Chinese Idiom Stories · chapter 5 of 6
Mending the Pen
亡羊补牢
A young shepherd counts his sheep and comes up one short. His old neighbor knows exactly why. But surely fixing the fence can wait until tomorrow?
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“亡羊补牢”。很久以前，山下住着一个牧羊人。
Zhège gùshi jiào “wángyáng bǔláo”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, shān xià zhùzhe yí gè mùyángrén.
This story is called “Lose a Sheep, Mend the Pen.” Long, long ago, a shepherd lived at the foot of a mountain.
- The shepherd 一，二，三……九？我的羊少了一只！
Yī, èr, sān… jiǔ? Wǒ de yáng shǎo le yì zhī!
One, two, three… nine? One of my sheep is missing!
- The old neighbor 孩子，怎么了？
Háizi, zěnme le?
What's the matter, son?
Chapter 5 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.
- The shepherd 爷爷，我少了一只羊！
Yéye, wǒ shǎo le yì zhī yáng!
Grandpa, I'm a sheep short!
- The old neighbor 你看，羊圈坏了，有个洞。
Nǐ kàn, yángjuàn huài le, yǒu gè dòng.
Look, your pen is broken. There's a hole.
- The old neighbor 晚上，狼从这里进来，带走了你的羊。
Wǎnshang, láng cóng zhèlǐ jìnlái, dài zǒu le nǐ de yáng.
Last night a wolf got in through here and carried off your sheep.
- The shepherd 什么？我的羊……
Shénme? Wǒ de yáng…
What? My poor sheep…
- The old neighbor 快，今天就补好！
Kuài, jīntiān jiù bǔ hǎo!
Quick, patch it up today!
- The shepherd 羊已经没有了，还补什么？
Yáng yǐjīng méiyǒu le, hái bǔ shénme?
The sheep's already gone. What's the point of fixing it now?
- The old neighbor 别的羊还在啊！
Biéde yáng hái zài a!
But the rest of your sheep are still here!
- The shepherd 明天吧，明天吧。今天我太累了。
Míngtiān ba, míngtiān ba. Jīntiān wǒ tài lèi le.
Tomorrow, tomorrow. I'm too tired today.
- Narrator 第二天早上，牧羊人去看羊。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, mùyángrén qù kàn yáng.
The next morning, the shepherd went out to check on his sheep.
- The shepherd 一，二，三……八？又少了一只！
Yī, èr, sān… bā? Yòu shǎo le yì zhī!
One, two, three… eight? Another one's gone!
- The old neighbor 狼又从那里进来了。
Láng yòu cóng nàlǐ jìnlái le.
The wolf got in the same way again.
- The shepherd 爷爷，您说得对。我应该听您的。
Yéye, nín shuō de duì. Wǒ yīnggāi tīng nín de.
Grandpa, you were right. I should have listened to you.
- The old neighbor 老话说：“亡羊补牢，还不晚。”
Lǎohuà shuō: “Wángyáng bǔláo, hái bù wǎn.”
As the old saying goes: “Lose a sheep, mend the pen. It's still not too late.”
- The shepherd 好！我现在就去补！
Hǎo! Wǒ xiànzài jiù qù bǔ!
Right! I'm going to fix it right now!
- The shepherd 新木头放这里……这里好了，那里好了！
Xīn mùtou fàng zhèlǐ… zhèlǐ hǎo le, nàlǐ hǎo le!
New wood goes here… this bit's done, that bit's done!
- The old neighbor 好，好。这样，它就进不来了。
Hǎo, hǎo. Zhèyàng, tā jiù jìn bù lái le.
Good, good. Now the wolf can't get in.
- Narrator 从那天起，他的羊一只也没有少。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, tā de yáng yì zhī yě méiyǒu shǎo.
From that day on, he never lost another sheep.
- Narrator 现在人们说“亡羊补牢”，意思是：出了问题，马上去改，还不晚。
Xiànzài rénmen shuō “wángyáng bǔláo”, yìsi shì: chū le wèntí, mǎshàng qù gǎi, hái bù wǎn.
Today, when people say “lose a sheep, mend the pen,” they mean that when something goes wrong, it's not too late to fix it, as long as you fix it right away.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does the shepherd find out a sheep is missing?
“一，二，三……九？我的羊少了一只！”
- What happened to the missing sheep?
“羊圈坏了，有个洞。……晚上，狼从这里进来，带走了你的羊。”
- Why doesn't the shepherd fix the pen on the first day?
“羊已经没有了，还补什么？”
- What does the shepherd find the next morning?
“又少了一只！”
- What happens after he mends the pen?
“从那天起，他的羊一只也没有少。”