In this classic short story, it turns out Lord Ye (叶公) doesn’t like dragons as much as he thinks he does.
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。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | once upon a time; in the past |
| 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 |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 叶 | xié | to be in harmony; surname Ye |
| 公 | gōng | public; collectively owned; common; international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar); make public; fair; just; Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 w… |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 龙 | Lóng | surname Long |
| 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]) |
| 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… |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 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] |
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 桌子 | zhuō zi | table; desk; CL:張|张[zhang1],套[tao4] |
| 椅 | yǐ | chair |
| 子 | zǐ | son; 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… |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (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.) |
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine; (math.) proper |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 最好 | zuì hǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 动物 | dòng wù | animal |
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 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 |
| 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) |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom) |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 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);… |
| 看看 | kàn kan | to take a look at; to examine; to survey; (coll.) pretty soon |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 飞 | fēi | to fly |
| 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 … |
| 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… |
| 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… |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 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] |
| 伸 | shen | to stretch |
| 进 | jìn | to 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… |
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 尾 | wěi | tail; remainder; remnant; extremity; sixth of the 28 constellations; classifier for fish |
| 巴 | Bā | Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan); the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality; surname Ba; (bound form) abbr. for 巴… |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks) |
| 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) |
| 门口 | mén kǒu | doorway; gate; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 一声 | yī shēng | first tone in Mandarin (high, level tone) |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 不一 | bù yī | to vary; to differ |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
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.