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 ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Even More Aesop's Fables is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God 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！”