This childhood story – which needs no introduction, and which you no doubt heard growing up – is famous all over the world, including in China. In English, this story is entitled “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” but the standard name for this in Chinese is “The Wolf is Coming,” or “狼来了”. Although this story contains some intermediate language, because most people already know the plot, I’ve classified this as a beginner story – even if you aren’t sure of a word here and there, you may be able to figure out the meaning of each sentence anyway.
Key vocab
主意 – zhǔyì – idea/plan
村民 – cūnmín – villager
生气 – shēngqì – angry
真正 – zhēnzhèng – real/genuine
害怕 – hàipà – afraid/scared
救命 – jiùmìng – help/save me
骗 – piàn – to trick/deceive
同情 – tóngqíng – sympathy/to feel sorry for
说谎 – shuōhuǎng – to lie/tell lies
狼来了
从前，有一个小男孩叫小明。他每天在山上看羊。他的工作很无聊，他觉得很没意思。
有一天，小明想了一个主意。他大声喊：”狼来了！狼来了！”
山下的村民听到了，都跑上山来。但是他们到了以后，发现没有狼。小明哈哈大笑。
村民们很生气。”不可以这样！”他们说。他们回到了村子里。
第二天，小明又喊：”狼来了！狼来了！”村民们又跑上来，又没有看到狼。他们非常生气，回去了。
第三天，一只真正的狼来了。小明非常害怕，大声喊：”狼来了！狼来了！救命啊！”
但是村民们听到了，都摇摇头。”他又在骗我们，”他们说。没有人上山。
狼走进了羊群。小明一个人站在那里，不知道怎么办。
那天晚上，小明回到村子里，没有羊，也没有人同情他。
说谎的人，没有人会相信他。
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Xiao Ming. Every day he watched sheep on the mountain. His job was very boring, and he found it very dull.
One day, Xiao Ming thought of an idea. He shouted loudly: ‘The wolf is coming! The wolf is coming!’
The villagers at the bottom of the mountain heard him and all ran up the mountain. But when they arrived, they discovered there was no wolf. Xiao Ming laughed heartily.
The villagers were very angry. ‘You can’t do this!’ they said. They returned to the village.
The next day, Xiao Ming shouted again: ‘The wolf is coming! The wolf is coming!’ The villagers ran up again, and again saw no wolf. They were extremely angry and went back.
On the third day, a real wolf came. Xiao Ming was very scared and shouted loudly: ‘The wolf is coming! The wolf is coming! Help!’
But the villagers heard him and all shook their heads. ‘He’s tricking us again,’ they said. No one went up the mountain.
The wolf walked into the flock of sheep. Xiao Ming stood there alone, not knowing what to do.
That evening, Xiao Ming returned to the village, without any sheep, and no one felt sorry for him.
A person who lies will not be believed by anyone.