小雪的魔筆The Magical Paintbrush of Xiaoxue

很久很久以前，有一個孤兒叫小雪，Long time ago, there was an orphan named Xiaoxue,

他很喜歡畫畫兒，可是他很窮，沒有錢買筆。 She liked drawing very much, but she didn’t have the money to buy a p aintbrush.

有一天晚上，小雪夢見一位老奶奶，One night, Xiaoxue dreamed that an old grandma,

老奶奶送給她一隻又長又大的毛筆。The old grandma gave her a long and big paintbrush.

小雪醒來，手裡真的拿著一支毛筆。Xiaoxue woke up with a real writing brush in her hand.

小雪，很高興就在手心上畫了一隻小鳥。Xiaoxue, I was very happy that she drew a little bird on the palm of her hand.

忽然間，這隻鳥變成真的鳥，飛走了。Suddenly, the bird became a real bird and flew away.

啊！ 小雪知道了，原來這是一隻魔筆。ah! Xiaoxue realized that it was a magic paintbrush.

小雪想，如果用這隻魔筆，畫很多的東西送給窮人，他們就可以過好日子了。Xiaoxue thought, if she used this magic paintbrush to draw a lot of things and give them to the poor, they would be able to live a good life.

於是，小雪就每天到窮人家裡，用這支筆劃許多東西送給他們。So, Xiaoxue went to the poor people’s homes every day, and used magic paintbrush to draw many things they needed for them.

貪心的國王知道了，就把小雪抓進宮裡，天天叫小雪，為他畫畫。When the greedy king found out (heard about this), he took Xiaoxue into the palace (he kept Xiaoxue as a prisoner in the palace) and ordered  Xiaoxue to draw a lot of things for him every day.

有一天，國王想坐船，就叫小雪，先畫一艘大船和一片大海，再畫幾筆大風。One day, the king wanted to sail on a ship, so he ordered Xiaoxue, to draw a big ship, the ocean and also wind for him.

國王坐上了船，不久，起風了，船在海上走得很快。The king got on the ship, and soon the wind picked up, and the ship was going very fast on the sea.

可是，風太大了，風把船吹翻了，國王再也回不來了。However, the wind was so fierce later that the ship was turned over, and the king never returned.

小雪離開了王宮。小雪，每天還在為窮人畫畫兒，Xiaoxue left the palace.  and continued to draw things for the poor every day,

只是沒有人知道他住在哪里。but nobody ever found out where she lives.

一共有幾本書How many books

老師問中中：「如果我先給你一本書，然後再給你三本書，你一共有幾本書？」
Teacher asked Zhongzhong: “If I give you one book first, then give you three books more, how many books do you have altogether?

中中說：「四本書。」Zhongzhong said: “Four books.”

老師又問：「如果我先給你三本書，然後再給你一本書，你一共有幾本書？」
The teacher asked again: “If I give you three books first, then give you one more, how many books do you have altogether?

中中馬上說：「八本書。」 Zhongzhong immediately said: “Eight books.”

老師問：「你剛才說四本書，為什麼現在說八本書呢？」Teacher asked, “You just said four books, why do you say eight books now?”

中中說：「剛才您不是給了我四本書嗎？」Zhongzhong said, “Haven’t you given me four books already?”

小雪手中一枝筆 Has a pen in Xiaoxu’s hand
小雪手中一枝筆 Xiaoxue has a pen in her hand.
什麼筆？毛筆。 What kind of pen? A Chinese brush pen.
什麼毛？羊毛。What kind of hair? Goat’s hair.
什麼羊？山羊。 What kind of goat? Mountain goat.
什麼山？高山。What kind of mountain? A high mountain.
高高山上山羊跑，On the high mountains the mountain goats run.
山羊身上長羊毛，The mountain goats have long white hair.
白白羊毛做毛筆，The white hair is good for making Chinese brush pens.
毛筆好，毛筆好，Brush pen are good to use, good to use,
拿起毛筆畫隻小黃鳥。Take up the brush pen to paint a little yellow bird.

