4、Kua Fu Chases the Sun 夸父追日
从前，有个巨人叫夸父，他高大到能触到天空，既勇敢，又善良。有一年，天气极其炎热，草木枯死，人们十分口渴。夸父看着天空，决定抓住太阳。夜里，夸父找到一株很高的桃树，高到能触到天空，他将树连根拔起，并将桃子吃尽。之后的每一天，夸父都拿着树，拼命奔跑，他能追到太阳吗？
Welcome to ALO7’s Power to Learn! Today’s story is Kua Fu Chases the Sun, retold by Jenny Lam and Sheila Higginson and narrated by Aaron Smith.
Long ago, there was a giant named Kua Fu. He was giant enough to touch the sky. He could cross Mount Erlang with one giant step.
Kua Fu was brave. He was also kind.
One year, the weather was very hot. Rivers dried up. Plants died. The people were very thirsty.
Kua Fu wanted to help. He looked up at the Sun. It moved across the sky. It baked the ground below.
Kua Fu wanted to catch the Sun. Then he could stop it from baking the ground. That night, Kua Fu found a tall peach tree. It was so tall it reached heaven. It looked like a good tree to catch the Sun. He pulled up the tree. Then he ate the peaches.
When the Sun rose, Kua Fu picked up the tree. He ran fast. He ran hard.
Mountains shook. Wind storms blew. The Gods watched.
“Kua Fu is very fast!” they said. “Can he catch the Sun?”
The Sun wasn’t worried. Every morning, it came up. Every day it crossed the sky. Every evening it set.
Every day, Kua Fu ran. He ran, and his shoes filled with dirt. He stopped to empty his shoes. The dirt that fell out of his shoes turned into a hill.
Then Kua Fu ran up Dirty Shoes Hill.
Kua Fu ran each day. He stretched up his arms to reach the sky. But he still didn’t catch the Sun.
After many days, Kua Fu got thirsty. He went to the nearest stream. He drank the stream dry! But it was not enough. He was still thirsty!
He ran to the Yellow River. He drank it dry, too. But he was still thirsty!
He drank every stream and lake he passed. He drank them all dry.
Kua Fu pushed on. He jumped as high as he could. He jumped at the Sun. He was good at playing ball with giants and shorter people. But he couldn’t catch the biggest ball of all. He couldn’t catch the Sun. He felt very mad. He roared! He shook his fist at the Sun! He threw the peach tree at the Sun! Then he fell to the ground, tired to death.
The Sun set that night, just like it always did. When it rose, the Gods saw that Kua Fu had turned into a mountain. The peach tree he had carried had become a grove of peach trees. The Sun no longer baked the ground.
Today that land is called Denglin Forest. It is lush. It is beautiful. Its peaches are sweet and juicy. They can quench the thirst of anyone who tries to chase the Sun!
以下翻译来自百度翻译：
欢迎来到ALO7的学习力量！今天的故事是《夸父追太阳》，由林珍妮和希拉·希金森复述，艾伦·史密斯讲述。
很久以前，有一个巨人叫夸父。他足够大，可以触摸到天空。他可以用一大步跨过厄尔朗山。
夸父很勇敢。他也很善良。
有一年，天气很热。河流干涸了。植物死亡。人们非常口渴。
夸父想帮忙。他抬头看着太阳。它在天空中移动。它把下面的地面烤焦了。
夸父想抓住太阳。然后他就可以阻止它烘烤地面。那天晚上，夸父发现了一棵高大的桃树。它是如此之高，以至于到达了天堂。它看起来像一棵晒太阳的好树。他把树拔了起来。然后他吃了桃子。
太阳升起时，夸父捡起了那棵树。他跑得很快。他拼命地跑。
群山摇晃。刮起了暴风雨。众神注视着。
“夸父跑得很快！”他们说。“他能赶上太阳吗？”
太阳并不担心。每天早上，它都会出现。每天它都会划过天空。每天晚上都有。
每天，夸父都跑。他跑了，鞋子里满是灰尘。他停下来把鞋子倒空。从他鞋子上掉下来的泥土变成了一座小山。
然后夸父跑上山去。
夸父每天都跑步。他伸出双臂向天空伸展。但是他还是没有赶上太阳。
几天后，夸父渴了。他去了最近的小溪。他把小溪喝干了！但这还不够。他还口渴！
他跑向黄河。他也喝干了。但他还是口渴！
他喝下他经过的每一条小溪和每一个湖泊。他把它们全喝干了。
夸父继续往前走。他跳得尽可能高。他扑向太阳。他擅长与巨人和矮个子打球。但他没能接住最大的球。他抓不到太阳。他感到非常生气。他吼道！他对着太阳挥舞着拳头！他把桃树扔向太阳！然后他倒在地上，累得要死。
那天晚上太阳落山了，就像往常一样。当它升起时，众神看到夸父已经变成了一座山。他抱着的那棵桃树变成了一片桃树林。太阳不再炙烤大地。
今天，这片土地被称为邓林森林。它郁郁葱葱。它很漂亮。它的桃子又甜又多汁。他们可以解渴的任何人谁试图追逐太阳！
5、The Jade Emperor's Zodiac Calender
生肖来源
很久很久以前，玉帝想制定一个计算时间的方式。他将十二年算作一个周期，却不知如何命名。正一筹莫展之时，他看到动物们，于是决定开展一场赛跑，用最先冲过终点线的十二种动物来命名十二年。动物们都迫不及待了，采用各种小诡计，各显神通。最后，玉帝以“鼠牛虎兔龙蛇马羊猴鸡狗猪”的顺序命名了一个周期中的十二年。
Welcome to ALO7's Power to Learn! Today's story is The Jade Emperor’s Zodiac Calendar, retold by Jenny Lam and Sheila Higginson and narrated by Megann Wither.
