S1E1 - 12 生肖为什么没有猫呢?
hint: it’s because of a sly rat!
Bilingual Audio:
*note, videos for these episodes are linked at the very end of this blog post! :)
Bilingual Transcript:
Once upon a time, as the story goes, Cat and Rat were the very best of friends!
从前，猫和老鼠是最好的朋友！
Rat was very, very small. But, he was very, very clever - and very curious! For, whenever something fun or interesting happened, he would run home to tell his friend, Cat, the fun and interesting news!
老鼠非常非常的小，不过他非常聪明和好奇！ 他一听到好听的东西，他就会飞快地跑回家 (干什么呢？)…给他的好朋友猫说！
As for Cat - Cat loved to sleep, and take cat naps! Often, you would find Cat lying down in the shade of a nearby tree, sleeping the day away. But, that was okay! Because Cat knew that if anything fun, interesting, or important happened, her friend Rat would always be there to let her know!
猫呢，她喜欢干嘛？ 猫，她非常非常喜欢呼呼的睡大觉！ 她经常，太阳晒下来的时候，躺在大树下呼呼的睡一下午！ 不过，猫知道：不用担心！如果有事情发生了，她的朋友老鼠肯定会给她讲！
One day, something major happened!
有一天，一件天大的事发生了！
The Jade Emperor, who lived high in the sky proclaimed: “I proclaim”, he said, “tomorrow, we will have a VERY important race! This race will determine who will become one of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs! All the animals of the animal kingdom are invited to participate! The first 12 to cross the finish line - why, they’ll become one of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs! This is a heavenly honor…so don’t be late!”
住在天上的玉皇大帝宣布：“我宣布, 明天会有一场非常重要的比赛！什么比赛呢？明天，我们会邀请动物王国所有的动物来参加一个12生肖的比赛！赢了这个比赛的前12名动物呢，它们就会成为我们中国12生肖其中的一位！这可是一件天大的好事哦，你们要准备好。明天的比赛可不要迟到哦！”
Hearing this, Rat rushed home, ready to tell his friend Cat all about the good news! But, as he was nearing Cat’s door… he slowed his footsteps. Why was this? Rat thought to himself: “I’m… this small. Cat, is THIS BIG! If I lose tomorrow’s race… I will not be able to become one of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs. What then?“
听到这里，老鼠跑回家，准备给他的好朋友猫讲这天大的好事。不过， 他来到猫的门口，他却停了下来。为什么呢？老鼠心想：“我…这么小。 猫…这么大！我肯定跑不赢她！如果明天我输了比赛，我就不是失去当12生肖的机会了吗？”
So, Rat made a very selfish decision. He tiptoed away from Cat’s door, and told his friend Cat nothing at all!
所以，在这时，老鼠做了一个非常自私的决定。他蹑手蹑脚地离开了…什么都没有说。
The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Rat awoke. He brushed his teeth, and he shone his whiskers until they shined. Then, he headed off towards the race! Now, as for Cat, he was still sleeping and snoring the day away. He didn’t know a thring!
第二天早上，老鼠起床了。他刷了牙，擦亮了胡子，就准备去参加比赛了！那猫呢？猫还在家，呼呼地睡大觉呢 - 她什么都不知道！
The race was about to begin!
比赛快要开始了！
All of the animals, except for Cat, had arrived. The Horse, she could gallop. And the Rabbit, well he could hop! The Snake, she could slither - and the Rooster could fly! The clever Rat knew that he could never outrun the other animals. So, he thought, he thought… and he came up with an idea.
所有的动物也到期了（除了猫）。马呢，她会奔跑！兔子，他会跳！蛇，她会爬 - 而鸡会飞！聪明的小老鼠知道他可跑不赢这些动物。不过老鼠非常机灵。所以，他纵身一跳，跳到了牛的背上 (note, I said “犀牛” in the audio, this was a mistake! 犀牛 is actually Rhinoceros)!
With a 1, 2, 3! The race began! And Rat leapt onto the back of the ox! The animals ran and ran, and ran and ran! And just as the Ox was about to cross the finish line, the Rat jumped from his back and across the finish line - and became the FIRST to cross!
1,2,3 - 比赛开始了！动物们像风一般地开始跑！跑啊跑啊，跑啊跑啊！ 牛背着老鼠跑得真快！眼看就要跑到终点线了 - 老鼠就纵身一跳，跳过了终点线，成为了第一名！
The race was over, and the 12 Zodiacs where chosen! There was:
比赛结束了，12生肖也许安定了！有：
鼠 | Rat
牛 | Ox (Cow)
虎 | Tiger
兔 | Rabbit
龙 | Dragon
蛇 | Snake
马 | Horse
羊 | Ram (Sheep)
猴 | Monkey
鸡 | Rooster
狗 | Dog
猪 | Pig
… but unfortunately, there was no Cat!
只可惜啊，没有猫！
By this time, Cat had woken up. She realized what Rat had done, and she was FURIOUS. With a MEOW, Cat leapt towards Rat! And Rat, he began to run! So the Rat ran, and the Cat chased, and the Rat RAN, and the Cat CHASED… and she has been chasing Rat ever since!
这时，猫可睡醒了。她明白了老鼠干的好事，她气坏了！她喵的一声，扑向了老鼠！老鼠开始跑！猫开始追！老鼠跑啊跑啊，猫追啊追啊… 一直追到了今天！