Chinese Idiom Stories 3 · chapter 2 of 6
Music for a Cow
对牛弹琴
A young musician plays his best song for a cow, and the cow only wants to eat. What sound will finally make her look up?
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“对牛弹琴”。公明仪最爱弹琴。
Zhège gùshi jiào “duì niú tán qín”. Gōngmíng Yí zuì ài tán qín.
This story is called “Playing the Qin for a Cow.” Gongming Yi loved playing the qin more than anything.
- Gongming Yi 今天天气真好！我去河边弹琴！
Jīntiān tiānqì zhēn hǎo! Wǒ qù hébiān tán qín!
What lovely weather! I'm going to the river to play!
- Gongming Yi 啊，河边有一头大牛！
À, hébiān yǒu yì tóu dà niú!
Oh, there's a cow by the river!
- The cow 草，草，好吃的草……我只想吃草。
Cǎo, cǎo, hǎochī de cǎo… Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng chī cǎo.
Grass, grass, tasty grass… All I want is grass.
- Xiao Hu 大哥哥，你好！这是我家的牛。
Dàgēge, nǐ hǎo! Zhè shì wǒ jiā de niú.
Hello, big brother! This is my family's cow.
- Gongming Yi 小朋友，我要给牛弹琴。牛一定喜欢！
Xiǎopéngyou, wǒ yào gěi niú tán qín. Niú yídìng xǐhuan!
Little friend, I'm going to play for her. She's sure to love it!
- Xiao Hu 真的吗？牛只喜欢吃草。
Zhēn de ma? Niú zhǐ xǐhuan chī cǎo.
Really? She only likes to eat grass.
- Gongming Yi 它是牛，也是我的朋友。我要给朋友弹琴！
Tā shì niú, yě shì wǒ de péngyou. Wǒ yào gěi péngyou tán qín!
She's a cow, and she's also my friend. I want to play for my friend!
- Gongming Yi 你听！这个歌很好听，是我最爱的歌。
Nǐ tīng! Zhège gē hěn hǎotīng, shì wǒ zuì ài de gē.
Listen! This song is beautiful, my very favorite.
- The cow 这个人在做什么？我听不懂……草真好吃。
Zhège rén zài zuò shénme? Wǒ tīng bù dǒng… cǎo zhēn hǎochī.
What is this man doing? I don't understand… this grass is so good.
- Xiao Hu 你看，牛不听。牛在吃草。
Nǐ kàn, niú bù tīng. Niú zài chī cǎo.
See, she isn't listening. She's eating.
- Gongming Yi 怎么会？我的歌很好！再来一个！
Zěnme huì? Wǒ de gē hěn hǎo! Zài lái yí gè!
How can that be? My song is great! One more!
- The cow 我吃饱了。好累，我要睡觉了。
Wǒ chī bǎo le. Hǎo lèi, wǒ yào shuìjiào le.
I'm full. I'm so sleepy. Time for a nap.
- Xiao Hu 大哥哥，你看，牛睡觉了！
Dàgēge, nǐ kàn, niú shuìjiào le!
Big brother, look, she's gone to sleep!
- Gongming Yi 什么？我很生气！牛，你听不懂吗？
Shénme? Wǒ hěn shēngqì! Niú, nǐ tīng bù dǒng ma?
What? I'm so annoyed! Cow, don't you understand?
- Xiao Hu 牛不懂您的歌。您要找一个牛懂的歌。
Niú bù dǒng nín de gē. Nín yào zhǎo yí gè niú dǒng de gē.
A cow doesn't understand your song. You must find a song a cow understands.
- Gongming Yi 牛懂的歌？那是什么歌？
Niú dǒng de gē? Nà shì shénme gē?
A song a cow understands? What kind of song is that?
- Xiao Hu 小牛叫妈妈的声音！你试试！
Xiǎo niú jiào māma de shēngyīn! Nǐ shìshi!
The sound of a calf calling its mother! Try it!
- Gongming Yi 好！我试试看。
Hǎo! Wǒ shìshi kàn.
All right! I'll give it a try.
- The cow 啊？是我的小牛在叫我！
À? Shì wǒ de xiǎo niú zài jiào wǒ!
Oh? That's my calf calling me!
- The cow 我的小牛在哪儿？我要去找它！
Wǒ de xiǎo niú zài nǎr? Wǒ yào qù zhǎo tā!
Where is my calf? I have to go find her!
- Xiao Hu 你看！牛站起来了！牛在听！
Nǐ kàn! Niú zhàn qǐlái le! Niú zài tīng!
Look! She's standing up! She's listening!
- Gongming Yi 太好了！牛听懂了！
Tài hǎo le! Niú tīng dǒng le!
Wonderful! She understood!
- Gongming Yi 不是牛不好。是我不懂牛。
Bú shì niú bù hǎo. Shì wǒ bù dǒng niú.
The cow isn't the problem. I just didn't understand the cow.
- Xiao Hu 大哥哥，你真好。明天有一个大画家，来这儿。
Dàgēge, nǐ zhēn hǎo. Míngtiān yǒu yí gè dà huàjiā, lái zhèr.
Big brother, you're great. Tomorrow a famous painter is coming here.
- Gongming Yi 大画家？他画什么？
Dà huàjiā? Tā huà shénme?
A famous painter? What does he paint?
- Xiao Hu 龙！听说他画的龙，会飞走！
Lóng! Tīngshuō tā huà de lóng, huì fēi zǒu!
Dragons! They say his dragons fly away!
What changed in the story?
- What does Gongming Yi love to do most?
“公明仪最爱弹琴。”
- What does the cow think of the music?
“我听不懂……草真好吃。”
- What does the cow do after the second song?
“我要睡觉了。”……“牛睡觉了！”
- Which sound makes the cow stand up?
“小牛叫妈妈的声音！”……“是我的小牛在叫我！”
- What does Gongming decide at the end?
“不是牛不好。是我不懂牛。”