hsk6 上 lesson 20 with pinyin and English translation

Lesson 20   金鸡窝   

The golden henhouse

Jīnjī wō
金鸡窝
The golden henhouse

Lǎolao zhù de cūn dōng chítáng pàn yǒu yīkuài tuǒyuán xíng de dà shítou.

姥姥住的村东池塘畔有一块椭圆形的大石头。

There is a big oval stone beside the pond in the east of the village where my grandma lives.

Nà shítou zhōngjiān āoxiàn, xiàng gè jī wō, 

那石头中间凹陷，像个鸡窝，

The stone is sunken in the middle, like a chicken coop, 

cūnlǐ rén jiào tā jīnjī wō.

村里人叫它金鸡窝。

the villagers call it a golden chicken coop.

Jīnjī wō wàibiǎo yǒuxiē gǔguài, 

金鸡窝外表有些古怪，

The golden chicken coop has a weird appearance. 

hóngsè de shítou, shàngmiàn xiāngqiànzhe xiē bùtóng sècǎi, bùtóng xíngzhuàng, 

红色的石头，上面镶嵌着些不同色彩、不同形状、

The red stones are inlaid with small stones of different colors, different shapes, 

huò jiānyìng huò bù shífēn jiānyìng de xiǎo shítou, 

或坚硬或不十分坚硬的小石头，

or small stones that are hard or not very hard, 

xiàng jiàn gōngyìpǐn, hěn shì měiguān biézhì.

像件工艺品，很是美观别致。

which are like handicrafts and are very beautiful and unique.

Wǒmen xiǎoshíhòu dōu xǐhuan zuò zài shítou shàng, 

我们小时候都喜欢坐在石头上，

When we were young, we all liked to sit on rocks 

bǎ jiǎo jìnpào zài shuǐ lǐ.

把脚浸泡在水里。

and soak our feet in water.

Lǎorénmen jiànle, jiù huì zéguài:

老人们见了，就会责怪：

When the old people saw it, they would blame: 

“Hāi, zuò zài jīnjī wō shàng, xiǎng gànma ya!” 

“嗨，坐在金鸡窝上，想干吗呀！”

"Hey, sitting on the golden hen's nest, what do you want to do!" 

Wǒ bèi shuō dé hútú, jiù qù wèn lǎolao, 

我被说得糊涂，就去问姥姥，

I was confused, so I asked my grandma, 

zhè cái dé zhī nàgè jiǔyuǎn de chuánshuō.

这才得知那个久远的传说。

and only then did I learn the ancient legend.

Lǎoyé zǔfù de zǔfù sòng jiā yǒu jǐ xiōngdì, 

姥爷祖父的祖父宋家有几兄弟，

Grandpa's grandfather's grandfather Song family has several brothers, 

dàjiā qǐzǎotānhēi, 

大家起早贪黑，

everyone work from dawn to dusk,

fèiqǐnwàngshí, 

废寝忘食，

forget to eat and sleep,

qínláo jiā qínjiǎn, 

勤劳加勤俭，

hardworking and thrifty, 

rìziguò dé hái suàn fùyù.

日子过得还算富裕。

and their lives were fairly well-off.

Nónglì nián jiāngjìn, 

农历年将近，

As the Lunar New Year was approaching, 

sòngjiāsān zǔ yé zǎozǎo xiàle dì, 

宋家三祖爷早早下了地，

the third grandfather of the Song family got off the ground early 

túrán kàn dàole yī wō xiǎo jī.

突然看到了一窝小鸡。

and suddenly saw a brood of chicks.

Nà xiǎo jī fǎngfú gāng chū wō méi jǐ tiān, 

那小鸡仿佛刚出窝没几天，

The chick seemed to have just left the nest for a few days, 

kuàngqiě shì wūhēi wūhēi de shēnzi, kě'ài jíle, 

况且是乌黑乌黑的身子，可爱极了，

and it was a jet-black body, very cute, 

gēnsuízhe mǔ jī, sìchù xúnmì, xiàng shì zài zhǎo shí.

跟随着母鸡，四处寻觅，像是在找食。

following the hen, looking around, as if looking for food.

Sān zǔ yé pǒ gǎn chàyì,  

三祖爷颇感诧异，

The third ancestor was quite surprised, 

dà dōngtiān de, zhèlǐ lí cūnzi yòu yuǎn, 

大冬天的，这里离村子又远，

It was so far away from the village in the winter, 

fēnmíng bù gāi yǒu zhème xiǎo de jī zǐ ya! 

分明不该有这么小的鸡仔呀！

so there shouldn't be such a small chicken!  

Sān zǔ yé qù zhuō xiǎo jī, 

三祖爷去捉小鸡，

The third grandfather went to catch the chick. 

xiǎo jī xiǎng yǐnbì zìjǐ, 

小鸡想隐蔽自己，

The chick wanted to hide himself 

pǎozhe wǎng gān cǎocóng lǐ zhā.

