As vaguely sordid fables go, this one’s fairly tame, resulting only in some humiliatory retribution and a lost tail or two.
从前有一只小狼他总是欺负别人。一天小动物们聚在一起商量对付那只小狼的办法，聪明的小狐狸想到了一个办法。
一天小狼出外觅食的狼，忽然闻到一阵阵烤鱼的香味，小狼跑进山洞一看，原来是狐狸在烤鱼。狐狸见狼来了，心里暗自高兴。
狼问, “这些鱼是从哪弄来的？”
狐狸说, “有一个地方可以钓到好多鱼，我可以给你带路。”
于时狼就跟着狐狸走啊走，来到了河边，原来是河里的水结了一层冰。
狐狸说, “只要在冰上凿一个洞，把尾巴放进河里，等鱼咬住尾巴的时候，就把尾巴提上来，这样就可以钓到好多好多的鱼！”
狼想着这下钓的鱼吃也吃不光啦，狼等了好久，也没有鱼咬住他的尾巴。狼实在冷得不行了，就想把尾巴提上来，回头一看，尾巴都被冰住了。狼大力拉，哪知他的尾巴“啪”的一声断掉了，狼逃走了。
小动物们看见狼的惨样子，都哈哈地笑了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 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 |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 狼 | láng | wolf; CL:匹[pi3],隻|只[zhi1],條|条[tiao2] |
| 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]) |
| 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] |
| 欺 | qi | to take unfair advantage of; to cheat |
| 负 | fù | to bear; to carry (on one's back); to turn one's back on; to be defeated; negative (math. etc) |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others; other person |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 动物 | dòng wù | animal |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 聚 | jǔ | to assemble; to gather (transitive or intransitive) |
| 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) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 量 | liáng | to measure |
| 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… |
| 付 | Fù | surname Fu |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 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… |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 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 |
| 聪明 | cōng ming | intelligent; clever; bright; acute (of sight and hearing) |
| 狐 | hú | fox |
| 狸 | lí | (狐狸) fox |
| 想到 | xiǎng dào | to think of; to call to mind; to anticipate |
| 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 |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 出外 | chū wài | to go out; to leave for another place |
| 觅食 | mì shí | to forage; to hunt for food; to scavenge; fig. to make a living |
| 忽然 | hū rán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 闻到 | wén dào | to smell; to sniff sth out; to perceive by smelling |
| 一阵 | yī zhèn | a burst; a fit; a peal; a spell (period of time) |
| 阵 | zhèn | disposition of troops; wave; spate; burst; spell; short period of time; classifier for events or states of short duration |
| 烤 | káo | to roast; to grill; to broil; to bake; to toast (bread) |
| 鱼 | Yú | surname Yu |
| 香 | xiāng | fragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic; savory or appetizing; (to eat) with relish; (of sleep) sound; perfume or spice; joss or incense stick; CL:根[gen1] |
| 味 | wěi | taste; (fig.) (noun suffix) feel; sense |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 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… |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 洞 | dǒng | cave; zero (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers) |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 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… |
| 见 | jiàn | to see; to meet; to appear (to be sth); to interview; opinion; view |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 暗自 | àn zì | inwardly; to oneself; secretly |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 弄 | lòng | lane; alley; old variant of 弄[nong4]; variant of 弄[long4] |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 地方 | dì fāng | region; regional (away from the central administration); local |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 钓 | diǎo | to fish with a hook and line; to angle |
| 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… |
| 好多 | hǎo duō | many; quite a lot; much better |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 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) |
| 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.) |
| 带路 | dài lù | to lead the way; to guide; to show the way; (fig.) to instruct |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 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… |
| 跟着 | gēn zhe | to follow after; immediately afterwards |
| 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… |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 河边 | hé biān | river bank |
| 河 | hé | river (CL:條|条[tiao2],道[dao4]); (bound form) the Yellow River; (bound form) the Milky Way; (bound form) (on restaurant menus) rice noodles 河粉[he2 fen3] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 结了 | jié le | that's that; that's it; that will do |
| 一层 | yī céng | one layer; one level |
| 冰 | bīng | ice; CL:塊|块[kuai4]; to chill sth; (of an object or substance) to feel cold; (of a person) cold; unfriendly; (slang) methamphetamine; variant of 冰[bing1] |
| 只要 | zhǐ yào | so long as; provided; if |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 凿 | ||
| 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… |
| 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… |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 咬 | yáo | to bite |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 提 | dī | used in 提防[di1 fang5] and 提溜[di1 liu5] |
| 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) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| 这下 | zhè xià | this time |
| 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] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 不光 | bù guāng | not the only one; not only |
| 啦 | lā | (onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc; (phonetic); (dialect) to chat |
| 好久 | hǎo jǐu | (coll.) for a long time |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 实 | shí | real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely |
| 冷 | Lěng | surname Leng |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 不行了 | bù xíng le | (coll.) on the point of death; dying |
| 回 | Huí | Hui ethnic group (Chinese Muslims); to curve; to return; to revolve; variant of 迴|回[hui2] |
| 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] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 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, … |
| 大力 | dà lì | energetically; vigorously |
| 拉 | lā | to pull; to play (a bowed instrument); to drag; to draw; to chat; (coll.) to empty one's bowels |
| 知 | zhī | to know; to be aware |
| 啪 | pa | (onom.) bang; pow |
| 一声 | yī shēng | first tone in Mandarin (high, level tone) |
| 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 |
| 掉 | diào | to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh… |
| 逃 | tāo | to escape; to flee |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 惨 | cán | miserable; cruel; disastrous; dim |
| 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… |
| 哈 | Hā | abbr. for 哈薩克斯坦|哈萨克斯坦[Ha1 sa4 ke4 si1 tan3], Kazakhstan; abbr. for 哈爾濱|哈尔滨[Ha1 er3 bin1], Harbin |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
Long ago, there was a wolf who was always bullying others. One day, the small animals gathered together to discuss a way to solve the problem. The smart fox thought of a solution.
One day Wolf went out to forage for food, when suddenly he smelled the scent of roasting fish. When Little Wolf ran into a mountain cave and looked, he saw that it was Little Fox that was cooking the fish. Fox saw that Wolf had come, and in his heart he was secretly happy.
Wolf asked “Where did these fish come from?”
Fox said, “There is a place where you can catch many fish, I can take you there.”
So Wolf followed Fox as he walked and walked, until they came to a riverbank. There turned out to be a layer of ice over the water.
Fox said, “All you have to do is bore a hole in the ice, stick your tail into the river, wait until the fish bite your tail, then pull your tail out. This way, you’ll catch many, many fish.
Wolf, thinking of how the fish would be more than a full meal, waited quite a while, but no fish bit his tail. Wolf was finally too cold to continue and tried to pull up his tail, but when he turned his head to look, he saw that his tail was stuck in the ice. He gave a great pull, and what do you know but his tail came off with a “pa” sound. Wolf fled.
When the other little animals saw wolf’s miserable face, they all laughed.