The Great Race: The Twelve Animals · chapter 3 of 5
The Kind Dragon
好心的龙
Tiger loses a fight with the river, a little rabbit runs out of stepping stones, and the Jade Emperor wonders why the Dragon, who can fly, still hasn't arrived.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 河那边，老鼠和牛坐在玉帝的旁边，等别的动物。
Hé nàbiān, Lǎoshǔ hé Niú zuò zài Yùdì de pángbiān, děng bié de dòngwù.
On the far bank, Rat and Ox sat beside the Jade Emperor, waiting for the other animals.
- The Jade Emperor 第三个呢？第三个在哪儿？太慢了，太慢了！
Dì sān gè ne? Dì sān gè zài nǎr? Tài màn le, tài màn le!
Where's number three? Where is number three? Too slow, too slow!
- Rat 玉帝，您看！水里有一个黄黄的东西！是……猫吗？
Yùdì, nín kàn! Shuǐ lǐ yǒu yí gè huánghuáng de dōngxi! Shì… Māo ma?
Look, Your Majesty! There's something yellow in the water! Is that… Cat?
- Tiger 我……我来了！我是第一吗？
Wǒ… wǒ lái le! Wǒ shì dì yī ma?
I'm… I'm here! Am I first?
- Rat 不是！我第一，牛第二，你第三！
Bú shì! Wǒ dì yī, Niú dì èr, nǐ dì sān!
Nope! I'm first, Ox is second, and you're third!
- Tiger 什么？你这个小老鼠，是第一？
Shénme? Nǐ zhège xiǎo lǎoshǔ, shì dì yī?
What? A little rat like you came first?
- The Jade Emperor 对。老虎，第三。我写一下……
Duì. Lǎohǔ, dì sān. Wǒ xiě yíxià…
Correct. Tiger, third. Let me write that down…
- Tiger 我游得最快！可是水太大了，带我走了很远很远……
Wǒ yóu de zuì kuài! Kěshì shuǐ tài dà le, dài wǒ zǒu le hěn yuǎn hěn yuǎn…
I'm the fastest swimmer there is! But the water was too strong. It carried me far, far away…
- Ox 老虎，快不一定好。慢慢来，也很好。
Lǎohǔ, kuài bù yídìng hǎo. Mànmàn lái, yě hěn hǎo.
Tiger, fast isn't always best. Slow and steady is good too.
- Tiger 牛，你别说了！
Niú, nǐ bié shuō le!
Ox, just stop talking!
- Narrator 这时候，一只白兔子在河里的石头上跳。
Zhè shíhou, yì zhī bái tùzi zài hé lǐ de shítou shang tiào.
Just then, a white rabbit came hopping across the stones in the river.
- Rabbit 一、二、三，跳！一、二、三，跳！
Yī, èr, sān, tiào! Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
One, two, three, jump! One, two, three, jump!
- Rabbit 啊！前边没有石头了！怎么办？
A! Qiánbian méiyǒu shítou le! Zěnme bàn?
Oh no! There are no more stones! What do I do?
- Rabbit 没有石头了……那儿有一块木头！一、二、三，跳！
Méiyǒu shítou le… nàr yǒu yí kuài mùtou! Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
No more stones… but there's a log over there! One, two, three, jump!
- Tiger 她跳上了木头！可是木头在河中间，不动了！
Tā tiào shàng le mùtou! Kěshì mùtou zài hé zhōngjiān, bú dòng le!
She's made it onto the log! But the log is stuck in the middle of the river!
- Rabbit 我不会游泳……谁来帮帮我？
Wǒ bú huì yóuyǒng… shéi lái bāngbang wǒ?
I can't swim… Won't somebody help me?
- Narrator 忽然，起风了。木头往河边去了！
Hūrán, qǐ fēng le. Mùtou wǎng hébiān qù le!
Suddenly, a wind sprang up, and the log began to drift toward the bank!
- Rabbit 木头动了！我到河边了！一、二、三，跳！
Mùtou dòng le! Wǒ dào hébiān le! Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
The log's moving! I'm at the bank! One, two, three, jump!
- The Jade Emperor 兔子，第四！我写一下……奇怪，龙呢？龙会飞，他应该第一个到啊！
Tùzi, dì sì! Wǒ xiě yíxià… qíguài, Lóng ne? Lóng huì fēi, tā yīnggāi dì yī gè dào a!
Rabbit, fourth! Let me write that down… How strange. Where's Dragon? Dragon can fly. He should have been here first!
- Narrator 一条长长的龙，从白云里飞了下来。
Yì tiáo chángcháng de lóng, cóng báiyún lǐ fēi le xiàlái.
A long, long dragon came flying down out of the white clouds.
- Dragon 玉帝，对不起，我来晚了。
Yùdì, duìbuqǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le.
Forgive me, Your Majesty. I'm late.
- The Jade Emperor 龙！你怎么这么晚？
Lóng! Nǐ zěnme zhème wǎn?
Dragon! Why are you so late?
- Dragon 路上，我看见一个地方，很久没有下雨了。人们没有水喝。
Lù shang, wǒ kànjiàn yí gè dìfang, hěn jiǔ méiyǒu xià yǔ le. Rénmen méiyǒu shuǐ hē.
On my way, I saw a place where it hadn't rained for a long time. The people had no water to drink.
- Dragon 所以，我给他们下了一场大雨。
Suǒyǐ, wǒ gěi tāmen xià le yì cháng dà yǔ.
So I stopped and gave them a good, heavy rain.
- Dragon 后来，河中间有一只小兔子，不能动了。我就吹了吹。
Hòulái, hé zhōngjiān yǒu yì zhī xiǎo tùzi, bù néng dòng le. Wǒ jiù chuī le chuī.
Then I saw a little rabbit stuck in the middle of the river, so I gave a little puff.
- Rabbit 那风……是你？谢谢你，龙！
Nà fēng… shì nǐ? Xièxie nǐ, Lóng!
That wind… was you? Thank you, Dragon!
- The Jade Emperor 好龙！你是第五，可是你的心，是第一！
Hǎo lóng! Nǐ shì dì wǔ, kěshì nǐ de xīn, shì dì yī!
What a good dragon! You may be fifth, but your heart came first!
- Narrator 又过了一会儿，马跑来了。
Yòu guò le yíhuìr, Mǎ pǎo lái le.
A little later, Horse came galloping up.
- Horse 让一让！让一让！第六是我！
Ràng yi ràng! Ràng yi ràng! Dì liù shì wǒ!
Make way! Make way! Sixth place is mine!
- Snake 第六？不……第六是我。
Dì liù? Bù… dì liù shì wǒ.
Sixth? Oh, no… sixth is me.
What changed in the story?
- Why does Tiger only come third?
“可是水太大了，带我走了很远很远……”
- How does Rabbit try to cross the river?
“一、二、三，跳！”……“那儿有一块木头……一、二、三，跳！”
- Why is Dragon late?
“很久没有下雨了。人们没有水喝。”……“所以，我给他们下了一场大雨。”
- Who made the wind that moved Rabbit's log?
“河中间有一只小兔子，不能动了。我就吹了吹。”
- What does the Jade Emperor say about Dragon?
“你是第五，可是你的心，是第一！”