In this HSK 3-4 story, a crafty fox (狐狸 hú li) escapes being eaten by playing a cunning trick on a mighty tiger (老虎 lǎo hǔ).
在森林里，有一只老虎正在寻找食物。一只狐狸从老虎身边跑过。老虎扑过去，把狐狸抓住了。
狐狸问老虎：“你敢吃我？”
“为什么不敢？”老虎怀疑地问。
“老天爷派我来管你们百兽，你吃了我，就是违抗了老天爷的命令。我看你有多大的胆子！”
老虎很纳闷，松开了爪子。
狐狸摇了摇尾巴，说：“我带你到百兽面前走一趟，让你看看我的威风。”
老虎跟着狐狸往森林深处走去。狐狸骄傲地往前走；老虎半信半疑，东张西望。
森林里的野猪啦，小鹿啦，兔子啦，看见狐狸骄傲地走过来，跟平时很不一样，都很纳闷。再往狐狸身后一看，呀，一只大老虎！大大小小的野兽吓得撒腿就跑。
老虎相信了。其实他受骗了。原来，狐狸是借着老虎的威风把百兽吓跑的。
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| 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) |
| 森林 | sēn lín | forest; CL:片[pian4] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 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 … |
| 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 |
| 老虎 | lǎo hǔ | tiger; CL:隻|只[zhi1] |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 寻找 | xún zhǎo | to seek; to look for |
| 食物 | shí wù | food |
| 狐 | hú | fox |
| 狸 | lí | (狐狸) fox |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 身边 | shēn biān | at one's side; on hand |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 扑 | pu | to throw oneself at; to devote one's energies; to flutter; to pat |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 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… |
| 抓 | zhua | to grab; to arrest; to scratch |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 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 |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 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.) |
| 敢 | gǎn | to dare; daring; (polite) may I venture |
| 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] |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 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] |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 怀 | huāi | bosom; heart; to cherish; to carry (in the mind or womb); surname Huai |
| 疑 | yí | (bound form) to doubt; to suspect |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 老天爷 | lǎo tiān yé | God; Heavens |
| 派 | pā | used in 派司[pa1 si5] |
| 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… |
| 管 | guǎn | variant of 管[guan3]; surname Guan |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 百 | Bǎi | surname Bai |
| 兽 | shǒu | beast; beastly |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 违 | wéi | to disobey; to violate; to separate; to go against |
| 抗 | kǎng | to resist; to defy |
| 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… |
| 命 | mǐng | life; order or command |
| 令 | líng | used in 脊令[ji2 ling2]; used in 令狐[Ling2 hu2] (Taiwan pr. [ling4]) |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 多大 | duō dà | how old?; how big?; how much?; so big; that much |
| 胆 | dán | gall bladder; guts; inner container (e.g. bladder of a football, inner container of a thermos) |
| 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… |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 纳闷 | nà mèn | puzzled; bewildered |
| 松开 | sōng kāi | to release; to let go; to loosen; to untie; to come loose |
| 爪子 | zhuǎ zi | (animal's) claw |
| 摇 | yāo | to shake; to wave; to rock; to sway |
| 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… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 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… |
| 面前 | miàn qián | in front of; facing; (in the) presence (of) |
| 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… |
| 趟 | tāng | old variant of 趟[tang1]; to wade; to trample; to turn the soil |
| 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]) |
| 看看 | kàn kan | to take a look at; to examine; to survey; (coll.) pretty soon |
| 威 | wei | power; prestige |
| 风 | fēng | wind; news; style; custom; manner; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],絲|丝[si1] |
| 跟着 | gēn zhe | to follow after; immediately afterwards |
| 往 | wǎng | to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous; old variant of 往[wang3] |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 走去 | zǒu qù | to walk over (to) |
| 骄 | jiao | proud |
| 傲 | ǎo | proud; to despise; to defy |
| 往前 | wǎng qián | (in) the past; ahead; forward; in the future |
| 半 | bàn | half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 西 | Xī | the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 野猪 | yě zhū | wild boar (Sus scrofa); CL:頭|头[tou2] |
| 啦 | lā | (onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 鹿 | lù | deer |
| 兔子 | tù zi | hare; rabbit; CL:隻|只[zhi1] |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 走过 | zǒu guò | to walk past; to pass by |
| 跟 | gēn | heel; to follow closely; to go with; (of a woman) to marry sb; with; compared with; to; towards; and (joining two nouns) |
| 平时 | píng shí | ordinarily; in normal times; in peacetime |
| 不一 | bù yī | to vary; to differ |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 身 | shēn | body; life; oneself; personally; one's morality and conduct; the main part of a structure or body; pregnant; classifier for sets of clothes: suit, twinset; Kangxi radical 158 |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 呀 | yā | ah (used to express surprise); (onom.) creaking |
| 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) |
| 大大 | dà dà | greatly; enormously; (dialect) dad; uncle |
| 小小 | xiǎo xiǎo | very small; very few; very minor |
| 野 | yě | old variant of 野[ye3]; field; plain; open space; limit; boundary; rude; feral |
| 吓 | xiǎ | to scare; to threaten; (interjection showing astonishment) |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 撒 | sa | to let go; to let loose; to give expression to |
| 腿 | tuǐ | leg; CL:條|条[tiao2]; hip bone; old variant of 腿[tui3] |
| 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… |
| 相 | Xiāng | surname Xiang |
| 其实 | qí shí | actually; in fact; really |
| 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]) |
| 受骗 | shòu piàn | to be cheated; to be taken in; to be hoodwinked |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 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] |
| 借 | jiè | to borrow; (used in combination with 給|给[gei3] or 出[chu1] etc) to lend; to make use of; to avail oneself of; (sometimes followed by 著|着[zhe5]) by; with; variant of 借[jie4] |
| 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 |
In the forest, there was a tiger looking for something to eat. A fox ran past on one side of the tiger. The tiger pounced upon it, and caught the fox.
The fox asked the tiger: “You dare to eat me?”
“Why wouldn’t I dare?” the tiger asked suspiciously.
“God sent me to manage all the birds and beasts, if you eat me, you’ll be opposing God’s command. The way I see it you’ve got some nerve!”
The tiger was befuddled, and opened his claws.
The fox swished his tail, and said: “I’ll take you walking before the [other] birds and beasts, and let you see my might.”
The tiger followed the fox and walked into the deep parts of the forest. The fox walked proudly ahead; the tiger [followed] half-believing and half-doubting, looking in every direction.
The forest’s wild boars, deers, and rabbits all saw the fox proudly walking over, [in a manner] very different than usual, and they were all puzzled. Then they looked behind the fox, agh, a big tiger! Wild beasts big and small were terrified and took off running.
The tiger believed [the fox]. Actually, he had been tricked. Turns out, the fox was borrowing the tiger’s might to scare the other animals into running away.