Aesop's Fables · chapter 6 of 6
The Crow and the Pitcher
乌鸦喝水
On the last night of autumn, Little Rabbit is afraid Grandpa Owl is leaving. His final story: a very thirsty crow, and a pitcher with just a little water at the bottom.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 第六天晚上，天冷了。两个小朋友又来到了老树下。
Dì liù tiān wǎnshang, tiān lěng le. Liǎng gè xiǎopéngyǒu yòu lái dào le lǎo shù xià.
On the sixth evening, the air had turned cold. The two friends came to the old tree once more.
- Little Rabbit 爷爷！您还在！您不走吧？
Yéye! Nín hái zài! Nín bù zǒu ba?
Grandpa! You're still here! You're not going away, are you?
- Grandpa Owl 爷爷不走。可是冬天快到了，晚上太冷，你们要在家里睡觉。
Yéye bù zǒu. Kěshì dōngtiān kuài dào le, wǎnshang tài lěng, nǐmen yào zài jiā lǐ shuìjiào.
Grandpa's not going anywhere. But winter's almost here. The nights are too cold now, and you two need to sleep at home.
- Little Squirrel 那……我们听不到故事了？
Nà… wǒmen tīng bú dào gùshi le?
So… no more stories?
- Grandpa Owl 别急。下次见面，我还有很多故事。今天，先讲最后一个！
Bié jí. Xià cì jiànmiàn, wǒ hái yǒu hěn duō gùshi. Jīntiān, xiān jiǎng zuìhòu yí gè!
Don't fret. I'll have lots more stories next time we meet. But tonight, here's the last one!
- Grandpa Owl 有一年夏天，天天不下雨。一只乌鸦飞了很远，找水喝。
Yǒu yì nián xiàtiān, tiāntiān bú xià yǔ. Yì zhī wūyā fēi le hěn yuǎn, zhǎo shuǐ hē.
One summer, day after day went by without rain. A crow flew a long, long way, looking for water.
- The Crow 渴……好渴啊……哪儿有水？
Kě… hǎo kě a… Nǎr yǒu shuǐ?
Thirsty… so thirsty… where can I find water?
- The Crow 那儿有一个瓶子！瓶子里有水！
Nàr yǒu yí gè píngzi! Píngzi lǐ yǒu shuǐ!
There's a pitcher over there! And there's water in it!
- The Crow 水太少了……我的嘴够不到！
Shuǐ tài shǎo le… wǒ de zuǐ gòu bú dào!
There's too little water… my beak can't reach it!
- Little Rabbit 乌鸦，别走！想想办法！
Wūyā, bié zǒu! Xiǎngxiang bànfǎ!
Don't give up, Crow! Think of something!
- Grandpa Owl 乌鸦看看瓶子，又看看地上。地上有很多小石头。
Wūyā kànkan píngzi, yòu kànkan dì shang. Dì shang yǒu hěn duō xiǎo shítou.
The crow looked at the pitcher, then at the ground. There were lots of little stones on the ground.
- Little Squirrel 我知道！我知道！
Wǒ zhīdào! Wǒ zhīdào!
I know! I know!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠，你天天说“我知道”，天天说错！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ tiāntiān shuō “wǒ zhīdào”, tiāntiān shuō cuò!
Little Squirrel, every night you say “I know,” and every night you're wrong!
- Little Squirrel 这次我真的知道！石头！
Zhè cì wǒ zhēn de zhīdào! Shítou!
This time I really do know! Stones!
- The Crow 我有办法了！把石头放进瓶子里！
Wǒ yǒu bànfǎ le! Bǎ shítou fàng jìn píngzi lǐ!
I've got it! I'll drop stones into the pitcher!
- Little Rabbit 一个，两个，三个……
Yí gè, liǎng gè, sān gè…
One, two, three…
- Little Squirrel 四个，五个，六个……
Sì gè, wǔ gè, liù gè…
Four, five, six…
- The Crow 水高了！水高了！好喝，真好喝！
Shuǐ gāo le! Shuǐ gāo le! Hǎo hē, zhēn hǎo hē!
The water's rising! It's rising! Oh, that's good, so good!
- Grandpa Owl 小松鼠，这次你说对了！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, zhè cì nǐ shuō duì le!
Little Squirrel, this time you got it right!
- Little Squirrel 我说了，我知道！
Wǒ shuō le, wǒ zhīdào!
See? I told you I knew!
- Little Rabbit 乌鸦真会想办法！小石头，也能帮大忙！
Wūyā zhēn huì xiǎng bànfǎ! Xiǎo shítou, yě néng bāng dà máng!
That crow really knows how to figure things out! Even little stones can be a big help!
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，这个果子，送给您。谢谢您的故事！
Yéye, zhège guǒzi, sòng gěi nín. Xièxie nín de gùshi!
Grandpa, this acorn is for you. Thank you for the stories!
- Grandpa Owl 这是你冬天吃的果子啊！
Zhè shì nǐ dōngtiān chī de guǒzi a!
But that's your acorn for the winter!
- Little Squirrel 我还有很多！给您一个。就一个！
Wǒ hái yǒu hěn duō! Gěi nín yí gè. Jiù yí gè!
I've got lots more! You can have one. Just one!
- Grandpa Owl 谢谢你！可是……爷爷不吃果子。我会一直留着。
Xièxie nǐ! Kěshì… yéye bù chī guǒzi. Wǒ huì yìzhí liú zhe.
Thank you! But… Grandpa doesn't eat acorns. I'll keep it always.
- Grandpa Owl 下次见面，我给你们讲北风和太阳的故事。
Xià cì jiànmiàn, wǒ gěi nǐmen jiǎng běifēng hé tàiyáng de gùshi.
Next time we meet, I'll tell you the story of the North Wind and the Sun.
- Little Squirrel 北风和太阳？我知道！北风一定赢！
Běifēng hé tàiyáng? Wǒ zhīdào! Běifēng yídìng yíng!
The North Wind and the Sun? I know! The North Wind's going to win!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠，你又“知道”了！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ yòu “zhīdào” le!
Little Squirrel, there you go “knowing” again!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕……下次，你们就知道了。晚安，孩子们！
Gūgū… Xià cì, nǐmen jiù zhīdào le. Wǎn'ān, háizimen!
Hoo-hoo… Next time, you'll find out. Good night, children!
What changed in the story?
- Why won't the friends hear a story every night after tonight?
“冬天快到了，晚上太冷，你们要在家里睡觉”
- Why can't the crow drink the water at first?
“水太少了……我的嘴够不到！”
- What does the crow put into the pitcher?
“把石头放进瓶子里！”
- What does Little Squirrel give Grandpa Owl?
“爷爷，这个果子，送给您。”
- What story does Grandpa Owl promise for next time?
“我给你们讲北风和太阳的故事”