Intermediate - The Little Tadpoles in Search of Their Mother (C1682)

春天来了。
chūntiān lái le.
Spring had arrived
池塘里有很多可爱的小蝌蚪。
chítáng lǐ yǒu hěn duō kě'ài de xiǎokēdǒu.
and there were lots of cute little tadpoles in a pond.
小蝌蚪从来没见过自己的妈妈,所以它们想去找妈妈。
xiǎokēdǒu cónglái méi jiàn guo zìjǐ de māma, suǒyǐ tāmen xiǎng qù zhǎo māma.
The tadpoles had never met their mother before, and so they wanted to go out and find her.
鸭妈妈告诉它们:“你们的妈妈有两只大眼睛,一张大嘴巴。”
yā māma gàosu tāmen:" nǐmen de māma yǒu liǎng zhī dà yǎnjing, yī zhāng dà zuǐba.”
A mother duck said to them, "Your mother has two eyes and one big mouth."
小蝌蚪往前游,看见了一条金鱼。
xiǎokēdǒu wǎng qián yóu, kànjiàn le yī tiáo jīnyú.
The little tadpoles swam forward and saw a goldfish.
金鱼的头上有两只大眼睛。
jīnyú de tóu shàng yǒu liǎng zhī dà yǎnjing.
The goldfish had two big eyes on its head.
它们高兴地喊:“妈妈!妈妈!”
tāmen gāoxìng de hǎn:" māma! māma!”
The tadpoles happily cried out, "Momma! Momma!"
金鱼说:“我不是你们的妈妈。你们的妈妈是白肚皮。”
jīnyú shuō:" wǒ bùshì nǐmen de māma. nǐmen de māma shì bái dùpí.”
The goldfish said, "I'm not your mother. Your mother has a white belly."
小蝌蚪继续往前游,看见了一只螃蟹。
xiǎokēdǒu jìxù wǎng qián yóu, kànjiàn le yī zhī pángxiè.
The tadpoles continued swimming forward and saw a crab.
螃蟹的肚皮是白的。
pángxiè de dùpí shì bái de.
The crab's belly was white.
它们赶紧喊:“妈妈!妈妈!”
tāmen gǎnjǐn hǎn:" māma! māma!”
They immediately cried out, "Momma! Momma!"
螃蟹摇摇头说:“你们认错了。我有八条腿,你们的妈妈只有四条腿。”
pángxiè yáo yao tóu shuō:" nǐmen rèncuò le. wǒ yǒu bā tiáo tuǐ, nǐmen de māma zhǐ yǒu sì tiáo tuǐ.”
The crab shook its head and said, "You've got the wrong lady. I have eight legs and your mother only has four."
哎!它们又继续往前游,看见了一只乌龟。
āi! tāmen yòu jìxù wǎng qián yóu, kànjiàn le yī zhī wūguī.
Agh! They continued to swim forward and saw a turtle.
乌龟正好有四条腿。
wūguī zhènghǎo yǒu sì tiáo tuǐ.
The turtle had exactly four legs.
它们又高兴地喊:“妈妈!妈妈!”
tāmen yòu gāoxìng de hǎn:" māma! māma!”
Again, they happily cried out, "Momma! Momma!"
乌龟说:“你们的妈妈穿着绿衣服,会呱呱呱叫。”
wūguī shuō:" nǐmen de māma chuān zhe lǜ yīfu, huì guāguāguā jiào.”
The turtle said, "Your mom is wearing green clothes and goes 'ribbit ribbit'."
小蝌蚪很失望。突然,它们听见一只青蛙在呱呱呱叫。
xiǎokēdǒu hěn shīwàng. tūrán, tāmen tīngjiàn yī zhī qīngwā zài guāguāguā jiào.
The little tadpoles were very disappointed. Suddenly, they saw a frog going 'ribbit ribbit'.
它们小心地问:“你是我们的妈妈吗?”
tāmen xiǎoxīn de wèn:" nǐ shì wǒmen de māma ma?”
They asked cautiously, "Are you our momma?"
青蛙笑着说:“我就是你们的妈妈。等你们长大了,就跟妈妈一样了。”
qīngwā xiào zhe shuō:" wǒ jiùshì nǐmen de māma. děng nǐmen zhǎngdà le, jiù gēn māma yīyàng le.”
The frog smiled and said, "That's me. I'm your mother. Once you've grown up, you'll look just like me."
小蝌蚪终于找到了妈妈!
xiǎokēdǒu zhōngyú zhǎodào le māma!
The little tadpoles had finally found their mother!

Key Vocabulary

春天 chūntiān spring
池塘 chítáng pond
蝌蚪 kēdǒu tadpole
从来没 cónglái méi never before
duck
zhī [measure word for some body parts and animals]
眼睛 yǎnjing eyes
zhāng [measure word for mouths]
嘴巴 zuǐba mouth
yóu to swim
tiáo [measure word for legs]
金鱼 jīnyú goldfish
hǎn to shout
肚皮 dùpí belly
继续 jìxù to continue
螃蟹 pángxiè crab
赶紧 gǎnjǐn hurriedly
摇头 yáotóu to shake one's head
认错 rèncuò to recognize incorrectly
tuǐ leg
乌龟 wūguī turtle, tortoise
正好 zhènghǎo just happen to
呱呱呱 guāguāguā 'ribbit, ribbit'
失望 shīwàng to be disappointed
突然 tūrán suddenly
青蛙 qīngwā frog
děng once
长大 zhǎngdà to grow up
终于 zhōngyú finally

Supplementary Vocabulary

游泳 yóuyǒng to swim
表面 biǎomiàn surface
生动 shēngdòng lively
碰巧 pèngqiǎo to happen by coincidence
状态 zhuàngtài condition
量词 liàngcí measure word
ruǎn soft

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