In this classic short story, it turns out Lord Ye (叶公) doesn’t like dragons as much as he thinks he does.
Key vocab
喜欢 – xǐ huan – to like
到处 – dào chù – everywhere
真龙 – zhēn lóng – real dragon
听说 – tīng shuō – to hear (that); it is said
应该 – yīng gāi – should; ought to
于是 – yú shì – so; thereupon
大叫 – dà jiào – to shout loudly; to scream
故事 – gù shi – story
真实 – zhēn shí – real; true
叶公好龙
从前，有一个人叫叶公。叶公非常喜欢龙。
他的家里到处都是龙。墙上有龙，桌子上有龙，椅子上有龙，衣服上也有龙。他的朋友说：”叶公，你真的很喜欢龙。”叶公说：”对！龙是世界上最好的动物！”
天上的真龙听说了这件事。它很高兴。它想：”世界上有人这么喜欢我，我应该去看看他。”
于是，真龙从天上飞下来，来到叶公的家。它把头伸进窗户，把尾巴放在门口。
叶公看到了。
他大叫一声，跑了。
这个故事告诉我们：喜欢一个想法，和喜欢真实的东西，不一样。
Lord Ye Loves Dragons
Once upon a time, there was a man named Lord Ye. Lord Ye loved dragons very much.
His home was full of dragons everywhere. There were dragons on the walls, dragons on the table, dragons on the chairs, and dragons on his clothes too. His friend said: “Lord Ye, you really love dragons.” Lord Ye said: “Yes! Dragons are the best animals in the world!”
The real dragon in the sky heard about this. It was very happy. It thought: “There is someone in the world who likes me so much, I should go and see him.”
So, the real dragon flew down from the sky and came to Lord Ye’s home. It stuck its head through the window and put its tail at the door.
Lord Ye saw it.
He let out a big scream and ran away.
This story tells us: liking an idea and liking the real thing are not the same.
