One picky little horse doesn’t appreciate the food he is served, until he sees what everyone else is eating. Upper-beginner, bordering on intermediate, HSK 4.
在一个农场里养着很多动物。其中有一匹爱挑食的小马，它总是不满意农场主给它的食物。于是它决定去转一圈，看看别的动物们那儿有什么好吃的。 它很快就发现了几只鸡正在愉快地吃着什么，上前一看，是谷子，它尝了一口，却马上又吐了出来，“一点味没有，不好吃！”说着就走了。 不久它又看到一只狗在津津有味地啃着骨头，还有一只猫一边唱着歌一边撕咬着一条鱼。这些食物，它看了都害怕，那气味快使它呕吐。它赶紧走开了。 走了好一会儿，小马有点渴了，它来到水塘边喝水。看到两只鸭子正在抢夺一条蚯蚓，蚯蚓被它们拉扯的又细又长，最后断成两截，两只鸭子狼吞虎咽地吃下了各自的半截，又开始寻找起来。看到这残忍的一幕，小马水也顾不上喝就跑开了，“真恐怖！”它说。 跑了一大圈，它看到的动物吃的东西，都不合它的胃口，有的甚至还让它感得恶心。小马饥肠辘辘的回到马厩，才发现主人为它预备的草料，才是它最喜爱最可口的食物。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 农场 | nóng chǎng | farm |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 养 | yǎng | to raise (animals); to bring up (children); to keep (pets); to support; to give birth |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 动物 | dòng wù | animal |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among; in; included among these |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一 | yī | one; 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 … |
| 匹 | pǐ | (bound form) matching; comparable to; (bound form) alone; single; one of a pair; classifier for horses, mules etc (Taiwan pr. [pi1]); classifier for cloth: bolt; horsepower; variant of 匹[pi3]; classifier for cloth: bolt |
| 爱 | ài | to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen) |
| 挑 | tiao | to carry on a shoulder pole; to pick |
| 食 | shí | to eat; food; animal feed; eclipse |
| 的 | de | of; ~'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… |
| 小马 | xiǎo mǎ | colt; pony |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 满 | Mǎn | Manchu ethnic group |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 主 | zhǔ | owner; master; host; individual or party concerned; God; Lord; main; to indicate or signify; trump card (in card games) |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 食物 | shí wù | food |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 去 | qù | to 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);… |
| 转 | zhuǎi | see 轉文|转文[zhuai3 wen2] |
| 圈 | quan | to confine; to pen in |
| 看看 | kàn kan | to take a look at; to examine; to survey; (coll.) pretty soon |
| 别的 | bié de | else; other |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 那儿 | nà r | there |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 好吃 | hǎo chī | tasty; delicious |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 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… |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 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 |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 只 | zhī | variant 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 |
| 鸡 | jī | fowl; chicken; CL:隻|只[zhi1]; (slang) prostitute; variant of 雞|鸡[ji1] |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 愉 | yú | pleased |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 吃 | chī | to 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] |
| 上前 | shàng qián | to advance; to step forward |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 谷子 | gǔ zi | millet; (ACG) collectible merch (loanword from "goods", via Japanese "guzzu") |
| 尝 | chāng | to taste; to try (food); (literary) ever; once |
| 一口 | yī kǒu | readily; flatly (deny, admit and so on); a mouthful; a bite |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 吐 | tú | to spit; to say |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 来 | lái | to 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… |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 味 | wěi | taste; (fig.) (noun suffix) feel; sense |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 不好 | bù hǎo | no good |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 走 | zǒu | to 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… |
| 不久 | bù jǐu | not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 狗 | gǒu | dog; CL:隻|只[zhi1],條|条[tiao2] |
| 津 | jin | abbr. for Tianjin 天津[Tian1 jin1] |
| 啃 | ||
| 骨 | gū | used in 骨碌碌[gu1 lu4 lu4]; used in 骨碌[gu1 lu5]; used in 骨朵[gu1 duo5] |
| 头 | tóu | head; 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] |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition |
| 猫 | māo | cat (CL:隻|只[zhi1]); (dialect) to hide oneself; (loanword) (coll.) modem |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand; doing while |
| 唱 | chàng | to sing; to call loudly; to chant |
| 歌 | gē | song (CL:首[shou3],支[zhi1]); (bound form) to sing; variant of 歌[ge1] |
| 撕 | si | to tear |
| 咬 | yáo | to bite |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 鱼 | Yú | surname Yu |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 害怕 | hài pà | to be afraid; to be scared |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 使 | shǐ | to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger |
| 呕 | ||
