儿童英文睡前成语故事：Adding Feet to a Snake 画蛇添足

One day, Mr. Lion holds a party. Many animals come and drink a lot of wine. At last there is a pot of wine. Who can drink it? They think out an idea and decide to have a match-Draw a snake. If you finish first, you can get it.

一天，狮子先生举行一场聚会，许多动物都来了，他们喝很多酒。最后只剩一壶酒了。让谁喝呢？它们想了想，有个主意。它们比赛画蛇，谁最快画好，谁就喝这壶酒。

Soon Mr. Wolf finishes drawing. “Yeah, I’ve finished. I’m No.1,” he says. But he draws again and says, “Oh, let me add feet and my snake.” At the time, Mr. Gorilla also finishes. He takes away the pot of wine and drinks；then he says, “That isn’t a snake. Snakes have no feet. I get the wine.”

不一会，狼先生画好了。“哈，我画好了，我是第一个。”它说。可是它又画了起来，它还说：“再给它加几只脚吧。”这是猩猩先生也画好了。它拿起那酒壶喝起来。一边喝一边说：“那不是蛇，蛇是没有脚的，我赢了这壶酒。”

儿童英文睡前成语故事：A Badly Frightened Person 惊弓之鸟

In the Warring States Period, there was a man in the State of Wei called Geng Lei.

战国时期（公元前403―221年中国中原地区各诸侯国连年争战的时代）魏国有个名叫更羸的人。

One day he said to the king: ‘I can shoot down birds by simply plucking my bowstring.’

一天，他对国王说：“我只要拉开弓，空射一下，就能把天上的鸟射下来。”

When the king expressed doubt, Geng Lei pointed his bow at a wild goose flying in the sky, twanged the bowstring, and the goose fell to the ground.

国王不相信。更羸便对准天上飞来的一只雁射去，果真那只雁听到拉弦的声音就掉了下来。

The king thought it was strange, Geng Lei said, ‘This goose has been hurt in the past. Hearing the twang of the bowstring, it assumed that it was doomed. So it simply gave up trying to live.’

国王感到很奇怪。更羸说，“那是一只受过伤的雁。它一听到我拉开弓弦的声响，就惊慌得支持不住，自然要掉下来了。”

This idiom means that if one has been frightened in the past one's will may become paralysed in a similar situation.

“惊弓之鸟”这个成语比喻受过惊恐之后，有一点动静就特别害怕。

儿童英文睡前成语故事：Sleep On Brushwood and Taste Gall 卧薪尝胆

During the Spring and Autumn period （770－476BC）, the State of Wu launched an attack against the State of Yue. The King of Wu was seriously wounded and soon died. His son Fu Chai became the new King. Fu was determined to get revenge. He drilled his army rigidly until it was a perfect fighting force. Three years later, he led his army against the State of Yue and caught its king Gou Jian. Fu took him to the State of Wu.

春秋时期，吴国和越国之间进行了一场战争，吴王不幸受了重伤，不久就死了。他的儿子夫差作了吴国的新国王，他发誓要替父亲报仇。于是，他严格的操练他的士兵，把他们训练成了一支非常厉害的军队。三年以后，他对越国发动了战争，抓住了越王勾践，把他带回了吴国。

In order to avenge his father's death, Fu let him live in a shabby stone house by his father's tomb and ordered him to raise horses for him. Gou pretended to be loyal to Fu but he never forgot his humiliation. Many years later, he was set free. Gou secretly accumulated a military force after he went back to his own state. In order to make himself tougher he slept on firewood and ate a gall-bladder before having dinner and going to bed every night. At the same time he administered his state carefully, developing agriculture and educating the people. After a few years, his country became strong. Then Gou seized a favorable opportunity to wipe out the State of Wu.

为了复仇，夫差让勾践住在他父亲墓旁的破石屋里天天看墓、喂马。勾践表面上服从，心里面却想着复仇。几年以后，勾践被放回越国。他立刻开始秘密聚集一支军队。为了提醒自己不要忘了报仇，他睡在柴上，还每天在吃饭睡觉前尝一尝苦胆。同时，他专心治理国家，大力发展农业，加强民众教育。几年后，越国又变得强大起来，然后，勾践抓住一个适当的机会消灭了吴国。

Later, people use it to describe one who endures self-imposed hardships to strengthen one's resolve to realize one's ambition.

后来，人们用它来形容人刻苦自励以达到自己定下的目标。

儿童英文睡前成语故事：The Fox and the Tiger 狐假虎威

A tiger caughta fox in a forest, and was just about to eat it, when the fox said, "You mustn't eat me. I was sent by Heaven to rule the animals. By eating me, You will violate the command of Heaven. If you dont believe me, just follow me to see whether the animals are afraid of me."

老虎在山林里捉到了一只狐狸，要吃掉它。狐狸连忙说：“你不能吃我，我是天帝派来统治百兽的。你要吃了我，就违抗了天帝的命令。你不信，就跟我倒山林里走一趟，看百兽见了我是不是都很害怕。”

The tiger agreed, and followed the fox as it walked around the forest. The animals all ran away on seeing them.

老虎相信了狐狸的话，就跟在狐狸的后面走进山林。百兽见了果然都纷纷逃命。

The tiger thought they were afraid of the fox, so he let it go. He didn't realise that it was him that hte beasts were really afraid of.

老虎以为百兽真的害怕狐狸而不知道是害怕自己，于是就把狐狸给放了。

This idiom means relying on another 's power to bully or frighten others.

这个成语用来比喻依仗别人的势力去欺压人或吓唬人。