十二生肖Chinese zodiac

玉皇大帝要選十二生肖, 新年那天，他請各種動物來南天門吃午飯。On New Year’s Day, he invited the animals to have lunch in the Gate of South Heaven.

貓知道了，就告訴老鼠。When the cat knew it, it told the mouse.

他們約好了，新年早上一起去南天門。The cat told the rat when he heard about it, and they agreed to go to the Gate of South Heaven together in the morning of the New Year’s Day.

可是，除夕晚上，老鼠睡不著，他就起來，先跑到南天門去了。However, on New Year’s Eve, the mouse could not sleep, so he got up and went to the Gate of South Heaven by himself.

老鼠第一個來到南天門，過一會兒，牛也走來了。Therefore, the rat was the first animal who got there. The ox got there after him.

又過了一會兒，老虎跑來了，兔子跳來了，龍飛來了，蛇也爬來了。Not long after that, the tiger ran over, the rabbit hopped over, the dragon flew over, and the snake crawled over.

天亮了，雞把馬、羊、猴子，狗和豬都叫起來了。At dawn (when morning came), the rooster awaked the horse, the goat, the monkey, the dog and  the pig (boar).

馬走在最前面，豬跟在最後頭。 這六個動物一起來到南天門。The horse went first in line, and the pig (boar) was the last.  All six animals arrived at the Gate of South Heaven.

到了中午，玉皇大帝說：恭喜你們！ 你們十二種動物就是十二生肖了。At noon, the Jade Emperor announced to them, Congratulations! Your twelve animals will represent the twelve zodiacs.

老鼠第一個到，今年就叫鼠年，以後就招照鼠牛虎兔龍蛇馬羊猴雞狗豬的順序輪下去。Since the rat arrived first, the first year will be the Year of the Rat, and the rest of the eleven animals will be in order of ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

大家沒看見貓，就問：貓怎麼沒來？Then they noticed that the cat was not there. How come the cat isn’t here?

老鼠說：他還在睡覺，我沒叫醒他。They ask the rat.  He is still asleep; I did not wake him up.  Answered the rat.

大家說： 啊哈！ 你完蛋了，你完蛋了！Everyone said: Aha! You are finished!  They warned the rat.

貓以後不會原諒你的。The cat is not going to forgive you.

怎麼回家How to Get Home

天黑了！天黑了！It is getting dark! It is getting dark!

小馬怎麼回家？小馬會跑回家。How does the pony get home? The pony can run back home.

青蛙怎麼回家？青蛙會跳回家。How does a frog go home? The frog can jump back home.

小魚怎麼回家？小魚會游回家。How does the little fish go home? Little fish can swim back home.

小鳥怎麼回家？小鳥會飛回家。How does the little bird get home? Little bird can fly back home.

蝸牛怎麼回家？蝸牛會爬回家。How does the snail go home? A snail can crawl back home.

天黑了！天黑了！It is getting dark! It is getting dark!

妹妹跟我怎麼回家？妹妹跟我一起走回家。How do my younger sister and I go home? My younger sister and I will walk back home together.

