Kids’ Chinese Idiom: 亡羊补牢 It’s Never Too Late to Take Action (Beginner)

亡羊补牢(Wángyángbǔláo) It's Never Too Late to Take Action

Listen to the whole story:

Key Learning Points (Preview):    

狼(láng) n. wolf 

接受(jiēshòu) v. accept

Cóngqián yǒu gè rén, yǎngle jǐ zhī yáng.  
从前           有  个  人，养了   几只  羊。

Once upon a time, there was a shepherd who kept several sheep.

Yìtiān zǎoshang, tā fāxiàn shǎole yìzhī yáng.
一天   早上，       他 发现   少了    一只  羊。

One morning, the shepherd discovered that one of his sheep was missing.

Yuánlái yángjuàn pòle gè kūlong, yèjiān láng cóng
原来      羊圈         破了个  窟窿，  夜间   狼     从
kūlong lǐ zuān jìnlái bǎ yáng diāo zǒule.
窟窿    里 钻   进来 把 羊      叼    走了。 

It turned out that, during the night, a wolf had stolen his sheep through a hole in the sheep pen.

Línju quàngào tā shuō: "gǎnkuài bǎ
邻居   劝告       他   说：“赶快     把
yángjuàn xiūyīxiū, dǔ shàng nàgè kūlong ba."
羊圈         修一修，堵 上       那个  窟窿   吧。”

His neighbor suggested to him: "You should fix the pen and cover the hole right away." 

Tā shuō: "yáng yǐjīng diūle, hái xiū yángjuàn gàn shénme ne?"
他说：    “羊   已经   丢了，还 修 羊圈        干     什么     呢？”
Tā méi jiēshòu línju de quàngào.
他 没   接受     邻居 的  劝告。

But the shepherd said: "The sheep are already lost, so I don't need to repair it." And so he rejected the neighbor's suggestion.

Dìèrtiān zǎoshang, tā qù fàngyáng, fāxiàn yòu shǎole yìzhī yáng.
第二天     早上，     他 去 放羊，      发现   又    少了   一只   羊。

The next morning, he discovered that another sheep was missing.

Yuánlái láng yòu cóng kūlong lǐ zuān jìnlái bǎ yáng diāo zǒule.
原来       狼    又    从    窟窿   里   钻  进来 把 羊     叼     走了。

Once again, the wolf had stolen the sheep through the hole in the fence.

Tā hěn hòuhuǐ, bùgāi bù jiēshòu línju de quàngào.
他 很    后悔，   不该  不 接受    邻居 的  劝告。

The shepherd regretted not taking the neighbor's advice.

Tā gǎnkuài dǔshàng nàgè kūlong,
他 赶快       堵上         那个    窟窿，
bǎ yángjuàn xiūde jiējieshíshi de.
把 羊圈         修得    结结实实  的。

So he plugged the hole to secure the sheep pen.

Cóngcǐ, tā de yáng zài méiyǒu bèi láng diāo zǒule.
从此，   他的 羊     再  没有     被   狼      叼    走了。

From then on, the wolf stole no more sheep.

Key Learning Points:

狼(láng) n. wolf

Example:

Nǐ tīngguò "láng hé xiǎoyáng" de gùshi ma?
你 听过   “狼    和   小羊”     的 故事 吗？

Have you ever heard the story of The Wolf and the Little Lamb? 

接受(jiēshòu) v. to take/ to accept

Wǒ jiēshòu nǐ de dàoqiàn le, wǒmen háishì hǎopéngyou.
我  接受     你 的 道歉     了，我们      还是    好朋友。

I accept your apology, and we are still close friends. 

Chinese for Kids 

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