The Ugly Duckling · chapter 4 of 5
The Long Winter
长长的冬天
Winter closes in on the lonely duckling, the lake starts to freeze, and a farmer's warm kitchen turns into a storm of milk, butter and flour.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 冬天来了。天很冷很冷，湖上有冰了。
Dōngtiān lái le. Tiān hěn lěng hěn lěng, hú shang yǒu bīng le.
Winter came. It grew bitterly cold, and ice began to form on the lake.
- The Ugly Duckling 那些白鸟，现在在南方吧？南方很暖和……
Nàxiē bái niǎo, xiànzài zài nánfāng ba? Nánfāng hěn nuǎnhuo…
Those white birds must be in the south by now. It's warm in the south…
- The Ugly Duckling 我不知道他们叫什么。可是，我天天想他们。
Wǒ bù zhīdào tāmen jiào shénme. Kěshì, wǒ tiāntiān xiǎng tāmen.
I don't even know what they're called. But I think about them every day.
- The Ugly Duckling 我要游，游，游！水动着，就不会变成冰。
Wǒ yào yóu, yóu, yóu! Shuǐ dòngzhe, jiù bú huì biànchéng bīng.
I have to swim, swim, swim! If the water keeps moving, it can't turn to ice.
- The Ugly Duckling 一个晚上，又一个晚上……冰多了，水少了……
Yí gè wǎnshang, yòu yí gè wǎnshang… Bīng duō le, shuǐ shǎo le…
One night, and another night… more ice, less water…
- The Ugly Duckling 好冷……我的脚……不能动了……
Hǎo lěng… wǒ de jiǎo… bù néng dòng le…
So cold… my feet… I can't move…
- The Ugly Duckling 妈妈……
Māma…
Mama…
- Narrator 第二天早上，一个农民打破了冰，把丑小鸭带回了家。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, yí gè nóngmín dǎpò le bīng, bǎ Chǒu Xiǎoyā dài huí le jiā.
The next morning, a farmer broke the ice and carried the Ugly Duckling home.
- The Farmer's Boy 爸爸，他动了！他好了！
Bàba, tā dòng le! Tā hǎo le!
Dad, he moved! He's all right!
- The Farmer's Boy 这是什么鸟？他好大！
Zhè shì shénme niǎo? Tā hǎo dà!
What kind of bird is he? He's so big!
- The Farmer's Boy 别怕，别怕！来，跟我玩吧！
Bié pà, bié pà! Lái, gēn wǒ wán ba!
Don't be scared, don't be scared! Come on, play with me!
- The Ugly Duckling 他要打我吗？别过来！别过来！
Tā yào dǎ wǒ ma? Bié guòlái! Bié guòlái!
Is he going to hit me? Stay back! Stay back!
- The Farmer's Boy 妈妈！他飞进牛奶里了！
Māma! Tā fēi jìn niúnǎi lǐ le!
Mom! He flew into the milk!
- The Ugly Duckling 对不起！对不起！
Duìbuqǐ! Duìbuqǐ!
Sorry! Sorry!
- The Farmer's Boy 你看，他又飞到黄油里了！
Nǐ kàn, tā yòu fēi dào huángyóu lǐ le!
Look, now he's in the butter!
- The Ugly Duckling 对不起！我不是……我不想……
Duìbuqǐ! Wǒ bú shì… wǒ bù xiǎng…
Sorry! I didn't… I don't mean to…
- The Farmer's Boy 他又飞进白面里了！他变白了！
Tā yòu fēi jìn báimiàn lǐ le! Tā biàn bái le!
Now he's in the flour! He's turned all white!
- The Ugly Duckling 门！门开着！
Mén! Mén kāizhe!
The door! The door's open!
- Narrator 丑小鸭飞出了门，飞到了外边的雪里。
Chǒu Xiǎoyā fēi chū le mén, fēi dào le wàibian de xuě lǐ.
The Ugly Duckling flew out of the door and into the snow.
- The Farmer's Boy 大鸟，别走！回来！
Dà niǎo, bié zǒu! Huílái!
Big bird, don't go! Come back!
- The Ugly Duckling 他们……也许不想打我。可是，我太怕了。
Tāmen… yěxǔ bù xiǎng dǎ wǒ. Kěshì, wǒ tài pà le.
Maybe… maybe they didn't want to hurt me. But I was too scared.
- Narrator 这个冬天，很长很长。丑小鸭一个人，住在湖边的草里。
Zhège dōngtiān, hěn cháng hěn cháng. Chǒu Xiǎoyā yí gè rén, zhù zài húbiān de cǎo lǐ.
That winter was very, very long. The Ugly Duckling lived all alone in the reeds by the lake.
- The Ugly Duckling 冷，饿，没有朋友……冬天什么时候走啊？
Lěng, è, méiyǒu péngyou… Dōngtiān shénme shíhou zǒu a?
Cold, hungry, no friends… When will winter ever go away?
- Narrator 有一天，太阳暖和了，小鸟都在唱歌。春天来了！
Yǒu yì tiān, tàiyáng nuǎnhuo le, xiǎoniǎo dōu zài chànggē. Chūntiān lái le!
Then one day the sun grew warm, and all the little birds were singing. Spring had come!
- The Ugly Duckling 冬天走了……我还在！
Dōngtiān zǒu le… Wǒ hái zài!
Winter's gone… and I'm still here!
- The Ugly Duckling 我的翅膀，怎么变得这么大？
Wǒ de chìbǎng, zěnme biàn de zhème dà?
My wings! How did they get so big?
- The Ugly Duckling 我飞起来了！我飞得好高！
Wǒ fēi qǐlái le! Wǒ fēi de hǎo gāo!
I'm flying! I'm flying so high!
- The Ugly Duckling 下边有一个大花园……水里有三只白鸟！
Xiàbian yǒu yí gè dà huāyuán… Shuǐ lǐ yǒu sān zhī bái niǎo!
There's a big garden down there… and three white birds on the water!
- The Ugly Duckling 是他们！是那些白鸟！
Shì tāmen! Shì nàxiē bái niǎo!
It's them! It's the white birds!
- The Ugly Duckling 我……我要去吗？他们会不会打我？
Wǒ… wǒ yào qù ma? Tāmen huì bu huì dǎ wǒ?
Should I… should I go to them? Will they peck me?
What changed in the story?
- How does the duckling try to keep the water from freezing?
“我要游，游，游！水动着，就不会变成冰。”
- Who gets him out of the ice?
“一个农民打破了冰，把丑小鸭带回了家。”
- Why does he fly all over the farmer's house?
“他要打我吗？别过来！别过来！”
- What happens when he flies into the flour?
“他又飞进白面里了！他变白了！”
- What does he discover when spring comes?
“我的翅膀，怎么变得这么大？……我飞得好高！”