This short passage about a little bird who learns that diligence and practice trumps natural talent every time.
This passage contains a new definition of the character 了 (le). This character has many definitions. The first definition we usually learn when first studying Chinese is that adding “了” after a verb makes that verb past tense (我跑了, “I ran”). But in this passage, “了” means that something has changed – something that was happening before is no longer happening, or will no longer be happening. Take a look at this sentence:
小鸟很难过，想不学了。
Without the 了 at the end, this sentence would mean, “Little Bird was very sad, and didn’t want to study.” But by adding 了 at the end, the meaning is changed to, “Little Bird was very sad, and didn’t want to study anymore“, implying he was studying before and now wants to stop.
We see a similar use of 了 in this sentence:
小鸟唱得很好听了！
Without the 了 at the end, this sentence would mean, “Little Bird sings very well!” But with the 了 at the end, the meaning changes to, “Little Bird sings very well now“, implying he sang badly before.
Key vocab
小鸟 – xiǎo niǎo – little bird
唱歌 – chàng gē – to sing
起床 – qǐ chuáng – to get up
好听 – hǎo tīng – nice to hear
笑 – xiào – to laugh
难过 – nán guò – sad
以前 – yǐ qián – before
停 – tíng – to stop
高兴 – gāo xìng – happy
件 – jiàn – measure word for things
小鸟学唱歌
一只小鸟想学唱歌。它每天早上起床，就开始唱。但是它唱得不好听，别的鸟都笑它。
小鸟很难过，想不学了。一只老鸟对它说：”不要怕！我以前也唱得不好。你要每天学，不要停。”
小鸟听了老鸟的话。它每天早上唱，晚上也唱。一个月，两个月，三个月……
现在，小鸟唱得很好听了！别的鸟都说：”你唱得太好了！” 小鸟很高兴。
The Little Bird Learns to Sing
A little bird wanted to learn to sing. Every morning when it woke up, it would start singing. But it didn’t sing well, and other birds all laughed at it.
The little bird was very sad and wanted to stop learning. An old bird said to it: “Don’t be afraid! I also didn’t sing well before. You need to study every day, don’t stop.”
The little bird listened to the old bird’s words. It sang every morning and also sang at night. One month, two months, three months……
Now, the little bird sings very beautifully! Other birds all say: “You sing so well!” The little bird is very happy.
