpa Owl tells a story just for him: a bored shepherd boy who thinks shouting “Wolf!” is the best joke ever.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天晚上，小兔子先来到了老树下。
Dì èr tiān wǎnshang, Xiǎo Tùzi xiān lái dào le lǎo shù xià.
The next evening, Little Rabbit got to the old tree first.
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠呢？他怎么还不来？
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ ne? Tā zěnme hái bù lái?
Where's Little Squirrel? Why isn't he here yet?
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，快跑！狐狸来了！狐狸来了！
Xiǎo Tùzi, kuài pǎo! Húli lái le! Húli lái le!
Little Rabbit, run! A fox is coming! A fox is coming!
- Little Rabbit 狐狸？！在哪儿？爷爷，快帮帮我！
Húli?! Zài nǎr? Yéye, kuài bāngbang wǒ!
A fox?! Where? Grandpa, help me!
- Little Squirrel 哈哈！没有狐狸！我开玩笑的！
Hāhā! Méiyǒu húli! Wǒ kāi wánxiào de!
Ha ha! There's no fox! I was only joking!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠！你真坏！我不跟你玩儿了！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ! Nǐ zhēn huài! Wǒ bù gēn nǐ wánr le!
Little Squirrel! That was mean! I'm not playing with you anymore!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕，小松鼠，今天的故事，正好讲给你听。
Gūgū, Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, jīntiān de gùshi, zhènghǎo jiǎng gěi nǐ tīng.
Hoo-hoo! Little Squirrel, tonight's story is just the one for you.
- Little Squirrel 给我听？好啊！什么故事？
Gěi wǒ tīng? Hǎo a! Shénme gùshi?
For me? Great! What's the story?
- Grandpa Owl 叫“狼来了”。有一个放羊娃，天天在山上放羊。
Jiào “Láng lái le”. Yǒu yí gè fàngyángwá, tiāntiān zài shān shang fàng yáng.
It's called “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” There was once a shepherd boy who looked after the sheep on the hill every day.
- The shepherd boy 天天放羊，一点儿也不好玩儿……有了！我有一个好办法！
Tiāntiān fàng yáng, yìdiǎnr yě bù hǎowánr… Yǒu le! Wǒ yǒu yí gè hǎo bànfǎ!
Sheep, sheep, every day. It's so boring… Aha! I've got a great idea!
- The shepherd boy 狼来了！狼来了！快来帮帮我！
Láng lái le! Láng lái le! Kuài lái bāngbang wǒ!
Wolf! Wolf! Come quick and help me!
- Grandpa Owl 山下的人听见了，都跑上山来。
Shān xià de rén tīngjiàn le, dōu pǎo shàng shān lái.
The people down in the village heard him, and they all came running up the hill.
- The village woman 狼呢？狼在哪儿？孩子，你没事吧？
Láng ne? Láng zài nǎr? Háizi, nǐ méi shì ba?
Where's the wolf? Where is it? Child, are you all right?
- The shepherd boy 大婶，没有狼！我开玩笑的！哈哈！
Dàshěn, méiyǒu láng! Wǒ kāi wánxiào de! Hāhā!
There's no wolf, Auntie! I was only joking! Ha ha!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠，你听，他跟你一样！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ tīng, tā gēn nǐ yíyàng!
Little Squirrel, listen. He's just like you!
- Little Squirrel 我……我在听故事呢。
Wǒ… wǒ zài tīng gùshi ne.
I'm… I'm just listening to the story.
- The shepherd boy 狼又来了！这次是真的！快来啊！
Láng yòu lái le! Zhè cì shì zhēn de! Kuài lái a!
The wolf's back! This time it's real! Hurry!
- The village woman 又没有狼！孩子，你说假话，以后谁还信你？
Yòu méiyǒu láng! Háizi, nǐ shuō jiǎhuà, yǐhòu shéi hái xìn nǐ?
No wolf again! Child, if you tell lies, who's going to believe you after this?
- Little Squirrel 我知道！下次，大家还会来的！
Wǒ zhīdào! Xià cì, dàjiā hái huì lái de!
I know! Next time, they'll all come running again!
- Grandpa Owl 别急。一天下午，狼真的来了！
Bié jí. Yì tiān xiàwǔ, láng zhēn de lái le!
Not so fast. One afternoon, the wolf really did come!
- The shepherd boy 狼来了！狼真的来了！大家快来啊！
Láng lái le! Láng zhēn de lái le! Dàjiā kuài lái a!
Wolf! There really is a wolf! Everybody, come quick!
- The village woman 他又在说假话。我们不去了。
Tā yòu zài shuō jiǎhuà. Wǒmen bú qù le.
He's telling lies again. We're not going this time.
- Grandpa Owl 没有人上山。羊都跑了，有的羊，没有再回来。
Méiyǒu rén shàng shān. Yáng dōu pǎo le, yǒu de yáng, méiyǒu zài huílái.
Nobody went up the hill. The sheep all ran off, and some of them never came back.
- The shepherd boy 我说的是真话啊……为什么没有人来？
Wǒ shuō de shì zhēnhuà a… Wèishénme méiyǒu rén lái?
I was telling the truth… Why didn't anybody come?
- Little Rabbit 爷爷，为什么大家不来帮他？
Yéye, wèishénme dàjiā bù lái bāng tā?
Grandpa, why didn't anyone come to help him?
- Little Squirrel “会来，也不会来”……我懂了。他说了太多假话，大家都不信他了。
“Huì lái, yě bú huì lái”… Wǒ dǒng le. Tā shuō le tài duō jiǎhuà, dàjiā dōu bú xìn tā le.
“It'll come, and it won't come”… Now I get it. He told so many lies that nobody believed him anymore.
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，对不起。我以后不说假话了。
Xiǎo Tùzi, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ yǐhòu bù shuō jiǎhuà le.
Little Rabbit, I'm sorry. I won't tell lies anymore.
- Little Rabbit 好吧，我信你。爷爷，明天讲什么？
Hǎo ba, wǒ xìn nǐ. Yéye, míngtiān jiǎng shénme?
All right, I believe you. Grandpa, what's tomorrow's story?
- Grandpa Owl 明天的故事里，有一只狐狸。他很想吃一样东西……
Míngtiān de gùshi lǐ, yǒu yì zhī húli. Tā hěn xiǎng chī yí yàng dōngxi…
In tomorrow's story there's a fox. And there's one thing he wants to eat very, very badly…
- Little Rabbit 狐狸？他……他想吃小兔子吗？
Húli? Tā… tā xiǎng chī xiǎo tùzi ma?
A fox? Does he… does he want to eat little rabbits?
What changed in the story?
- What trick does Little Squirrel play on Little Rabbit?
“小兔子，快跑！狐狸来了！”
- Why does the shepherd boy shout “Wolf!” the first time?
“天天放羊，一点儿也不好玩儿”
- What does the village woman warn the boy after the second time?
“你说假话，以后谁还信你？”
- Why doesn't anyone come when the wolf really comes?
“他又在说假话。我们不去了。”
- What does Little Squirrel promise Little Rabbit?
“我以后不说假话了。”