| 从前，有一位单身汉。他非常勤劳，每天都去地里干活。 |
| cóngqián, yǒu yī wèi dānshēnhàn. tā fēicháng qínláo, měitiān dōu qù dì lǐ gànhuó. |
| Once upon a time there was a bachelor. He was very industrious. Every day he went out to work in the fields. |
| 有一次，他看到一只大田螺，就带回家，养在水缸里。 |
| yǒuyīcì, tā kàndào yī zhī dà tiánluó, jiù dài huí jiā, yǎng zài shuǐgāng lǐ. |
| Once he found a large snail. He took it home and raised it in a jar of water. |
| 很快，三年过去了。有一天，他干完活回家，发现桌子上摆满了饭菜。 |
| hěnkuài, sān nián guòqù le. yǒu yī tiān, tā gàn wán huó huíjiā, fāxiàn zhuōzi shàng bǎi mǎn le fàncài. |
| Very soon, three years went by. One day when he returned home from work, the bachelor discovered his table full of prepared food. |
| 连续几天都是这样。他感到很奇怪，就躲起来看是谁做的。 |
| liánxù jǐtiān dōu shì zhèyàng. tā gǎndào hěn qíguài, jiù duǒ qǐlái kàn shì shéi zuò de. |
| This continued to happen the next few days. He found it very strange, so he hid to find out who was making it. |
| 等啊等，快到中午的时候，从水缸里走出一位漂亮姑娘，她很快就做好了饭。 |
| děng a děng, kuài dào zhōngwǔ de shíhou, cóng shuǐgāng lǐ zǒuchū yī wèi piàoliang gūniang, tā hěnkuài jiù zuò hǎo le fàn. |
| He waited and waited. When it was almost noon, a beautiful woman came out of the jar of water. In no time at all she'd prepared all the food. |
| 单身汉问姑娘为什么要帮他做饭。 |
| dānshēnhàn wèn gūniang wèishénme yào bāng tā zuòfàn. |
| The bachelor asked the woman why she was making the food for him. |
| 原来姑娘就是田螺变的，为了报答他。 |
| yuánlái gūniang jiùshì tiánluó biàn de, wèile bàodá tā. |
| The woman had been the snail all along. She was making the food to repay him. |
| 后来他们结婚了，过着幸福的生活。 |
| hòulái tāmen jiéhūn le, guò zhe xìngfú de shēnghuó. |
| After that the two of them got married and lived happily ever after. |