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?
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!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese Idiom Stories 3 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.
- 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!
Hear the chapter
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。”