Aesop's Fables · chapter 1 of 6
The Tortoise and the Hare
龟兔赛跑
Little Rabbit wins a race to Grandpa Owl's tree and can't stop bragging. Then the old owl begins his first story: a speedy hare, a slow tortoise, and a race up a hill.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 秋天的一个晚上，小兔子和小松鼠跑到了老树下。
Qiūtiān de yí gè wǎnshang, Xiǎo Tùzi hé Xiǎo Sōngshǔ pǎo dào le lǎo shù xià.
One autumn evening, Little Rabbit and Little Squirrel came running up to the old tree.
- Little Rabbit 我第一！小松鼠，你太慢了！
Wǒ dì yī! Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ tài màn le!
I'm first! Little Squirrel, you're so slow!
- Little Squirrel 不公平！我还拿着果子呢！
Bù gōngpíng! Wǒ hái ná zhe guǒzi ne!
No fair! I'm carrying my acorn!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕，这么晚了，你们来找爷爷做什么？
Gūgū, zhème wǎn le, nǐmen lái zhǎo yéye zuò shénme?
Hoo-hoo! Out so late? What brings you two to see Grandpa?
- Little Rabbit 猫头鹰爷爷，我们想听故事！
Māotóuyīng yéye, wǒmen xiǎng tīng gùshi!
Grandpa Owl, we want to hear a story!
- Little Squirrel 听说您的故事最好听！快讲，快讲！
Tīngshuō nín de gùshi zuì hǎotīng! Kuài jiǎng, kuài jiǎng!
We heard your stories are the best! Tell one, tell one!
- Grandpa Owl 好，好。我的故事，都是伊索讲的。
Hǎo, hǎo. Wǒ de gùshi, dōu shì Yīsuǒ jiǎng de.
All right, all right. All my stories were first told by Aesop.
- Little Squirrel 伊索？他也是猫头鹰爷爷吗？
Yīsuǒ? Tā yě shì māotóuyīng yéye ma?
Aesop? Was he an owl grandpa too?
- Grandpa Owl 不是，伊索是一个人。两千多年前，他住在希腊。
Bú shì, Yīsuǒ shì yí gè rén. Liǎngqiān duō nián qián, tā zhù zài Xīlà.
No, Aesop was a man. He lived in Greece more than two thousand years ago.
- Grandpa Owl 今天讲“龟兔赛跑”。有一只兔子，跑得非常快……
Jīntiān jiǎng “Guī tù sàipǎo”. Yǒu yì zhī tùzi, pǎo de fēicháng kuài…
Tonight: the Tortoise and the Hare. There once was a hare who could run very, very fast…
- Little Rabbit 兔子？跟我一样！兔子跑得最快了！
Tùzi? Gēn wǒ yíyàng! Tùzi pǎo de zuì kuài le!
A hare? He's a bunny, just like me! We're the fastest runners there are!
- The Hare 我跑得最快！乌龟，你太慢了，哈哈！
Wǒ pǎo de zuì kuài! Wūguī, nǐ tài màn le, hāhā!
I'm the fastest runner of all! Tortoise, you're so slow, ha ha!
- The Tortoise 兔子，别笑。我们来比赛，好不好？
Tùzi, bié xiào. Wǒmen lái bǐsài, hǎo bù hǎo?
Don't laugh, Hare. Let's have a race, shall we?
- The Hare 你？跟我比赛？好啊！谁先到山上的大树下，谁就赢！
Nǐ? Gēn wǒ bǐsài? Hǎo a! Shéi xiān dào shān shang de dà shù xià, shéi jiù yíng!
You? Race me? Sure! Whoever gets to the big tree on the hilltop first wins!
- Little Squirrel 我知道！兔子一定赢！
Wǒ zhīdào! Tùzi yídìng yíng!
I know! The hare's going to win!
- Grandpa Owl 别急，别急。一、二、三，跑！兔子很快就看不见乌龟了。
Bié jí, bié jí. Yī, èr, sān, pǎo! Tùzi hěn kuài jiù kàn bu jiàn wūguī le.