Let’s take a trip. We will go to a place before time. The Jade Emperor rules over the Heavens. He is kind. He is wise.
The Jade Emperor wants a way to tell time. He makes hours and days.
He makes months and years. Each year has twelve months. Twelve years make one cycle.
He wants to name the years in each cycle. He is not sure what to name them. Then he sees the animals.
“I will have a race!” he says. “The first twelve animals to finish the race will have a year named for them!”
The animals hear about the race. They can’t wait!
Cat lives next door to Rat.
“We could win!” Cat tells Rat.
“I will wake up extra early,” says Rat. “I will be a winner.”
“Wake me up early, too,” Cat says to Rat. “We can go together.”
The next day, Rat wakes up extra early. He is very excited. He runs straight to the race. He forgets all about Cat!
Rat gets to the start of the race. He sees a lot of animals there. Ox is there. Horse and Pig are there. Even Dragon is there, along with others!
“Oh no!” thinks Rat. “Those animals are much bigger. They are much stronger. I am tiny. I am a bad swimmer. I can’t run fast.”
Rat is smart, though. He has an idea.
Rat runs up to Ox.
“Can you help me?” he asks. “I can ride on your head. I will sing songs in your ear.”
(Rats are smart and charming, too.)
“Okay. I like songs. That sounds good.”
Rat climbs on Ox’s head. He sings and sings. Ox swims and swims.
Ox is first to climb out of the river. He runs toward the finish line.
“We are going to win!” shouts Ox.
Rat jumps off Ox’s head. He runs ahead!
“Yes!” cheers the clever Rat. “I will be FIRST!”
And he is! Jade Emperor names the first year after Rat. Ox is second.
Tiger is third. Then comes Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Rat walks home with the First Prize.
Cat wakes up late. He runs outside. He sees Rat with the prize. Cat gets very angry. Rat did not wake him! That is why cats have been chasing after rats ever since.
以下翻译来自百度翻译：
欢迎来到ALO7的学习力量！今天的故事是玉皇大帝的黄道年历，由林珍妮和希拉·希金森复述，梅根·威瑟尔讲述。
我们去旅行吧。我们会提前去一个地方。玉皇大帝统治着天空。他很善良。他很聪明。
玉皇大帝想要一种报时的方法。他日复一日地工作。
他赚了好几个月又好几年。每年有十二个月。十二年为一个周期。
他想说出每个周期的年份。他不知道该给他们取什么名字。然后他看到了动物。
“我要参加一场比赛！”他说。“第一批完成比赛的十二只动物将有一个以它们命名的年份！”
动物们听说了这场比赛。他们等不及了！
猫住在老鼠的隔壁。
“我们可以赢！”猫对老鼠说。
“我会起得特别早，”老鼠说。“我会成为赢家。”
“也早点叫醒我，”猫对老鼠说。“我们可以一起去。”
第二天，老鼠醒得特别早。他非常激动。他直奔终点。他把猫忘得一干二净！
老鼠到达了赛跑的起点。他在那里看到很多动物。牛在那里。马和猪在那里。甚至龙也在那里，和其他人一起！
“哦，不！”老鼠想。“那些动物更大。它们更强壮。我很小。我游泳游得不好。我跑不快。”
不过，老鼠很聪明。他有个主意。
老鼠跑到牛跟前。
“你能帮我吗？”他问道。“我可以骑在你头上。我会在你耳边唱歌。”
（老鼠也聪明迷人。）
“好的。我喜欢歌曲。听起来不错。”
老鼠爬到牛头上。他唱啊唱啊。牛游啊游啊。
牛是第一个从河里爬出来的。他朝终点线跑去。
“我们要赢了！”公牛喊道。
老鼠从牛头上跳下来。他跑在前面！
“是的！”聪明的老鼠欢呼着。“我会第一个！”
他是！玉皇大帝以老鼠的名字命名第一年。牛是第二。
老虎排第三。然后是兔子、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗和猪。
老鼠带着一等奖走回家。
猫醒得晚。他跑到外面。他看见老鼠拿着奖品。猫非常生气。老鼠没有吵醒他！这就是为什么从那以后猫一直在追逐老鼠。
6 Jing wei Fills the Sea
精卫填海
女娃到东海游玩，溺于水中，因心中不平化为神鸟，名曰精卫。她每天衔石子企图填满大海，大海嘲笑精卫，以她微薄之力几万年也填不满大海。精卫仍然坚持不懈，相信再困难的事只要有毅力终能完成。
Welcome to ALO7’s Power to Learn! Today’s story is Jingwei Fills the Sea, retold by Jenny Lam and Sheila Higginson and narrated by Edward Scott.
