Even More Aesop's Fables · chapter 6 of 6
The Donkey in the Lion's Skin
穿狮子皮的驴
A donkey finds a lion's skin, puts it on and frightens the whole meadow. Then a clever fox hears something very familiar.
Read what you hear
- Little Squirrel 狮子！山上有狮子！快跑！
Shīzi! Shānshàng yǒu shīzi! Kuài pǎo!
A lion! There's a lion on the hill! Run!
- Little Rabbit 等一下。我来看看山上有什么。
Děng yí xià. Wǒ lái kànkan shānshàng yǒu shénme.
Wait a moment. Let me see what's on the hill.
- Little Rabbit 爷爷，那是真的狮子吗？它会吃我们吗？
Yéye, nà shì zhēnde shīzi ma? Tā huì chī wǒmen ma?
Grandpa, is that a real lion? Will it eat us?
Chapter 6 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.
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕！今天的故事，也有一个“狮子”。
Gūgū! Jīntiān de gùshi, yě yǒu yí gè “Shīzi”.
Hoo-hoo! Tonight's story has a "lion" too.
- Little Squirrel 真的吗？爷爷，快说，快说！
Zhēnde ma? Yéye, kuài shuō, kuài shuō!
Really? Grandpa, tell it, quick!
- Grandpa Owl 好。很久以前，有一头驴。
Hǎo. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yì tóu lǘ.
All right. Long ago, there was a donkey.
- The Donkey 看！这里有一个狮子皮！
Kàn! Zhèlǐ yǒu yí gè shīzi pí!
Look! There's a lion skin here!
- The Donkey 我穿上狮子皮。看，我是狮子了！
Wǒ chuānshàng shīzi pí. Kàn, wǒ shì shīzi le!
I'll put on the lion skin. Look, I'm a lion now!
- The Donkey 我是大狮子！你们都要怕我，快跑！
Wǒ shì dà shīzi! Nǐmen dōu yào pà wǒ, kuài pǎo!
I'm a big lion! You must all be afraid of me, run!
- The Donkey 走开，走开！狮子来了！
Zǒu kāi, zǒu kāi! Shīzi lái le!
Out of my way! The lion is coming!
- Grandpa Owl 小鸡跑了，小鸟也跑了。他们都怕他。
Xiǎojī pǎo le, xiǎoniǎo yě pǎo le. Tāmen dōu pà tā.
The chicks ran, and the little birds ran. They were all afraid of him.
- The Donkey 太好了！我不是驴，我是狮子！
Tài hǎo le! Wǒ bú shì lǘ, wǒ shì shīzi!
Great! I'm not a donkey, I'm a lion!
- The Donkey 我要叫一叫，你们都来听！我的声音最大！
Wǒ yào jiào yí jiào, nǐmen dōu lái tīng! Wǒ de shēngyīn zuì dà!
I'll give a roar. Come, all of you, and listen! My voice is the biggest!
- The Donkey 咿啊！咿啊！
Yī a! Yī a!
Hee-haw! Hee-haw!
- The Fox 这是什么声音？我听过这个声音！
Zhè shì shénme shēngyīn? Wǒ tīng guò zhège shēngyīn!
What kind of noise is that? I know that sound!
- The Fox 你不是狮子。你是一头驴！
Nǐ bú shì shīzi. Nǐ shì yì tóu lǘ!
You are not a lion. You are a donkey!
- The Donkey 什么？我不是狮子吗？
Shénme? Wǒ bú shì shīzi ma?
What? I'm not a lion?
- The Fox 你不叫，我也怕你！
Nǐ bú jiào, wǒ yě pà nǐ!
If you hadn't made a sound, I'd be scared of you too!
- The Donkey 啊……我的嘴，我的声音……我不该叫！
A… wǒ de zuǐ, wǒ de shēngyīn… wǒ bù gāi jiào!
Oh no... my mouth, my voice... I shouldn't have made a sound!
- The Donkey 对不起。我不该穿狮子的皮。
Duì bù qǐ. Wǒ bù gāi chuān shīzi de pí.
I'm sorry. I should not wear a lion's skin.
- The Fox 做驴也很好。你就是你！不用做狮子！
Zuò lǘ yě hěn hǎo. Nǐ jiùshì nǐ! Bú yòng zuò shīzi!
Being a donkey is fine too. You are you! You don't need to be a lion!
- Little Squirrel 我知道！我知道！我早就知道了！
Wǒ zhīdào! Wǒ zhīdào! Wǒ zǎojiù zhīdào le!
I knew it! I knew it! I knew it all along!
- Little Rabbit 你刚才还想跑！
Nǐ gāngcái hái xiǎng pǎo!
You were just about to run!
- Grandpa Owl 好了。今天的故事讲完了。
Hǎo le. Jīntiān de gùshi jiǎng wán le.
There. Tonight's story is done.
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，明天讲什么？
Yéye, míngtiān jiǎng shénme?
Grandpa, what are we telling tomorrow?
- Grandpa Owl 夏天还很长。爷爷的故事，还有很多。
Xiàtiān hái hěn cháng. Yéye de gùshi, háiyǒu hěn duō.
Summer is still long. Grandpa has plenty more stories.
- Little Rabbit 那明天，我们也说一个！
Nà míngtiān, wǒmen yě shuō yí gè!
Then tomorrow, we will tell one too!
- Little Squirrel 我先说！这次，我一定知道后来怎么样！
Wǒ xiān shuō! Zhècì, wǒ yídìng zhīdào hòulái zěnmeyàng!
I go first! This time I really do know what happens!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕！明天见，孩子们。
Gūgū! Míngtiān jiàn, háizimen.
Hoo-hoo! See you tomorrow, children.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the donkey find in the meadow?
“看！这里有一个狮子皮！”
- What happens when the donkey wears the skin?
“小鸡跑了，小鸟也跑了。他们都怕他。”
- What gives the donkey away?
“咿啊！咿啊！”
- What does the fox say when he hears the sound?
“你不是狮子。你是一头驴！”
- What does the donkey learn?
“对不起。我不该穿狮子的皮。”