Chinese Idiom Stories · chapter 3 of 6
The Fox and the Tiger
狐假虎威
A hungry tiger catches a small fox for lunch. The fox has just one chance: convince the tiger that he is the king of all the animals.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“狐假虎威”。很久以前，山里有一只老虎。
Zhège gùshi jiào “hújiǎ hǔwēi”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, shān lǐ yǒu yì zhī lǎohǔ.
This story is called “The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Might.” Long, long ago, a tiger lived in the mountains.
- The tiger 好饿啊……今天吃什么呢？
Hǎo è a… jīntiān chī shénme ne?
I'm so hungry… what shall I eat today?
- The tiger 一只狐狸！别跑！
Yì zhī húli! Bié pǎo!
A fox! Don't you run!
Chapter 3 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 fox 不好！快想，快想……
Bù hǎo! Kuài xiǎng, kuài xiǎng…
Oh no! Think fast, think fast…
- The fox 你不能吃我！你不认识我吗？
Nǐ bù néng chī wǒ! Nǐ bú rènshi wǒ ma?
You can't eat me! Don't you know who I am?
- The tiger 认识你？你是我的午饭！
Rènshi nǐ? Nǐ shì wǒ de wǔfàn!
Know you? You're my lunch!
- The fox 我是所有动物的大王！是天帝让我做大王的！
Wǒ shì suǒyǒu dòngwù de dàwáng! Shì Tiāndì ràng wǒ zuò dàwáng de!
I am the king of all the animals! The Emperor of Heaven himself made me king!
- The fox 你吃了我，天帝会很生气的！
Nǐ chī le wǒ, Tiāndì huì hěn shēngqì de!
If you eat me, the Emperor of Heaven will be very angry!
- The tiger 你？大王？我不信。
Nǐ? Dàwáng? Wǒ bú xìn.
You? King? I don't believe it.
- The fox 不信？那你跟在我后边，我们去走走。
Bú xìn? Nà nǐ gēn zài wǒ hòubian, wǒmen qù zǒuzou.
You don't believe me? Then walk behind me, and we'll take a little stroll.
- The fox 你看看，大家看见我，跑不跑！
Nǐ kànkan, dàjiā kànjiàn wǒ, pǎo bu pǎo!
You'll see whether everyone runs when they see me!
- The tiger 好，我跟你去看看。
Hǎo, wǒ gēn nǐ qù kànkan.
All right. I'll come and see.
- Narrator 狐狸走在前边，老虎跟在后边。
Húli zǒu zài qiánbian, lǎohǔ gēn zài hòubian.
The fox walked in front, and the tiger followed behind.
- The fox 大家好！大王来了！
Dàjiā hǎo! Dàwáng lái le!
Hello, everyone! Your king is here!
- The tiger 你看！兔子都跑到树后边了！小鸟也飞走了！
Nǐ kàn! Tùzi dōu pǎo dào shù hòubian le! Xiǎo niǎo yě fēi zǒu le!
Look! The rabbits have all run behind the trees! The birds have flown off too!
- The fox 你看见了吗？它们都怕我！
Nǐ kànjiàn le ma? Tāmen dōu pà wǒ!
Did you see that? They're all afraid of me!
- The tiger 奇怪……它们真的怕小狐狸吗？
Qíguài… tāmen zhēn de pà xiǎo húli ma?
Strange… are they really afraid of a little fox?
- The fox 你还不信？我们再走走！
Nǐ hái bú xìn? Wǒmen zài zǒuzou!
You still don't believe me? Let's walk some more!
- The tiger 不用了，不用了！大王，对不起！我不吃你了！
Bú yòng le, bú yòng le! Dàwáng, duìbuqǐ! Wǒ bù chī nǐ le!
No need, no need! Your Majesty, I'm sorry! I won't eat you!
- The fox 它们怕的不是我……是我后边的老虎啊。
Tāmen pà de bú shì wǒ… shì wǒ hòubian de lǎohǔ a.
It isn't me they're afraid of… it's the tiger behind me.
- Narrator 狐狸借了老虎的威风，这就是“狐假虎威”。
Húli jiè le lǎohǔ de wēifēng, zhè jiù shì “hújiǎ hǔwēi”.
The fox had borrowed the tiger's power to frighten. That is “the fox borrows the tiger's might.”
- Narrator 现在人们说“狐假虎威”，意思是：别人怕的不是他，是他后边的人。
Xiànzài rénmen shuō “hújiǎ hǔwēi”, yìsi shì: biérén pà de bú shì tā, shì tā hòubian de rén.
Today, when people say “the fox borrows the tiger's might,” they mean that people aren't really afraid of someone, only of the powerful person behind him.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the tiger plan to do with the fox?
“你是我的午饭！”
- Who does the fox say made him king?
“是天帝让我做大王的！”
- How does the fox plan to prove he is king?
“那你跟在我后边……大家看见我，跑不跑！”
- What do the rabbits and birds do when the two walk by?
“兔子都跑到树后边了！小鸟也飞走了！”
- What are the animals really afraid of?
“它们怕的不是我……是我后边的老虎啊。”