Even More Aesop's Fables · chapter 4 of 6
The Milkmaid and Her Pail
小梅的牛奶
Xiao Mei carries her milk to market and dreams of eggs, chicks, a red dress and a dance. Her head tosses, and so does her pail.
Read what you hear
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，我饿了！有吃的吗？
Yéye, wǒ è le! Yǒu chī de ma?
Grandpa, I'm hungry! Is there anything to eat?
- Grandpa Owl 没有。可是，有一个吃的故事。
Méiyǒu. Kěshì, yǒu yí gè chī de gùshi.
No. But there is a story about food.
- Little Rabbit 又是吃的！小松鼠，你的果子呢？
Yòu shì chī de! Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ de guǒzi ne?
Food again! Little Squirrel, where's your acorn?
Chapter 4 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 Squirrel 在我这儿！我不给你。
Zài wǒ zhèr! Wǒ bù gěi nǐ.
I've got it here! I'm not giving it to you.
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕，听着。有一个女孩，叫小梅。
Gūgū, tīngzhe. Yǒu yí gè nǚhái, jiào Xiǎo Méi.
Hoo-hoo, listen. There was a girl named Xiao Mei.
- Grandpa Owl 她有一桶牛奶，她要去卖牛奶。
Tā yǒu yì tǒng niúnǎi, tā yào qù mài niúnǎi.
She had a pail of milk, and she was going to sell it.
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 今天天气真好！我去卖牛奶了！
Jīntiān tiānqì zhēn hǎo! Wǒ qù mài niúnǎi le!
What lovely weather! I'm off to sell my milk!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 我卖了牛奶，就有钱了。买什么呢？
Wǒ mài le niúnǎi, jiù yǒu qián le. Mǎi shénme ne?
When I sell the milk, I'll have money. What shall I buy?
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 买鸡蛋！我要买一百个鸡蛋！
Mǎi jīdàn! Wǒ yào mǎi yì bǎi gè jīdàn!
Eggs! I'll buy a hundred eggs!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 鸡蛋会变成小鸡。小鸡会变大！
Jīdàn huì biànchéng xiǎojī. Xiǎojī huì biàn dà!
The eggs will turn into chicks. The chicks will get big!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 大鸡会下很多蛋。我卖蛋，又有钱了！
Dà jī huì xià hěn duō dàn. Wǒ mài dàn, yòu yǒu qián le!
The hens will lay lots of eggs. I'll sell them and have more money!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 然后，我要买一条新裙子。
Ránhòu, wǒ yào mǎi yì tiáo xīn qúnzi.
And then I'll buy a new dress.
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 红的！很漂亮的红裙子！
Hóng de! Hěn piàoliang de hóng qúnzi!
A red one! A very pretty red dress!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 我穿着红裙子去跳舞，大家都看我。
Wǒ chuānzhe hóng qúnzi qù tiàowǔ, dàjiā dōu kàn wǒ.
I'll wear my red dress to the dance, and everybody will look at me.
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 他们说：“小梅，你真漂亮！”
Tāmen shuō: “Xiǎo Méi, nǐ zhēn piàoliang!”
They'll say, "Xiao Mei, you look so beautiful!"
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 我会说：“不，谢谢！”
Wǒ huì shuō: “Bú, xièxie!”
And I'll say, "No, thank you!"
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 啊！我的牛奶！
A! Wǒ de niúnǎi!
Ah! My milk!
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 没有牛奶……没有鸡蛋……没有红裙子……
Méiyǒu niúnǎi… méiyǒu jīdàn… méiyǒu hóng qúnzi…
No milk... no eggs... no red dress...
- Xiao Mei the Milkmaid 好吧。我回家，再拿一桶牛奶来。
Hǎo ba. Wǒ huíjiā, zài ná yì tǒng niúnǎi lái.
Oh well. I'll go home and bring another pail of milk.
- Little Rabbit 哈哈！她还没有鸡蛋，就在跳舞了！
Hāhā! Tā hái méiyǒu jīdàn, jiù zài tiàowǔ le!
Ha ha! She was dancing before she even had an egg!
- Little Squirrel 小鸡还没有出来，不要数它们！
Xiǎojī hái méiyǒu chūlái, bú yào shǔ tāmen!
Don't count the chicks before they hatch!
- Grandpa Owl 说得好！想得很好，可是要先做事。
Shuō de hǎo! Xiǎng de hěn hǎo, kěshì yào xiān zuò shì.
Well said! Dreaming is fine, but do the work first.
- Little Rabbit 我想完了。现在，我要吃那个果子。
Wǒ xiǎng wán le. Xiànzài, wǒ yào chī nàge guǒzi.
I'm done dreaming. Now I want that acorn.
- Little Squirrel 不给！这是我的果子！
Bù gěi! Zhè shì wǒ de guǒzi!
No! This is my acorn!
- Little Rabbit 是我先看到的！
Shì wǒ xiān kàndào de!
I saw it first!
- Grandpa Owl 唉，又来了……
Āi, yòu lái le…
Oh dear, here we go again...
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，明天讲什么？先告诉我们吧！
Yéye, míngtiān jiǎng shénme? Xiān gàosu wǒmen ba!
Grandpa, what is tomorrow? Tell us first!
- Grandpa Owl 明天，是一把树枝的故事。你们两个，听着。
Míngtiān, shì yì bǎ shùzhī de gùshi. Nǐmen liǎng gè, tīngzhe.
Tomorrow is the story of a bundle of sticks. You two, listen well.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Xiao Mei going to do with her milk?
“她有一桶牛奶，她要去卖牛奶。”
- What does she plan to buy with the milk money first?
“买鸡蛋！我要买一百个鸡蛋！”
- What does she picture at the dance?
“我穿着红裙子去跳舞，大家都看我。”
- What is Xiao Mei doing just before her milk spills?
“我会说：“不，谢谢！””
- What is Squirrel's joke about the story?
“小鸡还没有出来，不要数它们！”