More Aesop's Fables · chapter 5 of 6
The Fox and the Crow
狐狸和乌鸦
Little Rabbit is suddenly full of sweet words for Grandpa Owl. He knows someone else who talks like that: the grape fox, who has just spotted a crow with a piece of meat.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第五天晚上，小兔子来得很早。
Dì wǔ tiān wǎnshang, Xiǎo Tùzi lái de hěn zǎo.
On the fifth night, Little Rabbit arrived very early.
- Little Rabbit 猫头鹰爷爷，您的眼睛最亮，您的声音最好听！
Māotóuyīng yéye, nín de yǎnjing zuì liàng, nín de shēngyīn zuì hǎotīng!
Grandpa Owl, your eyes are the brightest, and your voice is the loveliest!
- Little Squirrel 小兔子，你今天怎么了？
Xiǎo Tùzi, nǐ jīntiān zěnme le?
Little Rabbit, what's gotten into you today?
Chapter 5 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 Rabbit 爷爷的故事，最好听了！所以……今天讲两个，好吗？
Yéye de gùshi, zuì hǎotīng le! Suǒyǐ… jīntiān jiǎng liǎng gè, hǎo ma?
Grandpa's stories are the best of all! So… could you tell two tonight?
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕！你的话真好听，跟今天的狐狸一样！
Gūgū! Nǐ de huà zhēn hǎotīng, gēn jīntiān de húli yíyàng!
Hoo-hoo! What sweet words. You sound just like tonight's fox!
- Little Rabbit 啊？狐狸？
A? Húli?
Huh? The fox?
- Grandpa Owl 坐好了，故事来了！一天，一只乌鸦找到了一块肉。
Zuò hǎo le, gùshi lái le! Yì tiān, yì zhī wūyā zhǎodào le yí kuài ròu.
Sit tight, here comes the story! One day, a crow found a piece of meat.
- Grandpa Owl 她飞到大树上，嘴里有肉，不能说话。
Tā fēi dào dà shù shang, zuǐ lǐ yǒu ròu, bù néng shuōhuà.
She flew up into a big tree. With meat in her beak, she couldn't say a word.
- The Crow 在树上吃，谁也拿不走！
Zài shù shang chī, shéi yě ná bu zǒu!
Up in a tree, nobody can take it from me!
- Grandpa Owl 这时候，一只狐狸来到了树下。
Zhè shíhou, yì zhī húli láidào le shù xià.
Just then, a fox came to the foot of the tree.
- The Fox 肉！我好饿……可是她在树上。我得想个办法……
Ròu! Wǒ hǎo è… kěshì tā zài shù shang. Wǒ děi xiǎng gè bànfǎ…
Meat! I'm starving… but she's up in the tree. I'll have to come up with a plan…
- Little Squirrel 又是这只狐狸！葡萄吃不到，肉也吃不到！
Yòu shì zhè zhī húli! Pútao chī bu dào, ròu yě chī bu dào!
It's that fox again! He couldn't get the grapes, and he won't get the meat either!
- The Fox 乌鸦，你好！你今天真漂亮！
Wūyā, nǐ hǎo! Nǐ jīntiān zhēn piàoliang!
Hello, Crow! You look beautiful today!
- The Crow 他说我漂亮？他说得对！
Tā shuō wǒ piàoliang? Tā shuō de duì!
He says I'm beautiful? Well, he's right!
- The Fox 你的毛，又黑又亮！所有的鸟，都没有你漂亮！
Nǐ de máo, yòu hēi yòu liàng! Suǒyǒu de niǎo, dōu méiyǒu nǐ piàoliang!
Your feathers are so black and so shiny! No other bird is as beautiful as you!
- The Fox 这么漂亮的鸟，歌也一定唱得很好。给我唱一个吧！
Zhème piàoliang de niǎo, gē yě yídìng chàng de hěn hǎo. Gěi wǒ chàng yí gè ba!
A bird as beautiful as you must sing beautifully too. Sing me a song!
- Little Rabbit 乌鸦，别唱！他在骗你！
Wūyā, bié chàng! Tā zài piàn nǐ!
Crow, don't sing! He's tricking you!
- Little Squirrel 你一唱，肉就掉了！
Nǐ yí chàng, ròu jiù diào le!
If you sing, you'll drop the meat!
- The Crow 唱，还是不唱？……他说我唱得好！我唱！
Chàng, háishi bú chàng? …Tā shuō wǒ chàng de hǎo! Wǒ chàng!
Should I sing or not? …He says I sing beautifully! I'll sing!
- The Crow 啊！啊！啊！
Ā! Ā! Ā!
Caw! Caw! Caw!
- Grandpa Owl 乌鸦一开口，肉就掉了。狐狸一下就拿到了！
Wūyā yì kāikǒu, ròu jiù diào le. Húli yíxià jiù ná dào le!
The moment the crow opened her beak, the meat fell. The fox snapped it up in a flash!
- The Fox 谢谢你的肉！你的歌不好听，可是你的肉很好吃！
Xièxie nǐ de ròu! Nǐ de gē bù hǎotīng, kěshì nǐ de ròu hěn hǎochī!
Thanks for the meat! Your song's nothing special, but your meat is delicious!
- The Fox 乌鸦，以后别听好话！
Wūyā, yǐhòu bié tīng hǎohuà!
Next time, Crow, don't listen to sweet talk!
- The Crow 我的肉！他骗了我！
Wǒ de ròu! Tā piàn le wǒ!
My meat! He tricked me!
- Little Squirrel 乌鸦没有赢……我又说错了。
Wūyā méiyǒu yíng… wǒ yòu shuō cuò le.
The crow didn't win… I was wrong again.
- Little Rabbit 爷爷，我说了很多好话……对不起，一个故事就够了！
Yéye, wǒ shuō le hěn duō hǎohuà… duìbuqǐ, yí gè gùshi jiù gòu le!
Grandpa, I said a lot of sweet things too… Sorry. One story is plenty!
- Grandpa Owl 好孩子！明天，是最后一个新故事。有一只狼，穿上了羊皮……
Hǎo háizi! Míngtiān, shì zuìhòu yí gè xīn gùshi. Yǒu yì zhī láng, chuān shàng le yángpí…
Good for you! Tomorrow is the last new story. There's a wolf in it, and he puts on a sheepskin…
- Little Squirrel 狼穿羊皮？那他是狼，还是羊？
Láng chuān yángpí? Nà tā shì láng, háishi yáng?
A wolf wearing a sheepskin? Then is he a wolf, or a sheep?
- Little Rabbit 小羊们……能看出来吗？
Xiǎoyángmen… néng kàn chūlái ma?
Will the little lambs… be able to tell?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Little Rabbit want from Grandpa Owl tonight?
“所以……今天讲两个，好吗？”
- Why can't the crow say anything in the tree?
“嘴里有肉，不能说话。”
- What does the fox say about the crow?
“你的毛，又黑又亮！所有的鸟，都没有你漂亮！”
- What happens when the crow sings?
“乌鸦一开口，肉就掉了。狐狸一下就拿到了！”
- What does Little Rabbit say at the end?
“对不起，一个故事就够了！”