From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 038. The Owl and The Toad (El Pequén Y El Sapo) A little toad was sunbathing in the sun when an Owl, who saw him from high above, swooped…
Month: February 2024
Wàng yáng xīng tàn (望洋興嘆 – 望洋兴叹)
望洋興嘆 (Wàng yáng xīng tàn) (1) lit. to gaze at the ocean and lament one’s inadequacy (idiom)(2) fig. to feel powerless and incompetent (to perform a task) From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=920 “Gazing at the ocean and lamenting one’s inadequacy” originally refers to seeing and marveling at the vastness of the ocean. This idiom came from Zhuangzi –…
037. The Three Lies
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 037. Las Tres Mentiras (The Three Lies) A peasant, on dying, left to his three sons the sum of three hundred pesos as his entire inheritance. The two eldest,…
Wàng méi zhǐ kě (望梅止渴 – 望梅止渴)
望梅止渴 (Wàng méi zhǐ kě) (1) lit. to quench one’s thirst by thinking of plums (idiom)(2) fig. to console oneself with illusions From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=26 This is an old tale about Cao Cao making up a story that a plum forest just ahead is full of ripe fruits, inducing his soldiers to drool to quench their…
036. Why The Turkey Vulture Has A Featherless Head And Neck
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 036. Por Que El Jote Tiene La Cabeza Y El Cogote Sin Plumas (Why The Turkey Vulture Has A Featherless Head And Neck) (This little story and those that…
Wàng zì zūn dà (妄自尊大 – 妄自尊大)
妄自尊大 (Wàng zì zūn dà) Lit. Ridiculous self-importance (idiom); arrogance From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=114 In the last years of Wang Mang‘s reign, many warlords ruled over the lands, which after several rounds of battles left three major forces still standing: Wei Xiao (隗囂), Gongsun Shu (公孫述), and Liu Xiu (劉秀). According to the Book of the Later…
035. The Sacristan Who Speaks To The Faithful
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 035. The Sacristan Who Speaks To the Faithful (El Sacristan Que Habla A Los Fieles.) One Sunday morning the Priest of a country parish woke up in ill health…
Wáng yáng bǔ láo (亡羊補牢 – 亡羊補牢)
亡羊補牢 (Wáng yáng bǔ láo) (1) lit. to mend the pen after sheep are lost (idiom)(2) fig. to act belatedly(3) better late than never(4) to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted From https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/bookView.jsp?ID=484 According to the Annals of the Warring States – The Fourth Book of Chu, in the Warring States Period…
034. The Tale of the Three Dead Men
From Cuentos Populares en Chile (Chilean Folktales) – by Ramón A. LavalPart 1 – Magnificent Stories, Stories of Animals, Anecdotes (Cuentos maravillosos, Cuentos de animales, Anécdotas) 034. The Tale of the Three Dead Men (El Cuento De Los Tres Difuntos) They once found three men [recently] murdered, and they looked to be foreigners. They didn’t…
Wàn sǐ bù cí (萬死不辭 – 万死不辞)
萬死不辭 (Wàn sǐ bù cí) Lit. ten thousand deaths will not prevent me (idiom)Fig. ready to risk life and limb to help out Story taken from this link. From the Ming Dynasty – Luo Guanzhong‘s Romance of the Three Kingdoms – Chapter 8.[Diao] Chan replied: “I owe my life to you for having raised me,…