| 赶 | gǎn | to overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush; to try to catch (the bus etc); to drive (cattle etc) forward; to drive (sb) away; to avail oneself of (an opportunity); until; by … |
| 紧 | jǐn | tight; strict; close at hand; near; urgent; tense; hard up; short of money; to tighten |
| 走开 | zǒu kāi | to leave; to walk away; to beat it; to move aside |
| 好 | hǎo | good; 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); (… |
| 一会儿 | yī huì r | a moment; a while; in a moment; now...now...; also pr. [yi1 hui3 r5] |
| 有点 | yǒu diǎn | a little |
| 渴 | kě | thirsty |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 水塘 | shuǐ táng | pool |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 喝 | hē | to drink; variant of 嗬[he1] |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 鸭子 | yā zi | duck (CL:隻|只[zhi1]); (slang) male prostitute |
| 抢 | qiáng | (literary) to knock against (esp. to knock one's head on the ground in grief or rage) |
| 夺 | duō | to seize; to wrest control of; to force one's way through; to lose |
| 蚯 | ||
| 蚓 | ||
| 被 | bèi | quilt; 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, … |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 扯 | ché | to pull; (of cloth, thread etc) to buy; to gossip; hokey |
| 细 | xì | thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft; fine; delicate; trifling; (of a sound) quiet; frugal |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 截 | jiē | to cut off (a length); to intercept; chunk |
| 狼 | láng | wolf; CL:匹[pi3],隻|只[zhi1],條|条[tiao2] |
| 吞 | tun | to swallow |
| 虎 | hǔ | tiger; CL:隻|只[zhi1] |
| 咽 | yǎn | throat; pharynx |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 各自 | gè zì | each; respective; apiece |
| 半 | bàn | half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 寻找 | xún zhǎo | to seek; to look for |
| 起 | qǐ | to 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… |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 残 | cán | to destroy; to spoil; to ruin; to injure; cruel; oppressive; savage; brutal; incomplete; disabled; to remain; to survive; remnant; surplus |
| 忍 | rén | to bear; to tolerate |
| 幕 | mǔ | curtain or screen; headquarters of a general |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 顾不上 | gù bu shàng | cannot attend to or manage |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 真 | zhēn | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 恐 | kóng | afraid; to fear |
| 怖 | bǔ | terror; afraid |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 吃的 | chī de | (coll.) food |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 合 | gě | 100 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] |
| 胃 | wěi | stomach |
| 口 | kǒu | mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls |
| 有的 | yǒu de | (there are) some (who are...); some (exist) |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 恶 | ě | used in 惡心|恶心[e3 xin1] |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 饥 | ji | (bound form) hungry |
| 肠 | chāng | intestines |
| 辘 | ||
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 马 | Mǎ | surname Ma; abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4] |
| 厩 | ||
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 主人 | zhǔ rén | owner; host; master |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 预备 | yù bèi | to prepare; to make ready; preparation; preparatory |
| 草料 | cǎo liào | fodder |
| 最喜爱 | zuì xǐ ài | favorite |
| 可口 | kě kǒu | tasty; to taste good |
There was a farm where many animals were raised. Among them was one little horse that was very picky about his food, he was always unsatisfied with what the farmer gave him to eat. So he decided to go walk around, to see what yummy things the other animals had to eat.
He quickly discovered a few chickens happily eating something, so he went over to look, it was grain, so he tried a mouthful, but he spit out, “[This] has no flavor, it’s gross!”, he said and left.?
Not long after he saw a dog gnawing on a bone with relish, and a cat singing a song while tearing into a fish. Just looking at these foods frightened him, and the smell made him retch, so he quickly took his leave. ?
After walking for a while, the little horse was a bit thirsty, so he went to the pond to drink some water. He saw two ducks fighting over an earthworm, they stretched the earthworm out long and thin, and finally broke it into two pieces, and the two ducks each gobbled down their piece, and started looking about [for another]. Seeing this cruel scene, the little horse couldn’t even stand to drink any water and quickly ran away, “Truly horrifying!” he said.
He ran all around, and everything he saw the other animals eating didn’t suit his own tastes, and some even disgusted him. He returned to his pen with his stomach rumbling, and found that the grass master had prepared for him to eat was his favorite delicious food after all.