The sun shone on the calm sea. Princess Nuwa smiled at its reflection.
It looked like a gold pebble in the water.
Nuwa walked down to the beach. She slid her small boat into the water.
She rowed out to sea.
Suddenly, clouds hid the sun. Birds returned to the beach.
Rain poured down. A strong wind blew across the sea. The wind made the waves rise. Higher! Higher! Waves pounded her boat.
The strong waves tipped over Nuwa’s boat. The boat sank into the sea.
Princess Nuwa sank too. She fought against the waves. They seemed higher than the sun. She reached upward. Was she swimming? Was she flying?
Nuwa turned into a beautiful bird! She spread her wings. She flew high above the water.
“Jingwei! Jingwei!” the princess bird cried. That’s how Princess Nuwa got her new name.
Jingwei was mad at the sea. It had sunk her boat!
She cried her name as she flew. “Jingwei! Jingwei!”
She picked up a stick in her beak. She dropped the stick into the sea.
On the second day, Jingwei dropped a rock into the sea.
On the third day, Jingwei found a gold pebble. It looked like the sun. She dropped it into the sea.
Day after day, Jingwei dropped a pebble, rock, or stick into the sea.
The sea laughed at Jingwei. “Your pebbles can never fill me up! Not in a million years!” Its waves grew higher. They almost reached Jingwei.
She flew higher. “I will still try!” Jingwei cried. “I will never give up!”
She flew in the sunshine. “I will fill you up, Sea! I will stop you from sinking any more boats!
Jingwei never gives up. She is small. The sea is big and strong. Still, Jing Wei does not stop. Every day, she makes the long, tiring trip. Every day, she drops a pebble, rock, or stick into the sea.
On calm days, she smiles at the sun's reflection in the sea.
Jingwei teaches a lesson. She shows us to never give up even when it is hard.
以下翻译来自百度翻译：
欢迎来到ALO7的学习力量！今天的故事是《精卫填海》，由林珍妮和希拉·希金森复述，爱德华·斯科特讲述。
阳光照在平静的海面上。女娲公主对它的倒影微笑。
它看起来像水中的一颗金卵石。
女娲走向海滩。她把小船滑入水中。
她划船出海。
突然，云层遮住了太阳。鸟儿回到了海滩。
倾盆大雨。一阵强风吹过海面。风使波浪上升。较高的！较高的！海浪冲击着她的船。
巨浪掀翻了女娲的船。船沉入海中。
女娲公主也沉没了。她与海浪搏斗。它们似乎比太阳还高。她向上伸手。她在游泳吗？她在飞吗？
女娲变成了一只美丽的鸟！她展开翅膀。她在水面上飞得很高。
“精卫！精卫！”小鸟公主叫道。这就是女娲公主的新名字。
精卫对大海很生气。它把她的船弄沉了！
她边飞边喊自己的名字。“精卫！精卫！”
她用嘴叼起一根棍子。她把棍子掉进海里。
第二天，精卫把一块石头扔到海里。
第三天，精卫发现了一块金卵石。它看起来像太阳。她把它扔到海里。
日复一日，精卫将一块卵石、岩石或棍子扔进海里。
大海嘲笑精卫。“你的鹅卵石永远也填不饱我！一百万年也填不饱我！”它的波浪越来越高。他们几乎到达了精卫。
她飞得更高。“我还是要试试！”精卫喊道。“我永远不会放弃！”
她在阳光下飞翔。“我会把你填满，大海！我会阻止你再沉下去！
精卫从不放弃。她很小。大海又大又壮。但是，精卫并没有停下来。每天，她都会进行漫长而疲惫的旅行。每天，她都会往海里扔一块卵石、石头或棍子。
在风平浪静的日子里，她对着阳光在海里的倒影微笑。
精卫给了我们一个教训。她告诉我们即使在困难的时候也不要放弃。
7、Ox's Big Mix-Up
神牛下凡
很久以前，日子过得很艰难，天帝听到了人们的哭喊，决定帮助人类。牛也住在天宫中，它勤劳又诚实，天帝十分信任它。天帝让牛告诉人们，要勤劳工作，三天就能有一顿饭了。牛飞速跑到人间，却忘了自己要说什么，错说成了一天三顿饭。天帝十分生气，将牛留在了人间。人们最终将如何呢？
Welcome to ALO7’s Power to Learn. Today’s story is Ox’s Big Mix-Up, written by Jenny Lam and Sheila Higginson, and narrated by Aaron Smith.