Not so fast. One, two, three, go! In no time, the hare couldn't even see the tortoise behind him.
- The Hare 乌龟太慢了。树下有草，真舒服……我先睡一会儿。
Wūguī tài màn le. Shù xià yǒu cǎo, zhēn shūfu… Wǒ xiān shuì yíhuìr.
That tortoise is so slow. Soft grass under a shady tree, how nice… I'll take a little nap first.
- Grandpa Owl 兔子睡觉了。乌龟呢？她很慢，可是她一直走，一直走。
Tùzi shuìjiào le. Wūguī ne? Tā hěn màn, kěshì tā yìzhí zǒu, yìzhí zǒu.
The hare fell asleep. And the tortoise? She was slow, but she kept on walking, and walking.
- The Tortoise 慢一点儿，没关系。一直走，就能走到。
Màn yìdiǎnr, méi guānxi. Yìzhí zǒu, jiù néng zǒu dào.
Slow is all right. If I just keep going, I'll get there.
- Little Rabbit 兔子，快起来！乌龟走过去了！
Tùzi, kuài qǐlái! Wūguī zǒu guòqu le!
Hare, get up! The tortoise just walked right past you!
- Grandpa Owl 太阳下山了。兔子睡好了，站起来一看……
Tàiyáng xià shān le. Tùzi shuì hǎo le, zhàn qǐlái yí kàn…
The sun went down behind the hills. The hare, well rested, stood up and looked around…
- The Hare 什么？乌龟已经在大树下了？！
Shénme? Wūguī yǐjīng zài dà shù xià le?!
What? The tortoise is already at the big tree?!
- The Tortoise 兔子，我先到了。慢一点儿，也能赢。
Tùzi, wǒ xiān dào le. Màn yìdiǎnr, yě néng yíng.
I got here first, Hare. Slow can win too.
- Little Squirrel 龟兔赛跑，乌龟赢了！好吧……我说错了。
Guī tù sàipǎo, wūguī yíng le! Hǎo ba… wǒ shuō cuò le.
So the tortoise won the race! Okay… I was wrong.
- Little Rabbit 这只兔子，为什么要睡觉？跑得快，有什么用？
Zhè zhī tùzi, wèishénme yào shuìjiào? Pǎo de kuài, yǒu shénme yòng?
Why did that hare have to go to sleep? What's the use of being fast, then?
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，下次比赛，你也别睡觉啊！
Xiǎo Tùzi, xià cì bǐsài, nǐ yě bié shuìjiào a!
Little Rabbit, next time we race, don't you take a nap either!
- Little Rabbit 我不睡！……爷爷，再讲一个吧！
Wǒ bú shuì!… Yéye, zài jiǎng yí gè ba!
I would never! …Grandpa, tell us another one!
- Grandpa Owl 明天吧。明天的故事里，有一个孩子，还有一只狼。
Míngtiān ba. Míngtiān de gùshi lǐ, yǒu yí gè háizi, hái yǒu yì zhī láng.
Tomorrow! Tomorrow's story has a boy in it… and a wolf.
- Grandpa Owl 那只狼，会来……也不会来。
Nà zhī láng, huì lái… yě bú huì lái.
That wolf will come… and it won't come.
- Little Squirrel 会来，也不会来？爷爷，这是什么意思啊？
Huì lái, yě bú huì lái? Yéye, zhè shì shénme yìsi a?
It'll come, and it won't come? Grandpa, what's that supposed to mean?
What changed in the story?
- Who wins the race to Grandpa Owl's tree at the start?
“我第一！小松鼠，你太慢了！”
- Who was Aesop, according to Grandpa Owl?
“伊索是一个人。两千多年前，他住在希腊。”
- What does the hare do in the middle of the race?
“我先睡一会儿。”
- What does the tortoise do while the hare sleeps?
“她很慢，可是她一直走，一直走。”
- What will tomorrow's story have in it?
“明天的故事里，有一个孩子，还有一只狼。”