Words & phrases
深浅
shēn qiǎn
depth; whether deep or shallow
试一试
shì yi shì
give it a try
小心
xiǎo xīn
careful; carefully
Model sentences
小马不知道河水有多深。
xiǎo mǎ bù zhī dào hé shuǐ yǒu duō shēn。
The little horse does not know how deep the river is.
判断深浅要看自己的情况。
pàn duàn shēn qiǎn yào kàn zì jǐ de qíng kuàng。
Judging depth depends on one’s own situation.
松鼠说河水很深。
sōng shǔ shuō hé shuǐ hěn shēn。
The squirrel says the river is deep.
老牛觉得河水不太深。
lǎo niú jué de hé shuǐ bù tài shēn。
The old ox thinks the river is not very deep.
故事里的小马决定试一试。
gù shì lǐ de xiǎo mǎ jué dìng shì yi shì。
In the story, the foal decides to give it a try.
故事里的小马小心地看着河水。
gù shì lǐ de xiǎo mǎ xiǎo xīn dì kàn zhe hé shuǐ。
In the story, the foal looks carefully at the river.
小马过河
一天，马妈妈请小马把一袋麦子送到磨坊。小马驮起麦子，高高兴兴地出发了，走到一条小河边，却停住了脚步。
yì tiān， mǎ mā ma qǐng xiǎo mǎ bǎ yí dài mài zi sòng dào mò fáng。 xiǎo mǎ tuó qǐ mài zi， gāo gāo xìng xìng de chū fā le， zǒu dào yì tiáo xiǎo hé biān， què tíng zhù le jiǎo bù。
One day, Mother Horse asked her foal to take a sack of wheat to the mill. He set off happily but stopped at a small river.
河水哗哗地流。小马不知道水有多深，便问正在河边吃草的老牛：“牛伯伯，我能过去吗？”老牛说：“水很浅，只到我的小腿。”
hé shuǐ huā huā de liú。 xiǎo mǎ bù zhī dào shuǐ yǒu duō shēn， biàn wèn zhèng zài hé biān chī cǎo de lǎo niú：“niú bó bo， wǒ néng guò qù ma？” lǎo niú shuō：“shuǐ hěn qiǎn， zhǐ dào wǒ de xiǎo tuǐ。”
The water flowed noisily. Unsure of its depth, the foal asked an ox grazing nearby, “Uncle Ox, can I cross?” The ox replied, “It is shallow; it only reaches my lower legs.”
小马刚要下水，松鼠从树上跳下来喊：“别过河！水深得很，我的伙伴在这里淹死过！”小马吓了一跳，转身跑回家。
xiǎo mǎ gāng yào xià shuǐ， sōng shǔ cóng shù shàng tiào xià lai hǎn：“bié guò hé！ shuǐ shēn de hěn， wǒ de huǒ bàn zài zhè lǐ yān sǐ guò！” xiǎo mǎ xià le yí tiào， zhuǎn shēn pǎo huí jiā。
Just as he was about to enter, a squirrel jumped down and shouted, “Do not cross! It is very deep. A friend of mine drowned here!” The startled foal ran home.
妈妈听完说：“老牛比你高，松鼠比你小。你再去看看，想想他们为什么说得不一样。”小马点点头，又来到河边。
mā ma tīng wán shuō：“lǎo niú bǐ nǐ gāo， sōng shǔ bǐ nǐ xiǎo。 nǐ zài qù kàn kan， xiǎng xiǎng tā men wèi shén me shuō de bù yí yàng。” xiǎo mǎ diǎn diǎn tóu， yòu lái dào hé biān。
After hearing his account, his mother said, “The ox is taller than you and the squirrel is smaller. Look again and think about why their answers differ.” He nodded and returned.
他仔细看看河水，慢慢走过去。河水既没有老牛说的那么浅，也没有松鼠说的那么深。到了对岸，小马把麦子送进了磨坊。
tā zǐ xì kàn kan hé shuǐ， màn màn zǒu guò qù。 hé shuǐ jì méi yǒu lǎo niú shuō de nà me qiǎn， yě méi yǒu sōng shǔ shuō de nà me shēn。 dào le duì àn， xiǎo mǎ bǎ mài zi sòng jìn le mò fáng。
He examined the river and crossed slowly. It was neither as shallow as the ox had said nor as deep as the squirrel had said. On the far bank, he delivered the wheat to the mill.
Conversation
A 老牛和松鼠为什么说得不一样？
lǎo niú hé sōng shǔ wèi shén me shuō de bù yí yàng？
Why do the ox and squirrel say different things?
B 它们的身体大小不一样。
tā men de shēn tǐ dà xiǎo bù yí yàng。
Their bodies are different sizes.
A 那么，它们一定有一个在说假话吗？
nà me， tā men yí dìng yǒu yí ge zài shuō jiǎ huà ma？
Does that mean one of them must be lying?
B 不一定，它们可能都在说自己的经验。
bù yí dìng， tā men kě néng dōu zài shuō zì jǐ de jīng yàn。
Not necessarily; both may be describing their own experience.
A 小马应该先想清楚什么？
xiǎo mǎ yīng gāi xiān xiǎng qīng chu shén me？
What should the horse think about first?
B 想想自己和它们有什么不同。
xiǎng xiǎng zì jǐ hé tā men yǒu shén me bù tóng。
How it differs from them.