A long, long time ago, times were tough.
“My rice is not growing,” cried the farmer.
“My cabbage is not growing,” cried another farmer.
“My beans are not growing,” cried another farmer.
“We have no food for dinner,” cried his wife.
“I’m hungry!” cried their son.
The Emperor of Heaven heard the people’s cries. He felt bad for them.
He wanted to help.
Ox lived in heaven, too. Ox was a hard worker. Ox was honest. The Emperor trustedOx to help him.
“Ox!” called the Emperor. “Go down to the people. Tell them that they must work hard. Then they can have one meal every three days.”
“Yes, I’ll do it right away!” said Ox.
Ox started to run. He ran and ran and ran. He ran so far that he forgot what he had to say. Was it something about three meals and one day?
He could not remember.
Finally, Ox got to the people.
He told them, “You must work hard. Then you can have three meals each day.”
The people cheered. They began to work. They worked and worked and worked. Even when they were tired, they worked.
The Emperor asked Ox, “What did you tell them?”
“I told them to work hard. Then they would get three meals a day,” answered Ox.
“No!” said the Emperor. “It was one meal every three days!”
The Emperor remembered something.
Ox was a hard worker. Ox was honest. But Ox was not good at talking to others.
“What can I do?” the Emperor worried. “The people can’t work hard enough. They won’t make enough food. Not by themselves. They will think that I lied.”
The Emperor got angry. He wanted Ox to pay for his mistake.He kept Ox in the human world.
Ox had to help the people. He helped with farm work. He helped grow food. The people were able to eat three meals a day!
The Emperor never let Ox back into heaven. That is why oxen still work hard in the fields today.
以下翻译来自百度翻译：
欢迎使用ALO7的学习能力。今天的故事是《牛的大混乱》，由林珍妮和希拉·希金森撰写，艾伦·史密斯讲述。
很久很久以前，日子很艰难。
“我的稻子不长了，”农夫喊道。
“我的卷心菜不长了，”另一个农民喊道。
“我的豆子不长了，”另一个农民喊道。
“我们晚餐没有吃的，”他的妻子喊道。
“我饿了！”他们的儿子喊道。
天皇听到了人民的呼声。他为他们感到难过。
他想帮忙。
牛也住在天堂里。牛是个勤劳的工人。牛是诚实的。皇帝相信多克斯会帮助他。
“牛！”皇帝喊道。“到人民那里去。告诉他们必须努力工作。这样他们就可以每三天吃一顿饭。”
“是的，我马上就做！”牛说。
牛开始跑了。他跑啊跑啊跑。他跑得太远，忘了该说什么。是关于三餐一天的事吗？
他记不得了。
最后，牛来到了人民面前。
他告诉他们：“你必须努力工作，然后你可以每天吃三顿饭。”
人们欢呼起来。他们开始工作。他们工作，工作，工作。即使累了，他们也在工作。
皇帝问牛：“你对他们说了什么？”
“我告诉他们要努力工作。然后他们一天可以吃三顿饭，”牛回答。
“不！”皇帝说。“那是每三天吃一顿饭！”
皇帝想起了一件事。
牛是个勤劳的工人。牛是诚实的。但牛不善于与人交谈。
“我能做什么？”皇帝担心。“人们工作不够努力。他们不会制造足够的食物。不是靠他们自己。他们会认为我撒谎。”
皇帝生气了。他想让牛为他的错误付出代价。他把牛养在人间。
牛不得不帮助人们。他帮助做农活。他帮助种植粮食。人们一天能吃三顿饭！
皇帝从不让牛回天堂。这就是为什么牛今天还在地里辛勤劳作的原因。
