Yǒuyìtiān, dàxiàng hé mǎyǐ fāshēng le yìchǎng zhēnglùn, tā liǎ dōu rènwéi zìjǐ de lìqi bǐ duìfāng dà.
有一天， 大象 和 蚂蚁 发生 了 一场 争论， 他 俩 都 认为 自己 的力气比 对方 大。
One day, there arose an argument between an elephant and an ant, they both thought their strength was greater than the other.
Dàxiàng zhǐzhe yìkē dàshù duì mǎyǐ shuō: “nǐ néng báqǐ zhè kē shù ma?”
大象 指着 一棵 大树 对 蚂蚁 说： “你 能 拔起 这 棵 树 吗？”
The elephant pointed to a tree and said to the ant: “can you pull up this tree?”
Mǎyǐ wúnéngwéilì, dàxiàng jiù yòng bízi bǎ shù liángēnbáqǐ.
蚂蚁 无能为力， 大象 就 用 鼻子把 树 连根拔起。
The ant couldn’t do anything to it, and then the elephant uprooted the tree with its nose.
Mǎyǐ zǒudào yípiàn cǎoyè qián, duì dàxiàng shuō: “nǐ néng bāndòng zhè piàn cǎoyè ma?”
蚂蚁 走到 一片 草叶 前， 对 大象 说： “你 能 搬动 这 片 草叶 吗？”
The ant walked to a grass-blade, and said to the elephant: “can you move this grass-blade?”
Dàxiàng wúlùnrúhé yě búnéng yòng bízi juǎnqǐ dìshàng de cǎoyè, ér mǎyǐ què néng bēiqǐ cǎoyè
大象 无论如何 也 不能 用 鼻子卷起 地上 的 草叶，而 蚂蚁 却 能 背起 草叶
qīngsōngzìrú de zǒudòng.
轻松自如 地 走动。
The elephant couldn’t move the grass-blade with his nose no matter what, but the ant was able to carry the grass-blade to walk with ease.
Zuìhòu, tāmen qǐng tiānshén lái píngpàn.
最后， 他们 请 天神 来 评判。
Finally, they asked the god to judge.
Tiānshén tīngle tāmen gèzì sùshuō de lǐyóu, yě wúfǎ pànduàn shuí de lìqi dà.
天神 听了 他们 各自 诉说 的 理由，也 无法 判断 谁 的力气大。
Even after listening to the reasons that the elephant and the ant provided, neither could the god determine whose strength was greater.
Zhège gùshi gàosu wǒmen: Gèyǒusuǒcháng, duìdài biérén de yōuquēdiǎn yào qǔchángbǔduǎn.
这个 故事 告诉 我们： 各有所长， 对待 别人 的 优缺点 要 取长补短。
This story tells us: Every man has his merits, and we should draw upon one another’s strong point when facing other people’s advantages and disadvantages.
生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary
大象 (dàxiàng): n. elephant
蚂蚁 (mǎyǐ): n. ant
拔起 (báqǐ): v. to pull up
争论 (zhēnglùn): n. argument
“争 (zhēng)” refers to dispute and “论 (lùn)” refers to discuss.
Example:
Tā liǎ zhījiān de zhēnglùn chíxù le hěncháng shíjiān.
他 俩 之间 的 争论 持续 了 很长 时间。
The argument between them has continued for a very long time.
判断 (pànduàn) v. to judge
The character “判 (pàn)” and “断 (duàn)” both means to judge.
Example:
Nǐ lái pànduàn yíxià, dàodǐ shuí gāi chéngdān zérèn ne?
你 来 判断 一下，到底 谁 该 承担 责任 呢？
Please judge, who should bear the responsibility eventually?