More Aesop's Fables · chapter 2 of 6
The North Wind and the Sun
北风和太阳
The North Wind boasts that he's the strongest thing in the sky, so the Sun suggests a contest over a traveler's coat. Little Squirrel's acorn rides on the result.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天晚上，风很大，天很冷。
Dì èr tiān wǎnshang, fēng hěn dà, tiān hěn lěng.
The next night, the wind was strong and the air was cold.
- Little Squirrel 好大的风！我的果子！别吹走我的果子！
Hǎo dà de fēng! Wǒ de guǒzi! Bié chuīzǒu wǒ de guǒzi!
What a wind! My acorn! Don't blow my acorn away!
- Little Rabbit 小松鼠，你昨天说北风会赢。现在呢？
Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ zuótiān shuō běifēng huì yíng. Xiànzài ne?
Little Squirrel, yesterday you said the North Wind would win. What about now?
Chapter 2 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 你看这风！北风一定赢！
Nǐ kàn zhè fēng! Běifēng yídìng yíng!
Look at this wind! The North Wind is going to win for sure!
- Grandpa Owl 咕咕！好，坐好了，故事来了！
Gūgū! Hǎo, zuò hǎo le, gùshi lái le!
Hoo-hoo! All right, sit tight, here comes the story!
- Grandpa Owl 很久以前，天上有北风，也有太阳。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, tiān shang yǒu běifēng, yě yǒu tàiyáng.
Long ago, up in the sky, there lived the North Wind, and there lived the Sun.
- The North Wind 太阳，你看我！我一吹，大树都倒了！我的本事最大！
Tàiyáng, nǐ kàn wǒ! Wǒ yì chuī, dà shù dōu dǎo le! Wǒ de běnshi zuì dà!
Sun, look at me! One puff from me and big trees fall down! I'm the strongest of all!
- The Sun 是吗？那我们比一比吧。
Shì ma? Nà wǒmen bǐ yi bǐ ba.
Is that so? Then let's have a contest.
- The North Wind 比就比！比什么？
Bǐ jiù bǐ! Bǐ shénme?
You're on! What's the contest?
- The Sun 你看，那个行人穿着大衣。谁能让他脱了大衣，谁就赢。
Nǐ kàn, nàge xíngrén chuānzhe dàyī. Shéi néng ràng tā tuō le dàyī, shéi jiù yíng.
Look, that traveler down there is wearing a coat. Whoever can make him take it off wins.
- The North Wind 哈哈，这不难！看我的！
Hāhā, zhè bù nán! Kàn wǒ de!
Ha ha, that's easy! Watch this!
- Grandpa Owl 北风大口大口地吹。风很大，很冷很冷。
Běifēng dà kǒu dà kǒu de chuī. Fēng hěn dà, hěn lěng hěn lěng.
The North Wind puffed and puffed. The wind was strong and bitterly cold.
- The Traveler 好冷！好冷啊！这是什么风？
Hǎo lěng! Hǎo lěng a! Zhè shì shénme fēng?
So cold! So very cold! What kind of wind is this?
- The North Wind 再大一点儿！脱！快脱！
Zài dà yìdiǎnr! Tuō! Kuài tuō!
Harder! Off with it! Take it off!
- The Traveler 太冷了！大衣，我要穿好，穿好！
Tài lěng le! Dàyī, wǒ yào chuān hǎo, chuān hǎo!
It's freezing! I'm keeping my coat on, nice and tight!
- Little Squirrel 北风，加油！再吹！再吹！
Běifēng, jiāyóu! Zài chuī! Zài chuī!
Go, North Wind! Blow! Blow harder!
- Little Rabbit 你看，风越大，他越不脱！
Nǐ kàn, fēng yuè dà, tā yuè bù tuō!
Look, the harder the wind blows, the tighter he keeps his coat on!
- The North Wind 我……我吹不动了。太阳，你来吧！
Wǒ… wǒ chuī bu dòng le. Tàiyáng, nǐ lái ba!
I… I can't blow anymore. Sun, your turn!
- The Sun 好。我不用大声，也不用生气。
Hǎo. Wǒ bú yòng dàshēng, yě bú yòng shēngqì.
All right. I don't need to be loud, and I don't need to get angry.
- Grandpa Owl 太阳出来了。天，一点儿一点儿地热了。
Tàiyáng chūlái le. Tiān, yìdiǎnr yìdiǎnr de rè le.
The Sun came out. Little by little, the day grew warm.
- The Traveler 风停了，太阳出来了……真舒服！
Fēng tíng le, tàiyáng chūlái le… zhēn shūfu!
The wind has stopped, and the sun's out… that feels good!
- The Traveler 啊，现在太热了！这件大衣，我不要了！
A, xiànzài tài rè le! Zhè jiàn dàyī, wǒ bú yào le!
Phew, now it's too hot! I don't need this coat anymore!
- Grandpa Owl 行人脱了大衣，坐在大树下边休息。
Xíngrén tuō le dàyī, zuò zài dà shù xiàbian xiūxi.
The traveler took off his coat and sat down to rest under a big tree.
- The North Wind 什么？我那么大的风，都不行……
Shénme? Wǒ nàme dà de fēng, dōu bù xíng…
What? All that mighty wind of mine, and it didn't work…
- The Sun 北风，大声不一定有用。
Běifēng, dàshēng bù yídìng yǒuyòng.
North Wind, being loud doesn't always get things done.
- Little Rabbit 太阳赢了！我说对了！小松鼠，你的果子呢？
Tàiyáng yíng le! Wǒ shuō duì le! Xiǎo Sōngshǔ, nǐ de guǒzi ne?
The Sun won! I was right! Now, Little Squirrel, where's that acorn?
- Little Squirrel 好吧，好吧，给你……北风没吹走我的果子，太阳吹走了！
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba, gěi nǐ… Běifēng méi chuīzǒu wǒ de guǒzi, tàiyáng chuīzǒu le!
Okay, okay, here… The North Wind couldn't blow my acorn away, but the Sun did!
- Grandpa Owl 明天的故事，有一只大狗。他的嘴里，有一大块肉……
Míngtiān de gùshi, yǒu yì zhī dà gǒu. Tā de zuǐ lǐ, yǒu yí dà kuài ròu…
Tomorrow's story has a big dog in it. In his mouth is a big piece of meat…
- Little Squirrel 肉？那他真高兴！然后呢？
Ròu? Nà tā zhēn gāoxìng! Ránhòu ne?
Meat? Lucky dog! And then what?
- Grandpa Owl 然后，他在桥上，看见水里有一块更大的肉！
Ránhòu, tā zài qiáo shang, kànjiàn shuǐ lǐ yǒu yí kuài gèng dà de ròu!
And then, from a bridge, he spotted an even bigger piece of meat down in the water!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why is Little Squirrel holding his acorn so tightly at the start?
“好大的风！我的果子！别吹走我的果子！”
- What does the North Wind say about himself?
“我的本事最大！”
- How will they decide who wins the contest?
“谁能让他脱了大衣，谁就赢。”
- What does the traveler do when the wind blows harder?
“太冷了！大衣，我要穿好，穿好！”
- Why does the traveler finally take off his coat?
“啊，现在太热了！这件大衣，我不要了！”