Everyone knows the story of the poor little bird that didn’t quite fit in – now you can read the classic tale in Chinese.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and a few people wrote to say that reading stories they already know helps them figure out what sentences mean, even if the text is a little harder than normal. So, this is another story with the same idea: you already know how the story ends, now you just have to figure out some new vocabulary. Good luck!
Key vocab
可爱 – kěài – cute/adorable
难过 – nánguò – sad/upset
森林 – sēnlín – forest
漂亮 – piàoliang5 – beautiful/pretty
脖子 – bózi5 – neck
翅膀 – chìbǎng – wing(s)
天鹅 – tiāné – swan
仔细 – zǐxì – carefully/attentively
终于 – zhōngyú – finally/at last
丑小鸭
丑小鸭
从前,在一个农场里,有一只鸭子妈妈。她有六个蛋。一天,蛋都开了,小鸭子们出来了。
鸭子妈妈很高兴。她的孩子们都很可爱,都是黄色的,又小又软。
可是有一只小鸭和别人不一样。他比别的小鸭大,是灰色的,也不好看。别的动物看见他都笑。鸡说:”你看,他真丑!”鹅说:”他不像我们。”连他的哥哥姐姐也说:”我们不喜欢你,你走吧!”
小鸭很难过。他想:”我太丑了,没有人喜欢我。我应该离开这里。”
晚上,小鸭一个人走了。他走过森林,走过河,去了很远的地方。
冬天来了,天很冷,下雪了。小鸭又冷又饿,也没有朋友。他经常一个人哭。
有一天,小鸭看见湖上有几只很漂亮的白色的大鸟。他们的脖子很长,翅膀很大。小鸭想:”他们叫天鹅,真好看!可是我太丑了,不能和他们做朋友。”
冬天过去了,春天来了。花开了,天气也暖和了。小鸭又来到湖边。他看见水里有一只漂亮的白色的鸟,脖子很长,翅膀很大。
那是谁?
小鸭低下头,仔细地看。水里的那只鸟也低下头。小鸭慢慢地明白了:水里的鸟就是他自己!
他不是鸭子。他是一只天鹅!
这时候,湖上的天鹅们飞过来。他们说:”你好!你和我们一样漂亮。来,和我们一起飞吧!”
小天鹅终于明白了:他不是丑小鸭,他一直都是一只美丽的天鹅。他只是长大得慢一点。
他张开翅膀,和新朋友们一起飞向蓝色的天空。
The Ugly Duckling
The Ugly Duckling
Once upon a time, on a farm, there was a mother duck. She had six eggs. One day, all the eggs hatched, and the little ducklings came out.
Mother duck was very happy. Her children were all very cute – they were all yellow, small and soft.
But there was one little duck who was different from the others. He was bigger than the other ducklings, was gray, and didn’t look good. Other animals laughed when they saw him. The chicken said: ‘Look, he’s so ugly!’ The goose said: ‘He’s not like us.’ Even his brothers and sisters said: ‘We don’t like you, go away!’
The little duck was very sad. He thought: ‘I’m too ugly, nobody likes me. I should leave this place.’
At night, the little duck left alone. He walked through the forest, crossed the river, and went to a place far away.
Winter came, it was very cold, and it snowed. The little duck was cold and hungry, and had no friends. He often cried alone.
One day, the little duck saw several beautiful big white birds on the lake. Their necks were very long, and their wings were very big. The little duck thought: ‘They are called swans, so beautiful! But I’m too ugly, I can’t be friends with them.’
Winter passed, and spring came. Flowers bloomed, and the weather became warm. The little duck came to the lakeside again. He saw a beautiful white bird in the water, with a long neck and big wings.
Who was that?
The little duck lowered his head and looked carefully. The bird in the water also lowered its head. The little duck slowly understood: the bird in the water was himself!
He was not a duck. He was a swan!
At this moment, the swans on the lake flew over. They said: ‘Hello! You are as beautiful as us. Come, fly with us!’
The little swan finally understood: he was not an ugly duckling, he had always been a beautiful swan. He just grew up a little slower.
He spread his wings and flew toward the blue sky with his new friends.