跑着往干草丛里扎。

and ran into the hay.

Sān zǔ yé shùnshǒu jiǎn qǐ yīkuài zhuān piē guòqù, 

三祖爷顺手拣起一块砖撇过去，

The third grandfather picked up a brick and slid it over, 

yīxià zá zhōngle yī zhǐ xiǎo jī.

一下砸中了一只小鸡。

hitting a chicken in one fell swoop.

Xiǎo jī jiù dì dǎle gè gǔn, 

小鸡就地打了个滚，

The chicken rolled on the spot, 

shùnjiān biàn chéngle yīkuài jīnzi.

瞬间变成了一块金子。

and instantly turned into a piece of gold.

Zhè shíhòu, lǎomǔ jī jíle, 

这时候，老母鸡急了，

At this time, the old hen was anxious, 

tiào qǐlái zài sān zǔ yé xīgài xiàbian jiùshì yīkǒu, 

跳起来在三祖爷膝盖下边就是一口，

jumped up and bit under the third grandfather's knee. 

sān zǔ yé téng dé yàomìng, hēng hēngzhe, lù yě zǒu bù dòngle, 

三祖爷疼得要命，哼哼着，路也走不动了，

The third grandfather was so painful that he hummed and couldn't walk anymore, 

zhǐhǎo jiǎn gè shùzhī dāng guǎizhàng zhǔzhe, yī qué yī guǎi de huíle jiā.

只好拣个树枝当拐杖拄着，一瘸一拐地回了家。

so he had to pick a branch as a cane and limped back home.

Huí dàojiā, 

回到家，

When he got home, 

sān zǔ yé bǎ shìqíng gēn jiālǐ rén yī shuō, 

三祖爷把事情跟家里人一说，

the third grandfather told his family about the matter. 

dàjiā gǎn dào dì li, 

大家赶到地里，

Everyone rushed to the field, 

kě zěnme yě zhǎo bùzháo nà wō jī.

可怎么也找不着那窝鸡。

but they couldn't find the brood.

Dàjiā kāishǐ zài fùjìn wājué, wāle gè dà kēng, 

大家开始在附近挖掘，挖了个大坑，

Everyone started digging nearby and dug a big hole, 

jiéguǒ háishì méiyǒu kàn dào jī, 

结果还是没有看到鸡，

but still no chickens were seen, 

zhǐshì wā chūle nà kuài xiàng jī wō yīyàng de dà shítou.

只是挖出了那块像鸡窝一样的大石头。

only the big rock like a chicken coop was dug out.

Tāmen bǎ nà shítou tái huí cūnlǐ, 

他们把那石头抬回村里，

They carried the stone back to the village. 

yīnwèi xíngzhuàng bù guīzé, 

因为形状不规则，

Because of its irregular shape, 

pài bù shàng shénme yòngchǎng, 

派不上什么用场，

it was of no use, 

zuìhòu jiù rēng zàile chítáng biān.

最后就扔在了池塘边。

so it was thrown by the pond in the end.

Sān zǔ yé shòushāng de tuǐ yīzhí fāyán, 

三祖爷受伤的腿一直发炎，

The injured leg of the third grandfather was always inflamed, 

téng dé xià bùliǎo chuáng.

疼得下不了床。

and it was so painful that he could not get out of bed.

Yīgè shēn qiánglì zhuàng de xiǎohuǒzi, zǎ néng guāng tǎng zài chuángshàng ne?

一个身强力壮的小伙子，咋能光躺在床上呢？

How can a strong young man just lie on the bed?

Sān zǔ yé zhǐhǎo yòng nà jīnzi huànle qián qù kànbìng.

三祖爷只好用那金子换了钱去看病。

The third grandpa had to use the gold for money to go to the doctor.

Hái suàn jiǎoxìng, jīnzi huàn lái de qián yòng wánle, 

还算侥幸，金子换来的钱用完了，

It was a fluke, the money in exchange for the gold ran out, 

sān zǔ yé de tuǐ yě hǎole.

三祖爷的腿也好了。

and the third grandfather's legs were healed.

Sān zǔ yé cháng dàole jiǔ bìng bù yù de zīwèi, 

三祖爷尝到了久病不愈的滋味，

The third grandfather tasted the feeling of being ill for a long time, 

hòulái féng rén jiù shuō, zhēnshi débùchángshī, 

后来逢人就说，真是得不偿失，

and then he said to everyone that the loss outweighs the gain.

zǎo zhīdao zhèyàng, nìngkěn dāngchū bù dāli nà wō xiǎo jī.

早知道这样，宁肯当初不搭理那窝小鸡。

I had known this a long time ago, and would rather ignore the brood of chickens.

