Even More Aesop's Fables · chapter 5 of 6
The Bundle of Sticks
一把树枝
Two brothers can't stop fighting, so their old father brings out a bundle of sticks and a test that neither one can pass alone.
Read what you hear
- Little Squirrel 这个果子是我的！是我的！
Zhège guǒzi shì wǒ de! Shì wǒ de!
This acorn is mine! Mine!
- Little Rabbit 不对！是我先看到的！
Bú duì! Shì wǒ xiān kàndào de!
No! I saw it first!
- Little Squirrel 可是我先拿到的！
Kěshì wǒ xiān nádào de!
But I got it first!
Chapter 5 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of Even More Aesop's Fables are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Little Rabbit 你不给我，我明天不来了！
Nǐ bù gěi wǒ, wǒ míngtiān bù lái le!
If you won't share, I won't come tomorrow!
- Little Squirrel 不来就不来！我不怕！
Bù lái jiù bù lái! Wǒ bú pà!
Then don't come! I don't care!
- Grandpa Owl 孩子们，不要生气了。
Háizimen, bú yào shēngqì le.
Children, don't be angry.
- Grandpa Owl 爷爷有一个故事：一个爸爸，和两个儿子。
Yéye yǒu yí gè gùshi: yí gè bàba, hé liǎng gè érzi.
Grandpa has a story: a father and his two sons.
- The Elder Son 这块地是我的！你别过来！
Zhè kuài dì shì wǒ de! Nǐ bié guòlái!
This ground is mine! Don't come over here!
- The Younger Son 你的地？这是我的地！我先来的！
Nǐ de dì? Zhè shì wǒ de dì! Wǒ xiān lái de!
Yours? This is my ground! I was here first!
- The Elder Son 你又拿我的东西！
Nǐ yòu ná wǒ de dōngxi!
You always take my things!
- The Younger Son 你也是！我不想看到你！你走开！
Nǐ yě shì! Wǒ bù xiǎng kàndào nǐ! Nǐ zǒu kāi!
So do you! I don't want to see you! Go away!
- The Old Father 孩子们，不要说了。
Háizimen, bú yào shuō le.
Boys, that's enough.
- The Old Father 来，这里有一把树枝。谁能弄断它？你们来试试。
Lái, zhèlǐ yǒu yì bǎ shùzhī. Shuí néng nòngduàn tā? Nǐmen lái shìshi.
Come, here is a bundle of sticks. Who can break it? Try it.
- The Elder Son 我来！我很有力气！我来弄断它！
Wǒ lái! Wǒ hěn yǒu lìqi! Wǒ lái nòngduàn tā!
Me! I'm very strong! I'll break it!
- The Elder Son 啊……我不能弄断它！好难！
A… wǒ bù néng nòngduàn tā! Hǎo nán!
Ah... I can't break it! It's so hard!
- The Younger Son 让开，我来！让我弄断它！
Ràngkāi, wǒ lái! Ràng wǒ nòngduàn tā!
Move aside, let me! Let me break it!
- The Younger Son 我也不能弄断它！可是树枝很小啊！
Wǒ yě bù néng nòngduàn tā! Kěshì shùzhī hěn xiǎo a!
I can't break it either! But the sticks are so small!
- The Old Father 现在，你们把树枝分开。一个一个来试试。
Xiànzài, nǐmen bǎ shùzhī fēnkāi. Yí gè yí gè lái shìshi.
Now, take the sticks apart. Try them one by one.
- The Elder Son 啊？一个一个，不难！
A? Yí gè yí gè, bù nán!
Huh? One by one, it's easy!
- The Younger Son 真的！一个一个，就弄断了！
Zhēnde! Yí gè yí gè, jiù nòngduàn le!
It's true! One by one, they break!
- The Old Father 你们明白了吗？在一起，谁也不能弄断。
Nǐmen míngbai le ma? Zài yìqǐ, shuí yě bù néng nòngduàn.
Do you understand? Together, no one can break you.
- The Old Father 分开了，就不难。
Fēnkāi le, jiù bù nán.
Apart, it is easy.
- The Elder Son 弟弟……对不起，我不该那样说。
Dìdi… duì bù qǐ, wǒ bù gāi nàyàng shuō.
Little brother... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.
- The Younger Son 哥哥，我也对不起。你的地，就是我的地。
Gēge, wǒ yě duì bù qǐ. Nǐ de dì, jiùshì wǒ de dì.
Big brother, I'm sorry too. Your ground is my ground.
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠……这个果子给你吧。
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ… zhège guǒzi gěi nǐ ba.
Little Squirrel... you can have the acorn.
- Little Squirrel 不，我们一起吃！
Bù, wǒmen yìqǐ chī!
No, let's eat it together!
- Grandpa Owl 好孩子。在一起，就很好。
Hǎo háizi. Zài yìqǐ, jiù hěn hǎo.
Good children. Together is better.
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，你看！山上有一个大东西！
Yéye, nǐ kàn! Shānshàng yǒu yí gè dà dōngxi!
Hey? Grandpa, look! There is something big on the hill!
- Little Squirrel 它像狮子！它在叫！
Tā xiàng shīzi! Tā zài jiào!
It looks like a lion! It's roaring!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What are the two brothers doing at the start of the story?
“这块地是我的！你别过来！”
- What does the father bring out?
“来，这里有一把树枝。谁能弄断它？你们来试试。”
- Can the sons break the bundle?
“我也不能弄断它！可是树枝很小啊！”
- Why are the sticks easy to break in the end?
“现在，你们把树枝分开。一个一个来试试。”
- What do Rabbit and Squirrel decide about the acorn?
“不，我们一起吃！”