The Silent Dog

 Welp, I swore I would never do this again but I found this (and several other short stories) in Hainan Airlines’ in-flight magazine (I’m in Prague!) and couldn’t resist typing it up (as opposed to copy-pasting from an online source). I’ve checked and checked for typos, but I’m not always the best at that, so if you run across one, please comment.

This is one of those reads wher the sentence structure is basic and in parts very repetitive, but quite a few advanced words are used – “advanced” only because they’re not used often in casual conversation, like parts of an animal (hooves, horns, etc.) So beginners, you can give this a go if you’re feeling very patient but you’ll be looking up every other word in some paragraphs even though you will be able to predict generally what the next few sentences are about.

Learn to Read Simplified Chinese Characters: Intermediate Exercises for Chinese LearnersI wanted to post a quick comment about the words 一箭一般, because this looks like a typical four-character idiom, but it’s actually two separate words, 一箭 (an arrow) and 一般 (like, as if). Together this means “like an arrow”, or in context of this sentence “to take off (running) like a shot”.

There’s also the phrase 从草丛中闪出. We’re talking here about a dog that is “[darting] out in a flash” (闪出) “from the middle of a cluster of grasses” (从草丛中). We can imagine a dog charging out of a field of tall grass and into a clearing.

The Chinese title is 沉默的狗

山坡 – shān pō – Hillside, mountain side
窜 – cuàn – To be exiled from, to flee
抵抗 – dǐ kàng – Resist
溜烟 – liū yān – Slip away like smoke, disappear in a puff of smoke
奔 – bēn – To rush, to hurry
换气 – huàn qì – Take a breath (after holding your breath, as with swimming)
怆惶 – chuàng huáng – Sad and scared
剜出 – wān chū – To gouge out
蹄子 – tí zi – Hooves
一拱 – yī gǒng – Nuzzle with snout
唯独 – wéi dú – Only
傍晚，一只羊独自在山坡上玩，突然从树木中窜出一只狼来，要吃羊，羊跳起来，拼命用角抵抗，并大声向朋友们救命。

牛在树丛中向这个地方望了一眼，发现是狼，跑走了。

马低头一看，发现是狼，一溜烟跑了。

驴停下脚步，发现是狼，悄悄溜下山坡。

猪经过这里，发现是狼，冲下山坡。

兔子一听，更是一箭一般离去。

山下的狗听见羊的呼喊，急忙奔上坡来，从草丛中闪出，一下咬住了狼的脖子，狼疼得直叫唤, 趁够换气时，怆惶挑走了。

回到家，朋友都来了，
牛说：你怎么不告诉我？我的角可以剜出狼的肠子。
马说：你怎么不告诉我？我的蹄子能踢碎狼的脑袋。
驴说：你怎么不告诉我？我一声吼叫，吓破狼的胆。
猪说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我用嘴一拱，就让它摔下山去。
兔子说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我跑得快，可以传信呀。

在这闹嚷嚷的一群中，唯独没有狗。
Hide English »
One nightfall, a sheep was playing alone on the mountainside, when suddenly a wolf emerged from among the trees, wanting to eat the sheep, so the sheep jumped up, using his horns to defend himself with all his might, and loudly called out for his friends to save his life.

The bull looked over from among a cluster of trees, saw there was a wolf, and ran away.

The horse lowered its head and looked, discovered there was a wolf, and slipped away in a puff of smoke.

The mule stopped walking for a moment, discovered there was a wolf, and quietly slipped down the mountain.

The pig passed through there, found out there was a wolf, and rushed down the mountainside.

The rabbit listened a moment, then took off like a shot.

From the bottom of the mountain, the dog heard the sheep’s cry, and ran quickly up the mountainside, came out of the grass in a flash, and in a moment had grabbed the wolf’s neck in his teeth, the wolf cried out in pain, and taking advantage of the dog’s intake of breath, ran away full of sorrow and fear.

[When the sheep] returned home, his friends all came over.

The bull said: Why didn’t you tell me? My horns could have gouged out the wolf’s intestines.
The horse said: Why didn’t you tell me? My hooves could have kicked the wolf’s skull apart.
Donkey said: Why didn’t you tell me? I could have brayed and startled the wolf so as to break his courage.
Pig said: Why didn’t you tell me? I could nuzzle him with my snout, and make him fall down the mountain.
Rabbit said: Why didn’t you tell me? I run fast, I could have spread the word.
In this noisy group, the only one who wasn’t present was the dog.