The Little Red Hen · chapter 2 of 3
The Golden Wheat
金黄的小麦
The wheat is ripe, but the friends still will not help. Then the hen hears footsteps outside the door.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 夏天到了。太阳很大，小麦都黄了。
Xiàtiān dào le. Tàiyáng hěn dà, xiǎomài dōu huáng le.
Summer came. The sun was strong, and all the wheat turned yellow.
- Chick 妈妈，小麦黄了！好漂亮！
Māma, xiǎomài huáng le! Hǎo piàoliang!
Mama, the wheat is yellow! It's so pretty!
- Little Red Hen 是啊，可以割了。鸭子，你来帮我割小麦吗？
Shì a, kěyǐ gē le. Yāzi, nǐ lái bāng wǒ gē xiǎomài ma?
Yes, it's ready to cut. Duck, will you help me cut the wheat?
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Little Red Hen 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, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Duck 不，不，不！太阳太大了，我会很热！
Bù, bù, bù! Tàiyáng tài dà le, wǒ huì hěn rè!
No, no, no! The sun is too strong, I'll get too hot!
- Little Red Hen 小猫，你呢？
Xiǎo māo, nǐ ne?
Kitty, what about you?
- Cat 不，不，不！我的脚会疼！
Bù, bù, bù! Wǒ de jiǎo huì téng!
No, no, no! My feet will hurt!
- Little Red Hen 你的脚怎么了？
Nǐ de jiǎo zěnme le?
What's wrong with your feet?
- Cat 没怎么。我就是……不想去，可以吗？
Méi zěnme. Wǒ jiùshì… bù xiǎng qù, kěyǐ ma?
Nothing. I just... don't want to go. Is that all right?
- Little Red Hen 好。孩子，我们自己割。
Hǎo. Háizi, wǒmen zìjǐ gē.
Fine. Child, we'll cut it ourselves.
- Chick 我拿小麦，妈妈来割！
Wǒ ná xiǎomài, māma lái gē!
I'll carry the wheat, Mama cuts!
- Little Red Hen 好多，好多，好多小麦啊！我们的手都累了！
Hǎo duō, hǎo duō, hǎo duō xiǎomài a! Wǒmen de shǒu dōu lèi le!
So much, so much, so much wheat! Our hands are tired!
- Chick 妈妈，现在可以做面包了吗？
Māma, xiànzài kěyǐ zuò miànbāo le ma?
Mama, can we make bread now?
- Little Red Hen 还不行。小麦要先打一打，然后再磨成面。
Hái bù xíng. Xiǎomài yào xiān dǎ yi dǎ, ránhòu zài mó chéng miàn.
Not yet. The wheat must be beaten first, and then ground into flour.
- Little Red Hen 我们去那个大房子里。小狗也在那儿。
Wǒmen qù nàge dà fángzi lǐ. Xiǎo gǒu yě zài nàr.
Let's go to that big barn. The puppy is there too.
- Little Red Hen 小狗，你来帮我们打小麦吗？
Xiǎo gǒu, nǐ lái bāng wǒmen dǎ xiǎomài ma?
Puppy, will you help us beat the wheat?
- Dog 不，不，不！我要去吃饭了！我好饿！
Bù, bù, bù! Wǒ yào qù chī fàn le! Wǒ hǎo è!
No, no, no! I'm off to eat! I'm so hungry!
- Little Red Hen 你刚吃过饭！你的碗还在那儿呢！
Nǐ gāng chī guo fàn! Nǐ de wǎn hái zài nàr ne!
You just ate! Your bowl is still right there!
- Dog 那我要再吃一次！吃饭是大事！
Nà wǒ yào zài chī yí cì! Chī fàn shì dà shì!
Then I'll eat again!
- Little Red Hen 好吧。孩子，我们打吧！
Hǎo ba. Háizi, wǒmen dǎ ba!
Fine. Child, let's beat it!
- Chick 一，二，三！你看，小麦都掉下来了！
Yī, èr, sān! Nǐ kàn, xiǎomài dōu diào xiàlái le!
One, two, three! Look, the wheat is all falling out!
- Little Red Hen 现在去磨面。这块石头很重。
Xiànzài qù mó miàn. Zhè kuài shítou hěn zhòng.
Now let's grind it. This stone is very heavy.
- Chick 妈妈，我很小，可是我不怕累！我来帮你！
Māma, wǒ hěn xiǎo, kěshì wǒ bú pà lèi! Wǒ lái bāng nǐ!
Mama, I'm small, but I'm not afraid of getting tired! I'll help you!
- Little Red Hen 好！一，二，三，推！
Hǎo! Yī, èr, sān, tuī!
Good! One, two, three, push!
- Chick 看！白白的面！好多好多面啊！
Kàn! Bái bái de miàn! Hǎo duō hǎo duō miàn a!
Look! White flour! So very much flour!
- Little Red Hen 太好了！我们的面做好了。明天早上，我们做面包！
Tài hǎo le! Wǒmen de miàn zuò hǎo le. Míngtiān zǎoshang, wǒmen zuò miànbāo!
Wonderful! Tomorrow morning, we'll make bread!
- Chick 妈妈，你听！外面有人来了。
Māma, nǐ tīng! Wàimiàn yǒu rén lái le.
Mama, listen! Someone's coming outside.
- Chick 他们是不是听到了……面包？
Tāmen shì bu shì tīngdào le… miànbāo?
Did they hear... the word bread?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What color is the wheat in summer?
“小麦都黄了。”
- Why does the duck refuse to cut wheat?
“太阳太大了！”
- What is the dog's funny excuse?
“那我要再吃一次！”
- What does the hen make from the wheat?
“白白的面！”
- What worries the chick at the end?
“他们是不是听到了……面包？”