从前有个国王，他非常宠爱自己的儿子。
这位年轻的王子可以得到一切他想要的东西，然而他却常常皱着眉头，很不快乐。
一天，有一个人走进王宫，对国王说，他有办法让王子快乐起来。
国王很高兴地回答：”如果你真的能办成这件事，那你提出的任何要求我都可以答应。
”这个人给了王子一封信，并且告诉王子一定要按照信上说的做。
王子照着做了，不久，他就成了这个国家最快乐的少年。
原来，信上只写了这样几个字:"每天为别人做一件善事！
”
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vbGVhcm5jaGluZXNlL0dpdmluZ19Jc19IYXBwaW5lc3MtMzA1NS5tcDM&filename=Giving-Is-Happiness.mp3&signature=d034367730603a432966e55082de3b34eda09ee37f98b7a8aec19c9210710d3d
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously / formerly / once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 国王 | guó wáng | king |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really |
| 宠爱 | chǒng ài | to dote on sb |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 位 | wèi | classifier for people (honorific) |
| 年轻 | nián qīng | young |
| 王子 | wáng zǐ | prince / son of a king |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can / may / possible / able to |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 一切 | yī qiè | every / all |
| 想要 | xiǎng yào | to want to / to feel like / to fancy / to care for sb |
| 东西 | dōng xi | thing / stuff / person |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 却 | què | but / yet / however / while / nevertheless / even though |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 皱 | zhòu | to wrinkle / to crease |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 眉头 | méi tóu | brows |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 快乐 | kuài lè | happy; joyful |
| 一天 | yī tiān | one day; a day |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / to change (shape, form, meaning) |
| 进 | jìn | to go in / to enter / to put in / to submit / to take in / to admit |
| 王宫 | wáng gōng | imperial palace |
| 对 | duì | towards; at; for / concerning; regarding |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 办法 | bàn fǎ | way of handling sth; means; measure; (practical) solution to a problem |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 起来 | qǐ lái | indicating the beginning and continuation of an action or a state / indicating an upward movement / indicating completion / expressing preliminary judgment |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy / glad / in a cheerful mood |
| 地 | de | -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer / reply; answer |
| 如果 | rú guǒ | if; in case; in the event that |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 真 | zhēn | really / truly / indeed |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 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 investigate; to prosecute (a case or suspect) |
| 成 | chéng | to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right |
| 件 | jiàn | classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 那 | nà | then (in that case) |
| 提出 | tí chū | to raise (an issue) / to propose / to put forward / to suggest / to post (on a website) |
| 任何 | rèn hé | any; whatever; whichever |
| 要求 | yāo qiú | requirement |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 答应 | dā ying | to answer; to respond / to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 给 | gěi | to give |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 封 | fēng | classifier for sealed objects, esp. letters |
| 信 | xìn | letter / mail |
| 并且 | bìng qiě | and; besides; moreover; furthermore; in addition |
| 告诉 | gào su | to tell; to inform; to let know |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 按照 | àn zhào | according to; in accordance with; on the basis of |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 照 | zhào | according to / in accordance with / as requested / as before |
| 不久 | bù jiǔ | not long (after) / before too long / soon / soon after |
| 就 | jiù | in that case; then |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 最 | zuì | (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est |
| 少年 | shào nián | early youth / youngster / (literary) youth; young man |
| 原来 | yuán lái | so, actually, as it turns out |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 写 | xiě | to write |
| 这样 | zhè yàng | (before a noun) this kind of; such |
| 几 | jǐ | several / a few |
| 字 | zì | letter / symbol / character / word |
| 每 | měi | each / every |
| 天 | tiān | day |
| 为 | wèi | because of / for / to |
| 别人 | bié rén | other people; others; other person |
| 善事 | shàn shì | good deeds |