小马过河 (Xiăomă Guòhé) A Little Horse Crosses a River (Part I)

Chinese Stories for Children

小马过河(Xiăomă Guòhé) A Little Horse Crosses a River (Part I)

Măpéng lĭ zhù zhe yì pĭ xiăomă hé mă māma.
马棚     里  住   着 一 匹  小马   和  马  妈妈。
Once there lived a little horse and his mother in a stable.

Yŏu yì tiān, mă māma duì xiăomă shuō: “Nĭ yĭjīng zhăngdà le, néng bāng māma zuò diăn shì ma?”
有   一  天 ,马  妈妈  对   小马     说:“ 你 已经      长大   了,能    帮     妈妈   做   点   事   吗”?
One day, his mother said to him: “You are a big boy now. Can you help mother?”

Xiăomă liánbèngdàitiào de shuō: “Hăo ā! Méiwèntí.”
小马         连蹦带跳       地   说:“ 好 啊! 没问题”。
The little horse said, while leaping and bounding: “Ok! No problem.”

Mă māma gāoxìng de shuō: “Nà hăo ā, nĭ bă zhè bàn dài màizi tuó dào mòfáng qù ba.”
马   妈妈     高兴    地   说:“那  好 啊,你 把 这  半   袋  麦子  驮   到    磨坊    去 吧”。
His mother said happily: “Good! You can carry the half bag of wheat to the mill.”

Xiăomă tuó qĭ kŏudai, fēikuài de wăng mòfáng păo qù. Păozhe păozhe, yì tiáo xiăohé dăng zhù le qùlù,
小马      驮  起   口袋, 飞快  地  往       磨坊    跑   去。跑着      跑着,一  条  小河    挡    住  了  去路,
héshuĭ huāhuā de liúzhe. Xiăomă wéinán le, xīn xiăng: Wŏ néng bu néng guòqù ne? Rúguŏ māma zài
河水      哗哗    地  流着。 小马     为难  了,心  想: 我    能    不   能    过去   呢? 如果    妈妈  在
shēnbiān, nà gāi duō hăo ā! Kěshì yĭjīng lí jiā hěn yuăn le.
身边,     那  该  多   好 啊!可是 已经 离 家 很   远   了。
The little horse carried the wheat and ran quickly to the mill. But a river blocked his way, so he didn’t know what to do and thought: Can I cross? It would not be a problem if his mothers were here, but I am already far from home.

Tā xiàng sìzhōu wàngwang, kànjiàn yì tóu lăoniú zài hébiān chīcăo, xiăomă păo guòqù wèn dào: “Niú
他  向      四周       望望,    看见    一  头  老牛  在   河边    吃草,  小马   跑    过去    问   道:“牛
bóbo, qĭng nín gàosu wŏ, zhè tiáo hé, wŏ néng guòqù ma?”
伯伯, 请   您   告诉   我,这  条  河,我   能    过去   吗”?
He looked around and saw an old bull grazing by the river, then he ran to the bull and asked: “Uncle Bull, please tell me whether I can go across the river.”

Lăoniú shuō: “Shuĭ hěn qiăn, gāng mò xiăotuĭ, néng guòqù.”
老牛      说:“  水   很    浅,  刚     没  小腿,  能    过去” 。
The bull said: “The water is shallow and just covers the calf. You can go across.”

Xiăomă tīng le lăoniú de huà, lìkè păodào hébiān, gāng zhŭnbèi guòhé. Tūrán cóng shùshàng tiàoxià yì
小马      听  了  老牛  的  话,立刻  跑到   河边,   刚     准备      过河。突然     从     树上      跳下  一
zhī sōngshŭ, lánzhù tā dàjiào: “Xiăomă! Bié guòhé, bié guòhé, héshuĭ huì yānsĭ nĭ de.”
只   松鼠,    拦住   他  大叫:“  小马!别   过河,别   过河,河水    会  淹死 你 的”!
After hearing the bull’s words, the little horse ran to the riverside and was ready to cross the river. Suddenly a squirrel came from a tree and shouted to him: “Little horse! Don’t go across. Don’t go across. You will be drowning in the river.”

Vocabulary:

1. 连蹦带跳(liánbèngdàitiào) n. to leap and bound

2. 磨坊(mòfáng) n. mill

3. 准备(zhŭnbèi) adv. readily

Want to know whether the little horse crossed the river? Stay tuned! Part II will be in the next issue. You are welcome to create stories for the little horse and send to us at Jennifer.Zhu@eChineseLearning.com

Further Reading:

小马过河 (Xiăomă Guòhé) A Little Horse Crosses a River (Part II)
Chinese for Kids 
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

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