Kids’ Chinese Story: Three Monks Had no Water to Drink

和尚 (héshang): n. monk

挑水 (tiāoshuǐ): v.to draw water

Shānshàng yǒu zuò xiǎomiào, miàolǐ yǒu gè xiǎo héshang.
山上            有   座   小庙，     庙里  有    个 小     和尚。
There once was a teenage monk who lived in a temple on a mountain.

Xiǎo héshang měitiān yòng biǎndàn tiāo liǎngtǒngshuǐ.
小     和尚       每 天     用     扁担      挑      两桶 水。
Every day he drew two buckets of water for drinking with a shoulder pole.

Shuǐ duōde hēbùwán.
水     多得    喝不完。
There was more than enough water for one person to drink.

Bùjiǔ,  láile gè shòu héshang.
不久，来了个  瘦      和尚。
Later, a thin monk came along.

Shòu héshang bú yuànyì yígèrén tiāoshuǐ, yúshì tāmen yìqǐ qù táishuǐ,
瘦        和尚    不   愿意    一个人  挑水，  于是   他们  一起 去 抬水，
zhèyàng zhǐnéng tái yìtǒngshuǐ.
这样         只能    抬  一 桶水。
The thin monk was not willing to draw water alone, so the two carried one bucket of water with the shoulder pole.

Tāmen háishì yǒu shuǐ hē de.
他们     还是   有    水  喝  的。
Two monks still had enough water for both of them to drink.

Hòulái, lái le gè pàng héshang.
后来， 来 了个   胖     和尚。
After that, a fat monk came.

Zhècì, méi rén yuànyì qù tiāoshuǐ le. Yīnwèi biǎndàn zhǐyào liǎng gè rén tái. 
这次，没    人  愿意   去   挑水    了。因为   扁担      只要    两   个  人  抬。
This time, none of them were willing to draw water because the shoulder pole could only be used by two people at most.

Zhèyàng jiùhuì yǒu yígèrén xiánzhe le, dànshì tāmen shuí yě bú yuànyì.
这样        就会   有  一个人    闲着   了，但是  他们    谁  也 不  愿意。
Yúshì tāmen méishuǐ hē le.
于是    他们    没 水   喝 了。
One monk would have to rest, but they could not agree who would be allowed to do so. On that day they began to suffer from thirst.

Nàwǎn, miàoli zháohuǒ le.
那晚，   庙里    着火     了。
That night the temple caught fire.

Sāngè héshang yìqǐ fènlì de pūmiè le dàhuǒ.
三 个     和尚   一起 奋力地  扑灭  了  大火。
Cóngcǐ tāmen hùxiāng bāngzhù, zìrán jiù yǒu shuǐ hē le.
从此      他们     互相     帮助，   自然  就  有  水   喝 了。
The three monks finally forgot their selfishness and fought the fire together. From then onwards, they helped each other and did not suffer from thirst any more.

The story of the three monks teaches us that everyone is capable of being selfish, but doing so diminishes our ability to cooperate with one another.

和尚 (héshang):

monk

Xuánzàng shì TángCháo zhùmíng de héshang.
玄奘          是    唐朝          著名    的    和尚。
Xuanzang was an eminent monk during the Tang Dynasty.

挑水 (tiāoshuǐ): v. to draw water

Māma měi tiān zǎoshang dōu qù hébiān tiāoshuǐ.
妈妈     每   天      早上      都  去   河边     挑水。
My mother draws water from the river every morning.

Read more interesting kids’ Chinese stories:
Chinese Story for Kids-“What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf?”
Kids’ Chinese Story: 小猫钓鱼 Little Cat Goes Fishing (Beginner)
Kids’ Chinese Story: How did a Thirsty Crow Drink Water? (Beginner)
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)