『年』的故事 The story of the monster Nian

很久很久以前，高山上有一隻長得很可怕、很愛睡覺的怪獸。 它的名字叫「年」。
The legend says, long ago, there was a ferocious and lazy monster call Nain who lived in the mountains and always was asleep.
每到冬天牠就會醒來一天。
Every winter, the monster was up for one day.
天黑以後，年就下山找東西吃。
After dark, Nian came down from the mountains to find something to eat.
年喜歡吃動物也喜歡吃人。Nian likes to eat animals as well as people.
天黑以後，大家都不敢出門。After dark, nobody dared to go out.
有一回，天還沒黑，年突然跑下山來，Once Nian came down before it was dark，
年聽見霹啪的聲音，就嚇得跑開了。
Nian suddenly heard some cracking noise, he got scared and ran away.
年又看見一個穿紅衣服的人坐在大門外，年就嚇得跑回山上了。
Nian saw someone in red sitting outside of the door, Nian was frightened away and ran back to the mountains.
那個人告訴大家，年怕看見紅色，還怕聽到霹啪的聲音，
Someone figured out that Nian was afraid of the color of red, Afraid to hear the sound of crackling,
大家就在大門上貼紅紙，在門外燒竹子。
Everyone put red paper on the gate, also burn bamboo to make the cracking noise.
那天晚上，年不敢再下山來。
As a result, on that night, Nian dared not come down the mountain again.
第二天大家出來一看，每個人都很平安，
The next day everyone came out to see that everyone was safe，
每個人都很平安，就互相說：「恭喜」。
everyone is safe, They said “Congratulations” to each other.
後來，年沒有再出來過。
Later, Nian never came out again.
有人說年已經餓死了。
Some people say that Nian has starved to death.
從此以後，那個晚上就叫除夕。From then on, that night was called New Year’s Eve.
家家放鞭炮、吃年夜飯。Every family sets off firecrackers and eats New Year’s Eve dinner.
除夕晚上，家家祭祖。On New Year’s Eve, every family worships their ancestors,
Every family holds a memorial ceremony for the ancestors,
小孩子給長輩拜年，
Children have to wish the seniors a happy new Year in a respectful way New Year’s greetings to their elders，
長輩給小孩子紅包叫壓歲錢。The elders give children red envelopes called lucky money.
第二天是新年，大家互相拜年，The next day is the New Year， everyone wishes each other a New Year，
互相說：「恭喜！ 恭喜！ 新年好」。Say to each other: “Congratulations! Congratulations! Happy New Year”.

Spring and the Spring Festival
誰知道，一年有幾天？
Who knows how many days there are in a year?
我知道！ 一年有365天。
I know! There are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year.
誰知道，一年有幾個月？
Who knows how many months there are in a year?
我知道！ 一年有十二個月。
I know! There are twelve months in a year.
誰知道，中國新年是什麼節？
Who knows, what festival(holiday) is Chinese New Year?
我知道！ 我知道！
I know! I know!
中國新年是春節。
Chinese New Year is the Spring Festival.

春天到了 Spring is coming

沙！沙！沙！是誰在窗外？Sha! Sha! Sha! Who is outside the window?

我是小雪花，我只是來說聲再見，I’m a little snowflake, I have only come to say goodbye,

下個冬天，我會再來，Next winter, I will come back again,

送給你一個雪白的世界。To give you a snow-white world (a world of snow white).

沙！沙！沙！是誰在窗外？Sha! Sha! Sha! Who is outside the window?

我是小雨點兒，我只是來告訴你，I’m a little raindrop, I’m only come to tell you,

春天快來了，我要和春風，Spring is almost here, I want to be with the spring breeze,

送給你一個彩色的世界。Give you a colorful world (a world of colors).

小水滴旅行The Trip of the Little Drops of water

一顆一顆小水滴都睡醒了。 The little drops of water woke up one by one.

大家說:「好舒服啊！我們去旅行吧！」Everyone said: “It feels so comfortable! Let’s go traveling!

他們唱著歌，從草原上流到小河裡。They while singing and flowed from the meadow to the small river.

一里、兩里、三里，他們唱著歌，又從小河裡流入大海裡。One mile, two miles, three miles, they sang songs(still sing), and flowed from the small river into the sea.

太陽公公說：「你們唱什麼歌？唱得真好聽！你們來天上玩吧！」Mr. Sun said, “What song are you singing? It’s so beautiful! Come up and play in the sky!”

小水滴身體變得又大又輕，他們飛起來了。The bodies of the little water drops became bigger and lighter, and they flew up.

他們抱在一起，變成一朵一朵的雲。They hugged each other and turned into clouds.

一陣風吹過來大家說：「好冷呀，我們回家吧！」When the wind blew over and everyone said, “It’s getting cold, let’s go home!”

小水滴就從天上跳下來。The little water droplets jumped down from the sky.

(the drops of water jumped back to the ground)

青蛙說：「下雨了！下雨了！」The frog said, “It’s raining! It’s raining!”

