Learn Chinese with @cn-reader: A Blessing in Disguise 塞翁失马

成语：塞翁失马 [sài wēng shī mǎ]

Idiom: A blessing in disguise.

图片来自@nanosesame

English Version：

In the dense forest, there lived the squirrel family. One day, the little squirrel ran home in a hurry and cried to the her mother:

Mom, our big pumpkin is missing!

When mother squirrel heard about this, she said to her husband sadly:

Honey, this is a pumpkin we've been growing for a long time. When it ripens, I intend to collect its seeds for the winter.

At this moment, a passing hedgehog heard the crying, hurried into the house and said to the squirrel family:

One day I passed by the open space on the east side and saw a big pumpkin growing very well. My son said that he wanted to eat a pumpkin pie, so we took it home. We really don't know that this pumpkin belongs to you. I'm really sorry.

Mother squirrel said:

It doesn't matter, but where's the rest part of the pumpkin?

Mother hedgehog said:

We only ate part of the pulp, and left the melon seeds and the rind up on the hillside.

The squirrel family rushed to the mountainside and still did not see the pumpkin. When they did not know what to do, they saw the monkey sitting on the tree and touching the stomach. The little squirrel said to the monkey:

Uncle monkey, did you see a big pumpkin near here?

The monkey burped, scratching his head and said:

There's a pumpkin here, but I didn't find the owner nearby. I saw a lot of melon seeds inside, so I ate them as a meal. Finally, I pushed the melon skin down to the slope.

The squirrel family went down the hill and eventually found the pumpkin under a big tree. However, the pumpkin is not what it used to be, with several big holes on it. Seeing this, mother squirrel cried out with tears. At this moment, the pied magpie came out of its nest and said:

What's going on here?

Father squirrel said:

We planted a big pumpkin for the winter, while it was accidentally eaten by the others. We're looking forward the seeds for a long time, and finally only found the melon skin here. My wife is too sad to see this. By the way, why does the skin has so many holes in it?

The pied magpie said shamely:

Oh, I got up in the morning and I saw a pumpkin patch here. My mouth tickled, so I pecked at the melon skin, intending to make a pumpkin lantern. You can take it home, if you like it.

The squirrel father listened this, and slowly walked into the pumpkin. Suddenly, he came out and said happily:

Honey, this is the gift that I want to give to our daughter! You see, how beautiful the lantern is! It can be our new home!

The little squirrel and his mother went to the pumpkin in disbelief, and then smiled. They were quite satisfied with the unexpected gift. Soon after, the family moved into their new home and had a good neighbor at the meantime.

This story is derived from the idiom "Misfortune may be an actual blessing". It can be used to say that bad things can be turned into good things. It can also be used to describe a temporary loss, but lead to unexpected benefits in the end.

Chinese Version：

在茂密的森林中，住着小松鼠一家。有一天，小松鼠急急忙忙地跑回家，对松鼠妈妈哭着说：

妈妈，我们家的大南瓜不见啦！

松鼠妈妈听了以后，对松鼠爸爸伤心地说：

亲爱的，这可是我们种了好久的南瓜，打算成熟了以后收集起它的籽过冬呢。

这时候，路过的刺猬一家听到了哭声，赶紧走进屋子对松鼠一家说：

有天我路过东边的那片空地，看到有只大南瓜长得很好，当时我儿子就说很想吃南瓜饼，于是我们就把南瓜带回家了。我们真的不知道这南瓜是你家种的，实在是对不起。

松鼠妈妈说：

你们不知道也是没办法的事，那剩下的南瓜呢？

刺猬妈妈说：

我们只吃了果肉的部分，瓜子和瓜皮就堆在山坡那里啦。

松鼠一家人赶忙到了山坡，依然没见到南瓜的踪影，就在他们不知道怎么办的时候，看到了猴子坐在树上摸着肚子。小松鼠对猴子说：

猴叔叔，你看到这附近有个大南瓜吗？

猴子打了个饱嗝，挠了挠头说：

这里是有个南瓜，但附近没到主人。我看到里面有好些瓜子，就美美吃了一顿，然后把瓜皮推到山坡下面去啦。

松鼠一家告别猴子后，顺着山坡下去，终于在一棵大树下找到了南瓜。但这南瓜早就不是原本的样子，瓜皮上还有几个大洞。看到这个情景，松鼠妈妈“哇”的一声哭了出来。这时候，喜鹊从窝里探出脑袋说：

这是怎么了呀？

松鼠爸爸说：

我们家种了个大南瓜，原本打算拿来过冬的，结果不小心被人吃了，瓜皮到了这里。我妻子看到这样正伤心呢，对了，这瓜皮怎么上面有一个个洞呀？

喜鹊不好意思地说：

啊呀，早上起来，我看到这儿有个南瓜瓜皮，刚好我嘴痒，就东啄啄西啄啄，想做个南瓜灯呢。你们要是喜欢的话，就带回家吧！

松鼠爸爸听完，慢慢走进南瓜，出来后喜滋滋地说：

老婆，这正是我想送给女儿的礼物呀！你看，这南瓜灯多漂亮，刚好可以做我们的新家！

小松鼠和妈妈疑惑地走到南瓜里面，随后也破涕而笑，非常喜欢这意外到来的“礼物”。没多久，他们一家人就搬进了新家，还多了喜鹊这个好邻居。

这个故事，源自成语“塞翁失马”，而这个成语常常与“焉知非福”连在一起使用它用来比喻坏事可以转化为好事，或者用来形容虽然暂时受到了损失，但也可能因此得到意外的好处。

Author: @vickylin
Translator: @vickylin