In this “home is where the heart is” story, a little fish strikes out in search of adventure, but he isn’t gone long before homesickness sets in.
Key vocab
小鱼 – xiǎo yú – little fish
河 – hé – river
大海 – dà hǎi – sea/ocean
兴奋 – xīng fèn – excited
咸 – xián – salty
舒服 – shū fu5 – comfortable
想家 – xiǎng jiā – homesick
远方 – yuǎn fāng – distant place
身边 – shēn biān – by one’s side
明白 – míng bai5 – to understand
小鱼和大海
从前，有一条小鱼住在一个小河里。小鱼每天都很快乐，因为河水很清，朋友很多。
有一天，一只鸟飞过来说：”小鱼，你为什么不去大海？大海比这里大一千倍！”小鱼听了很兴奋，它想：”我要去看看大海！”
小鱼游了很长时间，终于到了大海。大海真的很大很美！但是，海水太咸了，小鱼很不舒服。大海里的鱼都不认识它，没有朋友跟它说话。
小鱼很想家。它游回小河，看见了老朋友们。小鱼高兴地说：”外面的世界很大，但是家是最好的地方！”
从那以后，小鱼明白了：快乐不在远方，快乐就在身边。
The Little Fish and the Big Sea
Once upon a time, there was a little fish living in a small river. The little fish was happy every day because the river water was clear and it had many friends.
One day, a bird flew over and said: “Little fish, why don’t you go to the big sea? The sea is a thousand times bigger than here!” The little fish was very excited and thought: “I want to go see the sea!”
The little fish swam for a very long time and finally reached the sea. The sea was really big and beautiful! But the seawater was too salty, and the little fish felt very uncomfortable. He didn’t know any of the sea fish, and no friends chatted with him.
The little fish missed home very much. It swam back to the small river and saw its old friends. The little fish happily said: “The outside world is very big, but home is the best place!”
From then on, the little fish understood: happiness is not far away, happiness is right beside you.