Kids’ Chinese Idiom: 亡羊补牢 It’s Never Too Late To Take Action (Beginner)

亡羊补牢(Wángyángbǔláo) It’s Never Too Late to Take Action

狼(láng) n. wolf

接受(jiēshòu)

accept

Cóngqián yǒu gè rén, yǎngle jǐ zhī yáng.  
从前           有  个  人，养了   几只  羊。

Once upon a time, there was a shepherd who kept several sheep.
Yìtiān zǎoshang, tā fāxiàn shǎole yìzhī yáng.
一天   早上，       他 发现   少了    一只  羊。

One morning, the shepherd discovered that one of his sheep was missing.
Yuánlái yángjuàn pòle gè kūlong, yèjiān láng cóng
原来      羊圈         破了个  窟窿，  夜间   狼     从
kūlong lǐ zuān jìnlái bǎ yáng diāo zǒule.
窟窿    里 钻   进来 把 羊      叼    走了。

It turned out that, during the night, a wolf had stolen his sheep through a hole in the sheep pen.
Línju quàngào tā shuō: “gǎnkuài bǎ
邻居   劝告       他   说：“赶快     把
yángjuàn xiūyīxiū, dǔ shàng nàgè kūlong ba.”
羊圈         修一修，堵 上       那个  窟窿   吧。”

His neighbor suggested to him: “You should fix the pen and cover the hole right away.”
Tā shuō: “yáng yǐjīng diūle, hái xiū yángjuàn gàn shénme ne?”
他说：    “羊   已经   丢了，还 修 羊圈        干     什么     呢？”
Tā méi jiēshòu línju de quàngào.
他 没   接受     邻居 的  劝告。

But the shepherd said: “The sheep are already lost, so I don’t need to repair it.” And so he rejected the neighbor’s suggestion.
Dìèrtiān zǎoshang, tā qù fàngyáng, fāxiàn yòu shǎole yìzhī yáng.
第二天     早上，     他 去 放羊，      发现   又    少了   一只   羊。

The next morning, he discovered that another sheep was missing.
Yuánlái láng yòu cóng kūlong lǐ zuān jìnlái bǎ yáng diāo zǒule.
原来       狼    又    从    窟窿   里   钻  进来 把 羊     叼     走了。

Once again, the wolf had stolen the sheep through the hole in the fence.
Tā hěn hòuhuǐ, bùgāi bù jiēshòu línju de quàngào.
他 很    后悔，   不该  不 接受    邻居 的  劝告。

The shepherd regretted not taking the neighbor’s advice.
Tā gǎnkuài dǔshàng nàgè kūlong,
他 赶快       堵上         那个    窟窿，
bǎ yángjuàn xiūde jiējieshíshi de.
把 羊圈         修得    结结实实  的。

So he plugged the hole to secure the sheep pen.
Cóngcǐ, tā de yáng zài méiyǒu bèi láng diāo zǒule.
从此，   他的 羊     再  没有     被   狼      叼    走了。

From then on, the wolf stole no more sheep.

狼(láng) n. wolf

Example:
Nǐ tīngguò “láng hé xiǎoyáng” de gùshi ma?
你 听过   “狼    和   小羊”     的 故事 吗？

Have you ever heard the story of The Wolf and the Little Lamb?
接受(jiēshòu) v. to take/ to accept

Wǒ jiēshòu nǐ de dàoqiàn le, wǒmen háishì hǎopéngyou.
我  接受     你 的 道歉     了，我们      还是    好朋友。

I accept your apology, and we are still close friends.
Chinese for Kids 
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)