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Children’s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward

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Children’s Stories: 《胆小先生》Mr. Coward

Mr. Coward’s home is invaded by mice, but he doesn’t have the gumption to do anything about it. Or does he? This little story will be comfortable at HSK 3-4.

胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng

有yǒu一yī位wèi先生xiān sheng,住zhù在zài一yī座zuò漂piāo亮liàng的de房子fáng zi里lǐ。因为yīn wèi他tā的de胆dán子zǐ很hěn小xiǎo,大家dà jiā都Dū叫jiào他tā胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng。

一yī天tiān,一yī只zhī大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ闯chuáng进jìn了le他tā的de房子fáng zi。胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng马上mǎ shàng去qù捉zhuo,结jiē果guǒ在zài地下室dì xià shì捉zhuo住zhù了le它tā。

“你nǐ放fàng了le我wǒ!”大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ挣zheng扎zha着zhāo说shuì,”我wǒ要是yào shi一yī跺脚jiǎo,整zhěng个gě房子fáng zi就jìu塌ta了le。”

胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng害怕hài pà了le,连忙lián máng放开fàng kāi了le他tā,还Huán允许yǔn xǔ他tā住zhù在zài地下室dì xià shì里lǐ。

地下室dì xià shì里lǐ吃的chī de东Dōng西Xī真zhēn多duō,大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ吃chī呀yā,喝hē呀yā,真zhēn开心kāi xīn。后Hòu来lái,大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ生shēng了le一yī窝wō小老鼠xiǎo lǎo shǔ,小老鼠xiǎo lǎo shǔ又yòu长成zhǎng chéng大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ……很hěn快kuài,地下室dì xià shì住zhù满Mǎn了le老鼠lǎo shǔ。

“不行bù xíng,不行bù xíng!”大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ冲chong着zhāo胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng嚷ráng嚷ráng:”这么zhè me多duō老鼠lǎo shǔ住zhù这么zhè me一个yī ge小小xiǎo xiǎo的de地下室dì xià shì,而ér你nǐ一个人yī gè rén住zhù那么nà me多duō房间fáng jiān,太tài不bù合gě理lǐ了le,得dé换huàn房子fáng zi。”

“换huàn房子fáng zi?”胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng住zhù在zài地下室dì xià shì,老鼠lǎo shǔ们men住zhù进jìn各个gè gè房间fáng jiān,他tā们men在zài宽大kuān dà的de客厅kè tīng里lǐ唱chàng呀yā,跳tiào呀yā,在zài喷pen香xiāng的de厨房chú fáng里lǐ喝hē呀yā,吃chī呀yā,每天měi tiān都Dū像xiàng过节guò jié一yī样yàng。

“你nǐ应Yīng该gāi搬bān出去chū qù!”大dà老鼠lǎo shǔ又yòu冲chong着zhāo胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng嚷ráng嚷ráng,”你nǐ干嘛gàn má住zhù在zài地下室dì xià shì?这么zhè me好hǎo的de地下室dì xià shì,你nǐ配pèi住zhù吗má?”

“什shén么má?”胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng气qì愤fěn得dé跺了le一下yī xià右yòu脚jiǎo,”咚“老鼠lǎo shǔ们men害怕hài pà了le,他tā们men个个gè gè抱bào头tóu乱luàn窜cuàn,以为yǐ wéi地震dì zhèn了le。

“哦ō,原Yuán来lái我wǒ是shì很hěn有力yǒu lì量liáng的de!”胆dán小xiǎo先生xiān sheng抓zhua起qǐ旧jìu扫sǎo帚,这儿zhè r一yī扑pu,那儿nà r一打yī dá,这儿zhè r一yī戳,那儿nà r一yī捣dáo,老鼠lǎo shǔ被bèi打dá得dé”吱吱”叫jiào,全Quán逃tāo走zǒu了le。

Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.

