Chinese Story for Kids: The Pig Ate a Watermelon

The Pig Baijie is a much-loved character in the classic Chinese TV series Journey to the West《西游记》(Xīyóujì). He has the head of a pig and the body of a human, and is fat and greedy for food. The following story is an episode from Journey to the West:

Key Learning Points (Preview):

猪 (zhū): n. pig

西瓜 (xīguā): n. watermelon

Listen to the Mandarin Chinese Story:

猪八戒吃西瓜 (Zhū Bājiè chī xīguā) The Pig Bajie Ate Watermelon

Tángsēng hé tā de sān gè túdì:
唐僧         和 他 的  三  个 徒弟:
Sūn Wùkōng, Zhū Bājiè, Shā Héshang yìqǐ qù Yìndù qǔjīng.
孙悟空、         猪八戒、     沙和尚     一起 去 印度   取经。
Monk Tang (His full name is Tang Xuanzang) and his three disciples, Sun Wukong, Pig Bajie, and Monk Sha went to India on a pilgrimage to seek Buddhist scriptures.

Yǒu yì tiān, tiān rè jí le.
有   一 天,天  热 极了。
Sūn Wùkōng hé Zhū Bājiè qù zhǎo shuǐguǒ.
孙悟空          和   猪八戒   去  找      水果。
One day, on their way to India, the weather was extremely hot. Sun Wukong went to find some fruit with Pig Bajie.

Bàn lùshang, Bājiè shuō dùzi téng.
半    路上,   八戒  说    肚子 疼。
However, Bajie (the short name for Pig Bajie) complained of a stomachache on the way.

Sūn Wùkōng zhīdào, Bājiè zhǐshì xiǎng tōulǎn,
孙悟空           知道,八戒  只是   想      偷懒,
jiù zìjǐ qù zhǎo shuǐguò le.
就自己去  找     水果    了。
Sun Wukong knew that Bajie merely wanted to slack off, so Sun Wukong went to find some fruit himself.

Hòulái, Zhū Bājiè zài fùjìn fāxiàn le yígè xīguā.
后来,   猪八戒   在 附近 发现 了 一个 西瓜。
Later on, Bajie spotted a large watermelon nearby.

Tā bǎ xīguā fēn chéng sìkuài, dǎsuàn fēn gěi shīfu hé tóngbàn  chī.
他 把  西瓜  分   成      四块, 打算    分  给 师傅  和  同伴       吃。
Kěshì zìjǐ méi rěn zhù, bǎ sì kuài xīguā dōu chī le.
可是 自己没  忍   住,把四 块    西瓜  都   吃  了。
He divided it into four sections, planning to give them to his master and his fellows, yet he was so greedy that he ate the whole watermelon himself.

Kàn dào Sūn Wùkōng huílai, tā liánmáng bǎ xīguā pí rēng diào le.
看    到     孙悟空        回来,他  连忙      把  西瓜 皮 扔    掉   了。   
Xīnxiǎng méi rén huì fāxiàn de.
心想       没   人  会   发现   的。
Upon Sun Wukong’s return, Bajie quickly threw away the watermelon rind. He figured no one would notice.

Rán’ér, zài huíqù de lùshang,
然而, 在  回去  的  路上,
Bājiè cǎi dào le zìjǐ gāngcái rēng de xīguā pí shang, lián shuāi le sì jiāo.
八戒  踩 到 了 自己 刚才    扔    的 西瓜  皮   上,  连   摔   了 四 跤。
Unfortunately, on his way back, Bajie stepped on the discarded peels, slipped, and fell down four times.

Dāng tā de shīfu hé tóngbàn zhīdào hòu dōu xiào Bājiè tānchī.
当      他 的 师父 和   同伴      知道    后,都   笑   八戒  贪吃。
When his master and fellows found out what happened, they all burst out into laughter over Bajie’s greediness.

Culture Notes:

《西游记》(Xīyóujì) Journey to the West is a mythic Chinese novel, and also one of the Four Great Classical Novels (四大名著sì dà míngzhù) in China. The novel mainly features the famous Monk Xuanzang and his three disciples, who have magic powers, on their pilgrimage to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. The TV series adopted from this novel has remained extremely popular in China for more than twenty years. It is deeply loved by kids of all ages.

Key Learning Points:

猪 (zhū): n. pig

Example:

Nǐ xǐhuān Sānzhī xiǎozhū de gùshì ma?
你  喜欢    《三只小猪》  的  故事  吗?
Do you like the story of the Three Little Pigs?

西瓜 (xīguā): n. watermelon

Example:

Xīguā duōshǎo qián yì jīn?
西瓜      多少     钱  一 斤?
How much does one half kilogram of watermelon cost?

Related Post:

Chinese for Children-西游记 (Xīyóujì) Pilgrimage to the West
Chinese for Kids 
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

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