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 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.
- 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。”