Lesson vocabulary 145 words

WordPinyinMeaning
有yǒuto have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional)
一yīone; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out …
位wèiposition; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential
先生xiān shengteacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.); husband; (dialect) doctor; CL:位[wei4]
住zhùto live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state)
在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
座zuòseat; base; stand; (bound form) constellation; (archaic) suffix used in a respectful form of address (e.g. 師座|师座[shi1 zuo4]); classifier for large immovable objects such as buildin…
漂piāoto float; to drift
亮liàngbright; light; to shine; to flash; loud and clear; to show (one's passport etc); to make public (one's views etc)
的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to…
房子fáng zihouse; building (single- or two-story); apartment; room; CL:棟|栋[dong4],幢[zhuang4],座[zuo4],套[tao4],間|间[jian1]
里lǐvariant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li
因为yīn wèibecause; owing to; on account of
他tā(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2])
胆dángall bladder; guts; inner container (e.g. bladder of a football, inner container of a thermos)
子zǐson; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o…
很hěnvery; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element)
小xiǎosmall; tiny; few; young
大家dà jiāeveryone; influential family; great expert
都Dūsurname Du
叫jiàoto shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4]
天tiānday; sky; heaven
只zhīvariant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc
大dàbig; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
老鼠lǎo shǔrat; mouse (CL:隻|只[zhi1])
闯chuángto rush; to dash; to temper oneself (through battling hardships)
进jìnto go forward; to advance; to go in; to enter; to put in; to submit; to take in; to admit; (math.) base of a number system; classifier for sections in a building or residential com…
了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly
马上mǎ shàngat once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force)
去qùto go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);…
捉zhuoto clutch; to capture
结jiē(of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2]
果guǒfruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really
地下室dì xià shìbasement; cellar
它tāit; it (pronoun for an animal)
你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.)
放fàngto put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks)
我wǒI; me; my
挣zhengused in 掙扎|挣扎[zheng1 zha2]
扎zhato prick; mug or jug used for serving beer (loanword from "jar")
着zhāovariant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add
说shuìto persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1]
要是yào shi(coll.) if
跺
脚jiǎofoot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks
整zhěng(bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in…
个gěused in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4]
就jìu(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise…
塌tato collapse; to settle down
害怕hài pàto be afraid; to be scared
连忙lián mángpromptly; at once
放开fàng kāito let go; to release
还Huánsurname Huan
允许yǔn xǔto permit; to allow
吃的chī de(coll.) food
东Dōngsurname Dong
西Xīthe West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish
真zhēnreally; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine
多duōmany; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly-
吃chīto eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1]
呀yāah (used to express surprise); (onom.) creaking
喝hēto drink; variant of 嗬[he1]
开心kāi xīnto feel happy; to rejoice; to have a great time; to make fun of sb
后Hòusurname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post-
来láito come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3…
生shēngto grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu…
窝wōnest; pit or hollow on the human body; lair; den; place; to harbor or shelter; to hold in check; to bend; classifier for litters and broods
小老鼠xiǎo lǎo shǔ@; at symbol
又yòu(once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway
长成zhǎng chéngto grow up
快kuàirapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant
满MǎnManchu ethnic group
不行bù xíngwon't do; be out of the question; be no good; not work; not be capable
冲chong(of water) to dash against; to infuse; to flush; to rise in the air; to collide with
嚷rángto shout; to make a big deal of sth
这么zhè meso much; this much; how much?; this way; like this
一个yī gea; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc)
小小xiǎo xiǎovery small; very few; very minor
而érand; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast)
一个人yī gè rénby oneself (without assistance); alone (without company)
那么nà melike that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case
房间fáng jiānroom; CL:間|间[jian1]
太tàihighest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely
不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
合gě100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2]
理lǐtexture; grain (of wood); inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); to manage; to pay attention to; to run (affairs); to handle…
得déto obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished
换huànto exchange; to change (clothes etc); to substitute; to switch; to convert (currency)
们menplural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
各个gè gèevery; various; separately, one by one
宽大kuān dàspacious; wide; lenient
客厅kè tīngliving room; sitting room; CL:間|间[jian1]
唱chàngto sing; to call loudly; to chant
跳tiàoto jump; to hop; to skip over; to bounce; to palpitate
喷pento spout; to spurt; to spray; to puff
香xiāngfragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic; savory or appetizing; (to eat) with relish; (of sleep) sound; perfume or spice; joss or incense stick; CL:根[gen1]
厨房chú fángkitchen; CL:間|间[jian1]
每天měi tiānevery day
像xiàngto resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.)
过节guò jiéto celebrate a festival; after the celebrations (i.e. once the festival is over)
样yàngmanner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type
应Yīngsurname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4]
该gāishould; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned
搬bānto move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately
出去chū qùto go out
干嘛gàn máwhat are you doing?; whatever for?; why on earth?
好hǎogood; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (…
配pèito join; to fit; to mate; to mix; to match; to deserve; to make up (a prescription); to allocate
吗má(coll.) what?
什shénwhat
么máexclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5]
气qìgas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi
愤fěnindignant; resentment
一下yī xià(after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try); all at once; suddenly
右yòu(bound form) right; right-hand side; (bound form) (politics) right of center; (bound form) (old) west; (literary) the right side as the side of precedence
咚
个个gè gèeach one individually; each and every
抱bàoto hold; to carry (in one's arms); to hug; to embrace; to surround; to cherish; (coll.) (of clothes) to fit nicely
头tóuhead; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4]
乱luànin confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary
窜cuànto flee; to scuttle; to exile or banish; to amend or edit
以为yǐ wéito think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)
地震dì zhènearthquake
哦ōto chant
原Yuánsurname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara
是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]
有力yǒu lìpowerful; forceful; vigorous
量liángto measure
抓zhuato grab; to arrest; to scratch
起qǐto rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta…
旧jìuold; opposite: new 新; former; worn (with age)
扫sǎoto sweep (with a brush or broom); to sweep away; to wipe out; to get rid of; to sweep (one's eyes etc) over; to scan
帚
这儿zhè rhere
扑puto throw oneself at; to devote one's energies; to flutter; to pat
那儿nà rthere
一打yī dádozen
戳
捣dáoto pound; to hull; to disturb
被bèiquilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, …
打dá(loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3]
吱
全Quánsurname Quan
逃tāoto escape; to flee
走zǒuto walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form…