小水滴下在樹上、花上、草上……The rain drops fell on the trees, flowers, grass…

小水滴累得睡著了。The rain drops got so tired and fell asleep.

啊！ 小水滴又睡醒了，Ah! The little drops woke up again,
大家說：「好舒服啊！我們再去旅行吧！
Everyone said: “It feels so comfortable! Let’s go traveling again!

小河的歌The Song of the River

「小河，小河，你在唱什麼歌？唱得真好聽，請你告訴我。」

Little River Little River, What song are you singing? It sounds wonderful,

so please tell me.

「我從高山上流下來，我在唱山之歌。」

“I have flown down from the high mountains, and I am sing the songs of the mountains.”「小河，小河，你在唱什麼歌？唱得真好聽，請你告訴我。」

Little River, Little River, What song are you singing? It sounds wonderful, so please tell me.”

「我要流到大海裡去，我在唱海之歌。」

“I am flowing towards the ocean; I am singing the song of the ocean.

中中的門牙Zhong Zhong’s Front Tooth

青青說：「我的門牙掉了，你看，牙仙子送給我這本故事書！ 」
Qingqing said: “My front tooth fell out, look! the Tooth Fairy gave me this storybook!

友友也說：「上星期我的門牙掉了，牙仙子送給我一塊錢！」
Youyou also said: “Last week my front tooth fell out, and the Tooth Fairy gave me a dollar!”

中中說：「我的門牙鬆了，可是掉不下來。 」
Zhongzhong said, “My front teeth are loose, but they won’t fall out.
(but it hasn’t fallen yet)”

友友說：「你用舌頭頂頂看！」。中中用舌頭用力頂，可是沒有用。
Youyou suggested: “Try to push it with your tongue!
Zhongzhong used his tongue to push the tooth very hard. But it didn’t work.

青青說：「你咬一口蘋果，試試看！」
Qing qing suggested: “Try to bite on an apple!”

中中用力咬蘋果，一不小心，跌了一跤。
Zhongzhong bit on an apple very hard, and accidentally fell. But somehow, he slipped and fell on the ground.

中中大叫：「啊！ 我的門牙掉了！ 糟糕！ 我的門牙不見了！」
Zhongzhong yelled: “Ah! My front tooth fell out! Oops! My front tooth is gone!”

明明說：「大家快過來！ 快過來幫中中找門牙！」
Mingming said, “Everyone, come here quickly! Come here and help Zhongzhong find his front teeth!”

中中說：「找到了！ 找到了！ 我的門牙在這裡！」
Zhongzhong said: “I found it! I found it! My front teeth are here!”

中中高高興興地回家，他把門牙放進盒子裡，再把盒子和信放在枕頭底下。
Zhongzhong went home happily. He put his front teeth in a box and put the box and a letter under his pillow.

信上說： 「親愛的牙仙子：我想要一頂像哥哥那樣的帽子，可以嗎？ 中中上」
The letter said: “Dear Tooth Fairy, I would like to have a hat like my brother’s, is that okay? Sincerely yours, Zhongzhong.

請開門Please open the door
「砰！砰！砰！請開門。」
Bang! Bang! Bang! Please open the door.”
「請問你是誰？」”May I ask who you are?”
「我是田奶奶，我送水果來給你吃。快過來開門吧！」
“This us Grandma Tian. I am brining some fruit for you to eat, Hurry up, Come over and open the door!”
「不是，不是。你不是田奶奶，請你快走開！」
“No, no. You are not Grandma Tian, please go away right now!”
「砰！砰！砰！請開門。」
Bang! Bang! Bang! Please open the door.”
「請問你是誰？」”May I ask who you are?”
「我是高大哥，我送書來給你爸爸，我來送信給妳媽媽，快過來開門吧！」
“I’m big brother Gao. I am brining books for your dad and mail for your mom. Hurry up, come over and open the door!”
「不開！不開！我不開！爸爸媽媽沒回家，誰來也不開。」
“Won’t open! Won’t open! I won’t open it, Mom and Dad haven’t come home yet, I won’t open the door for anyone.