More Aesop's Fables · chapter 3 of 6
The Dog and His Reflection
水里的狗
Little Squirrel has two acorns and wants a third, so tonight's story is just for him: a big dog, a big piece of meat, and a little bridge over a river.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第三天晚上下了雨，老树下的地上都是水。
Dì sān tiān wǎnshang xià le yǔ, lǎo shù xià de dì shang dōu shì shuǐ.
On the third night it rained, and the ground under the old tree was covered in puddles.
- Little Squirrel 爷爷，您看！我今天有两个果子！
Yéye, nín kàn! Wǒ jīntiān yǒu liǎng gè guǒzi!
Grandpa, look! I've got two acorns today!
- Little Rabbit 他有两个了，还想要我赢的这个！
Tā yǒu liǎng gè le, hái xiǎng yào wǒ yíng de zhège!
He's got two now, and he still wants the one I won!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of More Aesop's Fables 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.
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，你又不吃果子！给我吧！
Xiǎo Tùzi, nǐ yòu bù chī guǒzi! Gěi wǒ ba!
Little Rabbit, you don't even eat acorns! Give it to me!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕，小松鼠，今天的故事，是给你讲的。
Gūgū, Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, jīntiān de gùshi, shì gěi nǐ jiǎng de.
Hoo-hoo, Little Squirrel, tonight's story is just for you.
- Little Squirrel 是那只大狗吗？嘴里有肉的？
Shì nà zhī dà gǒu ma? Zuǐ lǐ yǒu ròu de?
Is it the big dog? The one with meat in his mouth?
- Grandpa Owl 对。坐好了，故事来了！
Duì. Zuò hǎo le, gùshi lái le!
That's right. Sit tight, here comes the story!
- Grandpa Owl 很久以前，有一只大狗。一天，他找到了一大块肉。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yì zhī dà gǒu. Yì tiān, tā zhǎodào le yí dà kuài ròu.
Long ago, there was a big dog. One day, he found a big piece of meat.
- The Dog 好大的肉！是我的了！我要回家，一个人吃！
Hǎo dà de ròu! Shì wǒ de le! Wǒ yào huí jiā, yí gè rén chī!
What a big piece of meat! It's mine now! I'm taking it home to eat all by myself!
- Grandpa Owl 大狗走上了一座小桥。他嘴里有肉，不能说话。
Dà gǒu zǒu shàng le yí zuò xiǎo qiáo. Tā zuǐ lǐ yǒu ròu, bù néng shuōhuà.
The big dog stepped onto a little bridge. With meat in his mouth, he couldn't say a word.
- The Dog 什么？桥下的水里，有一只狗！他嘴里也有肉！
Shénme? Qiáo xià de shuǐ lǐ, yǒu yì zhī gǒu! Tā zuǐ lǐ yě yǒu ròu!
What? There's a dog in the water under the bridge! And he's got meat in his mouth too!
- The Dog 他的肉，比我的大！我也要他的肉！
Tā de ròu, bǐ wǒ de dà! Wǒ yě yào tā de ròu!
His meat is bigger than mine! I want his meat too!
- Little Rabbit 大狗，那是你自己！
Dà gǒu, nà shì nǐ zìjǐ!
Big Dog, that's you down there!
- The Dog 我叫一声，他一定怕。他的肉，也是我的了！
Wǒ jiào yì shēng, tā yídìng pà. Tā de ròu, yě shì wǒ de le!
One bark and he'll be scared. Then his meat will be mine too!
- Little Squirrel 别叫！别叫！
Bié jiào! Bié jiào!
Don't bark! Don't bark!
- The Dog 汪！汪汪！快给我肉！
Wāng! Wāngwāng! Kuài gěi wǒ ròu!
Woof! Woof woof! Hand over that meat!
- Grandpa Owl 大狗一叫，嘴里的肉，掉进了河里！
Dà gǒu yí jiào, zuǐ lǐ de ròu, diào jìn le hé lǐ!
The moment the big dog barked, the meat dropped out of his mouth and into the river!
- The Dog 我的肉！我的肉！
Wǒ de ròu! Wǒ de ròu!
My meat! My meat!
- Grandpa Owl 水里的狗呢？他的肉，也没有了。
Shuǐ lǐ de gǒu ne? Tā de ròu, yě méiyǒu le.
And the dog in the water? His meat was gone too.
- The Dog 水里的狗……是我自己？现在，我一块肉也没有了！
Shuǐ lǐ de gǒu… shì wǒ zìjǐ? Xiànzài, wǒ yí kuài ròu yě méiyǒu le!
The dog in the water… was me? Now I don't have a single bite of meat!
- Little Squirrel 有一块，还想要两块。最后，一块也没有了……
Yǒu yí kuài, hái xiǎng yào liǎng kuài. Zuìhòu, yí kuài yě méiyǒu le…
He had one piece and wanted two. In the end, he had none at all…
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，你的果子，我不要了。我有两个，够了！
Xiǎo Tùzi, nǐ de guǒzi, wǒ bú yào le. Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè, gòu le!
Little Rabbit, I don't want your acorn anymore. I've got two. That's plenty!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠，你看地上的水里！有一个更大的果子！
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ kàn dì shang de shuǐ lǐ! Yǒu yí gè gèng dà de guǒzi!
Little Squirrel, look in that puddle! There's an even bigger acorn!
- Little Squirrel 我不看！那是我自己的果子！
Wǒ bú kàn! Nà shì wǒ zìjǐ de guǒzi!
I'm not looking! That's just my own acorn!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕，学得真快！明天的故事，有一只鹅……
Gūgū, xué de zhēn kuài! Míngtiān de gùshi, yǒu yì zhī é…
Hoo-hoo, you learn fast! Tomorrow's story has a goose in it…
- Grandpa Owl 她天天都下一个金蛋！
Tā tiāntiān dōu xià yí gè jīndàn!
And every single day, she lays a golden egg!
- Little Squirrel 金蛋？天天都有金蛋？那我要买好多好多果子！
Jīndàn? Tiāntiān dōu yǒu jīndàn? Nà wǒ yào mǎi hǎo duō hǎo duō guǒzi!
Golden eggs? A golden egg every day? Then I'd buy lots and lots of acorns!
- Grandpa Owl 那个农夫，也是这么想的……
Nàge nóngfū, yě shì zhème xiǎng de…
That's just what the farmer thought, too…
- Little Rabbit 然后呢？爷爷，然后呢？
Ránhòu ne? Yéye, ránhòu ne?
And then what? Grandpa, what happened then?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Little Squirrel have at the start?
“我今天有两个果子！”
- What does the dog find one day?
“他找到了一大块肉”
- What does the dog see from the bridge?
“水里有一只狗！他嘴里也有肉！”
- Why does the dog bark?
“我叫一声，他一定怕。他的肉，也是我的了！”
- What happens when the dog barks?
“嘴里的肉，掉进了河里！”