Chinese Idiom Stories · chapter 2 of 6
Legs on a Snake
画蛇添足
Two servants, one jug of wine, and a race to draw a snake in the dirt. A Da finishes first by a mile, so what could possibly go wrong?
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“画蛇添足”。很久以前，阿大和阿二住在楚国。
Zhège gùshi jiào “huàshé tiānzú”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Ā Dà hé Ā Èr zhù zài Chǔguó.
This story is called “Draw a Snake, Add Feet.” Long, long ago, A Da and A Er lived in the state of Chu.
- A Da 阿二，你看！主人给了我们一壶酒！
Ā Èr, nǐ kàn! Zhǔrén gěi le wǒmen yì hú jiǔ!
A Er, look! The master gave us a jug of wine!
- A Er 这么一点儿，两个人喝？太少了。
Zhème yìdiǎnr, liǎng gè rén hē? Tài shǎo le.
This little bit, for two of us? That's not enough.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese Idiom Stories 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 and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- A Da 是，一个人喝还行。
Shì, yí gè rén hē hái xíng.
True. For one person, it'd do.
- A Er 那我们在地上画蛇吧！先画好的人喝！
Nà wǒmen zài dì shang huà shé ba! Xiān huà hǎo de rén hē!
Then let's draw snakes on the ground! Whoever finishes first gets to drink!
- A Da 好！我最快了！
Hǎo! Wǒ zuì kuài le!
Deal! I'm the fastest!
- A Da 快，快，快……好了！我是第一！
Kuài, kuài, kuài… hǎo le! Wǒ shì dì yī!
Quick, quick, quick… done! I'm first!
- A Er 等一下，我还没好……
Děng yíxià, wǒ hái méi hǎo…
Hang on, I'm not done yet…
- A Da 你太慢了！酒在桌子上，跑不了。
Nǐ tài màn le! Jiǔ zài zhuōzi shang, pǎo bù liǎo.
You're so slow! The wine's on the table. It's not going anywhere.
- A Da 我还有时间……我的蛇还可以更好看！
Wǒ hái yǒu shíjiān… wǒ de shé hái kěyǐ gèng hǎokàn!
I've still got time… my snake could look even better!
- A Da 我给它画上脚：一，二，三，四！真好看！
Wǒ gěi tā huà shang jiǎo: yī, èr, sān, sì! Zhēn hǎokàn!
I'll give it feet: one, two, three, four! Beautiful!
- A Er 阿大，你在做什么？
Ā Dà, nǐ zài zuò shénme?
A Da, what are you doing?
- A Da 你看，我的蛇多好看！
Nǐ kàn, wǒ de shé duō hǎokàn!
Look how beautiful my snake is!
- A Er 我好了！酒是我的了！
Wǒ hǎo le! Jiǔ shì wǒ de le!
Done! The wine is mine!
- A Da 什么？我是第一个！
Shénme? Wǒ shì dì yī gè!
What? I was first!
- A Er 你看看你的蛇。蛇有脚吗？
Nǐ kànkan nǐ de shé. Shé yǒu jiǎo ma?
Take a look at your snake. Do snakes have feet?
- A Da 蛇……蛇没有脚。
Shé… shé méiyǒu jiǎo.
Snakes… snakes don't have feet.
- A Er 对！有脚的，就不是蛇了！
Duì! Yǒu jiǎo de, jiù bú shì shé le!
Right! Anything with feet isn't a snake anymore!
- A Er 好酒，好酒！阿大，谢谢你给蛇画的脚！
Hǎo jiǔ, hǎo jiǔ! Ā Dà, xièxie nǐ gěi shé huà de jiǎo!
Great wine, great wine! A Da, thanks for the feet you drew on the snake!
- A Da 我是第一个……为什么还要画脚呢？
Wǒ shì dì yī gè… wèishénme hái yào huà jiǎo ne?
I was first… so why did I have to go and draw feet?
- Narrator 阿大“画蛇添足”，没有喝到酒。
Ā Dà “huàshé tiānzú”, méiyǒu hē dào jiǔ.
A Da drew a snake and added feet, and he never got a drop of the wine.
- Narrator 现在人们说“画蛇添足”，意思是：做了不用做的事，好事变成了坏事。
Xiànzài rénmen shuō “huàshé tiānzú”, yìsi shì: zuò le bú yòng zuò de shì, hǎoshì biànchéng le huàishì.
Today, when people say “draw a snake, add feet,” they mean doing something that didn't need doing, and turning a win into a loss.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why don't A Da and A Er share the wine?
“这么一点儿，两个人喝？太少了。”
- How will they decide who gets the wine?
“那我们在地上画蛇吧！先画好的人喝！”
- Why doesn't A Da drink the wine as soon as he finishes?
“我还有时间……我的蛇还可以更好看！”
- What does A Da add to his snake?
“我给它画上脚：一，二，三，四！”
- Why does A Er say the wine is his?
“有脚的，就不是蛇了！”