[su_row]
[su_column size="1/2" center="yes" class=""]
I apologize for not posting a month or so, I've been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life's been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I'll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we've got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->

<img src="http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg" alt="Childrens Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head" title="Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head" width="100" height="100" class="imgborder alignleft" />Not sure what the life lesson is in this story or if it's supposed to have one at all. Maybe "don't gossip"? Or "don't make wild assumptions?" Not sure. I'd say the most interesting word in here is 天哪, which means "My goodness!" This is used with relative frequency in China, and it's a good interjection to use when you're shocked or unpleasantly surprised about something but don't want to swear or be offensive. For example, if you walked into a room that smelled badly, or if you were jostled by a few dozen people coming off the subway, or if you found out that something you want to buy is outrageously expensive. It doesn't always have negative connotations, though - this can be used neutrally as well, but I rarely hear it used in a super positive context. Because the word 天 "Tian" ends with an "n" and the word 哪 "na" starts with one, this usually comes out sounding like "Tian ah!" rather than "Tian na".

[/su_column]
[/su_row]

<div class="readingPassage">
[su_row]
[su_column size="1/2" center="no" class=""]
<div id="chinesetext">
<h4>没有脑袋的鸟</h4>
一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。

一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”

“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”

“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。

“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。

这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好短短的脑袋。

白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”

小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:

“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”
</div>
[/su_column]
[su_column size="1/2" center="no" class=""]
[hide-this-part morelink="Show English translation"]
An egret stood in the middle of a shallow pond. 

A hedgehog walked up and said, "Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!" 

"Really!" a little mole also cried out, "This is the first time I've seen a bird without a head!"　　

"If I didn't have a head, I wouldn't be able to live!" the little hedgehog said.　　

"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!"　　

At this time, from beneath her wing the egret stretched out a long neck, and on top of that long neck grew a very short head.　　

Smiling, the egret said, "I had my head tucked beneath my wing to comb out my feathers, how could I be a bird with no head?"　　

The little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　

"It was us that weren't using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!"　　
[/hide-this-part]
[/su_column]
[/su_row]</div>