Sān zǔ yé de gùshì gàojiè hòu rén, zuòrén bùyào yùwàng tài duō, bùyào tānlán.

三祖爷的故事告诫后人，做人不要欲望太多，不要贪婪。

The story of the third grandpa warned future generations not to have too much desire and not to be greedy.

Dōngxi bùshì nǐ de jiù bùyào qù zhēngduó, 

东西不是你的就不要去争夺，

Don't fight for something that is not yours. 

jiùshì zhēng lái, yě shǒu bù zhù.

就是争来，也守不住。

Even if you fight for it, you can't hold it.

Dào bùrú fùchū yī fēn nǔlì, 

倒不如付出一分努力，

It would be better to put in a bit of effort, 

dédào yī fēn shōuhuò,

得到一分收获，

get a bit of gain, 

guò píngwěn héshùn de rìzi.

过平稳和顺的日子。

and live a stable and smooth life.

Hòulái, sān zǔ yé de gùshì chuánle yīdài yòu yīdài, 

后来，三祖爷的故事传了一代又一代，

Later, the story of the third grandpa was passed down from generation to generation, 

sòng jiā de zǐsūn yěyǒu zuòle guān de, 

宋家的子孙也有做了官的，

and some of the descendants of the Song family also became officials, 

dàn méiyǒu rén gǎn tānwū, huìlù, bùzéshǒuduàn, 

但没有人敢贪污、贿赂、不择手段，

but no one dared to embezzle, bribe or use any means, 

yīnwèi tāmen xīnlǐ dōu yǒu yīgè “jīnjī wō”.

因为他们心里都有一个“金鸡窝”。,

because they all had a "golden chicken coop" in their hearts.

Gǎibiān zì “Běijīng qīngnián bào” tóngmíng wénzhāng, zuòzhě: Hán yá

改编自《北京青年报》同名文章，作者：寒崖

Adapted from the article of the same name in "Beijing Youth Daily", author: Han Ya

Full Translation:

The golden henhouse

   There is a big oval stone beside the pond in the east of the village where my grandma lives. The stone is sunken in the middle, like a chicken coop, the villagers call it a golden chicken coop. The golden chicken coop has a weird appearance. 

   The red stones are inlaid with small stones of different colors, different shapes, or small stones that are hard or not very hard, which are like handicrafts and are very beautiful and unique. When we were young, we all liked to sit on rocks and soak our feet in water. When the old people saw it, they would blame: "Hey, sitting on the golden hen's nest, what do you want to do!" 

   I was confused, so I asked my grandma, 

and only then did I learn the ancient legend. Grandpa's grandfather's grandfather Song family has several brothers, everyone work from dawn to dusk, forget to eat and sleep, hardworking and thrifty, and their lives were fairly well-off.

   As the Lunar New Year was approaching, the third grandfather of the Song family got off the ground early and suddenly saw a brood of chicks. The chick seemed to have just left the nest for a few days, and it was a jet-black body, very cute, following the hen, looking around, as if looking for food. The third ancestor was quite surprised, It was so far away from the village in the winter, so there shouldn't be such a small chicken!  

   The third grandfather went to catch the chick. The chick wanted to hide himself and ran into the hay. The third grandfather picked up a brick and slid it over, hitting a chicken in one fell swoop. The chicken rolled on the spot, and instantly turned into a piece of gold.

   At this time, the old hen was anxious, jumped up and bit under the third grandfather's knee. The third grandfather was so painful that he hummed and couldn't walk anymore, so he had to pick a branch as a cane and limped back home. When he got home, the third grandfather told his family about the matter. Everyone rushed to the field, but they couldn't find the brood.

   Everyone started digging nearby and dug a big hole, but still no chickens were seen, only the big rock like a chicken coop was dug out. They carried the stone back to the village. Because of its irregular shape, it was of no use, so it was thrown by the pond in the end.

   The injured leg of the third grandfather was always inflamed, and it was so painful that he could not get out of bed. How can a strong young man just lie on the bed? The third grandpa had to use the gold for money to go to the doctor.

   It was a fluke, the money in exchange for the gold ran out, and the third grandfather's legs were healed. The third grandfather tasted the feeling of being ill for a long time, and then he said to everyone that the loss outweighs the gain.

   I had known this a long time ago, and would rather ignore the brood of chickens. The story of the third grandpa warned future generations not to have too much desire and not to be greedy. Don't fight for something that is not yours. Even if you fight for it, you can't hold it. It would be better to put in a bit of effort, get a bit of gain, and live a stable and smooth life.

   Later, the story of the third grandpa was passed down from generation to generation, and some of the descendants of the Song family also became officials, but no one dared to embezzle, bribe or use any means, because they all had a "golden chicken coop" in their hearts.

Hsk6 lesson 20 audio with pinyin and English translation 👇

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