Chinese Idiom Stories · chapter 4 of 6
The Frog in the Well
井底之蛙
A little frog is sure his old well is the finest home in the world. Then a big sea turtle from the East Sea stops by for a visit.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“井底之蛙”。很久以前，一口老井里住着一只青蛙。
Zhège gùshi jiào “jǐngdǐ zhī wā”. Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yì kǒu lǎo jǐng lǐ zhùzhe yì zhī qīngwā.
This story is called “The Frog at the Bottom of the Well.” Long, long ago, a frog lived in an old well.
- The frog 我的井，我的家！这里什么都有，真好！
Wǒ de jǐng, wǒ de jiā! Zhèlǐ shénme dōu yǒu, zhēn hǎo!
My well, my home! It has everything. It's perfect!
- The frog 那边是什么？好大啊！
Nàbiān shì shénme? Hǎo dà a!
What's that over there? It's huge!
Chapter 4 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 sea turtle 你好，小青蛙。我是海龟，从东海来。
Nǐ hǎo, xiǎo qīngwā. Wǒ shì hǎiguī, cóng Dōng Hǎi lái.
Hello, little frog. I'm a sea turtle, from the East Sea.
- The frog 你好，你好！你看，这是我的井！
Nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo! Nǐ kàn, zhè shì wǒ de jǐng!
Hello, hello! Look, this is my well!
- The frog 我想玩儿，就在水里玩儿。想睡觉，就在井边睡觉。
Wǒ xiǎng wánr, jiù zài shuǐ lǐ wánr. Xiǎng shuìjiào, jiù zài jǐng biān shuìjiào.
When I want to play, I play in the water. When I want a nap, I nap up on the edge.
- The frog 这里的水，都是我一个人的！我太快乐了！
Zhèlǐ de shuǐ, dōu shì wǒ yí gè rén de! Wǒ tài kuàilè le!
All the water here is mine, all mine! I'm so happy!
- The frog 海龟，你也进来看看吧！
Hǎiguī, nǐ yě jìnlái kànkan ba!
Turtle, come on in and have a look!
- The sea turtle 好……啊！我的左脚还没进去，右脚就不能动了！
Hǎo… a! Wǒ de zuǒ jiǎo hái méi jìnqù, yòu jiǎo jiù bù néng dòng le!
All right… oh! My left foot isn't even in, and my right foot is already stuck!
- The sea turtle 我太大了，你的井太小了。
Wǒ tài dà le, nǐ de jǐng tài xiǎo le.
I'm too big, and your well is too small.
- The frog 我的井小？我的井最大，最好！
Wǒ de jǐng xiǎo? Wǒ de jǐng zuì dà, zuì hǎo!
My well, small? My well is the biggest and the best!
- The sea turtle 小青蛙，你见过大海吗？
Xiǎo qīngwā, nǐ jiàn guo dàhǎi ma?
Little frog, have you ever seen the sea?
- The frog 大海？大海是什么？比我的井大吗？
Dàhǎi? Dàhǎi shì shénme? Bǐ wǒ de jǐng dà ma?
The sea? What's the sea? Is it bigger than my well?
- The sea turtle 大海很大很大。走一千里，也走不到头。
Dàhǎi hěn dà hěn dà. Zǒu yìqiān lǐ, yě zǒu bú dào tóu.
The sea is big, so very big. You could walk a thousand miles and never reach the end.
- The sea turtle 大海很深很深，比一千口井还深。
Dàhǎi hěn shēn hěn shēn, bǐ yìqiān kǒu jǐng hái shēn.
The sea is deep, so very deep. It's deeper than a thousand wells.
- The frog 天啊……有这么大的水？
Tiān a… yǒu zhème dà de shuǐ?
Oh my… there's that much water?
- The sea turtle 九年下大雨，大海没有多一点儿。
Jiǔ nián xià dàyǔ, dàhǎi méiyǒu duō yìdiǎnr.
Once it poured for nine years, and the sea didn't rise one bit.
- The sea turtle 七年不下雨，它也没有少一点儿。这才是快乐！
Qī nián bú xià yǔ, tā yě méiyǒu shǎo yìdiǎnr. Zhè cái shì kuàilè!
Once it didn't rain for seven years, and it didn't drop one bit. Now that's real happiness!
- The frog 大海……那我的井，太小了……
Dàhǎi… nà wǒ de jǐng, tài xiǎo le…
The sea… then my well is tiny…
- Narrator 那天，井底之蛙第一次听说了大海。
Nà tiān, jǐngdǐ zhī wā dì yī cì tīngshuō le dàhǎi.
That day, the frog at the bottom of the well heard about the sea for the very first time.
- Narrator 现在人们说“井底之蛙”，意思是：看见的很少，还以为自己什么都知道。
Xiànzài rénmen shuō “jǐngdǐ zhī wā”, yìsi shì: kànjiàn de hěn shǎo, hái yǐwéi zìjǐ shénme dōu zhīdào.
Today, when people say “a frog at the bottom of a well,” they mean someone who has seen very little of the world but thinks they know it all.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the frog love his well so much?
“这里什么都有，真好！……这里的水，都是我一个人的！”
- What happens when the turtle tries to climb into the well?
“我的左脚还没进去，右脚就不能动了！”
- Where does the turtle come from?
“我是海龟，从东海来。”
- How deep does the turtle say the sea is?
“大海很深很深，比一千口井还深。”
- What happened to the sea after nine years of heavy rain?
“九年下大雨，大海没有多一点儿。”