The Tall Crane
One tall white bird stands out among a farmer's many chickens.

从前,有一个人,他家有很多鸡。Long ago, there was a man who had many chickens at home.鸡每天一起走,一起吃东西。Every day the chickens walked together and ate together.
一天,有人送给他一只鹤。One day, someone gave him a crane.鹤是一种大鸟,腿很长。A crane is a big bird with very long legs.它全身白白的,很好看。It was white all over and very pretty.
鹤站在鸡的中间。The crane stood among the chickens.它比每一只鸡都高很多。It was much taller than every chicken.人们一来,就先看见它。As soon as people came, they saw it first.因为它和鸡太不一样了。Because it was just too different from the chickens.
这个成语是“鹤立鸡群”。This idiom is "a crane standing among chickens."意思是:一个人比别人好很多,很特别。It means: someone is much better than others and really stands out.小美唱歌唱得最好,她在班里鹤立鸡群。Xiao Mei sings the best; in her class she is a crane among chickens.
Want to read along with audio? Every story in the Literate Chinese app is narrated by a native speaker — in Mainland or Taiwan Mandarin — so you can listen while you read, and tap any word to save it as a flashcard. See what's in the app.
