A Tale of Two Sheep
A man, a shepherd, and a flock of sheep — dive into their dialogue in the countryside, which mixes light humour.
A man was walking along the countryside, and he noticed a lot of sheep and only one shepherd so, curiously, he walks over to him and asks:
"Are those sheep yours?"
"Which ones, the black, or the white?" the shepherd asks.
"The black ones?"
"They're mine." He says.
"I see, what about the white ones then?"
"They are also mine." he replies
The man thinks of his reply as funny and lets it slide.
The man goes again and asks, "How much wool do they produce?"
"The black or the white?" the shepherd asks again.
"The black ones." The man says
"About 20 kilograms."
"And the whites?"
"They also produce 20 kilograms."
This time the man gets a little annoyed but still lets it pass.
"How much milk do they produce?"
"Which ones, the black or the white?"
The man holds on to his patience and asks, "The black ones."
"About 15 litres per day."
"And the whites?" He continues.
"Also 15 litres."
The man loses it this time, enraged he says:
"If all of them are yours, and produce the same amount of milk and wool, then why do you always keep asking for them separately?"
The shepherd calmly replies:
“You see… the black sheep belonged to my late father.”
The man feels a little guilty after hearing him mention his late father.
"O-oh I see."
"And the white ones?"
“Também eram do meu pai.They also belonged to my father.”
Click to reveal translation
Click the sentence again to see the Portuguese
The Plus version of this story
Um homem estava a passear pelo campo e reparou que havia muitas ovelhas e apenas um pastor e, curioso, dirigiu-se a ele e perguntou:"Essas ovelhas são suas?""Quais, as pretas ou as brancas?", pergunta o pastor."As pretas?""São minhas." Disse ele."Estou a ver, então e as brancas?""Também são minhas", responde ele.O homem acha piada à sua resposta e deixa passar.O homem volta a perguntar: "Quanta lã é que elas produzem?""As pretas ou as brancas?", pergunta novamente o pastor."As pretas." Diz o homem."Cerca de 20 quilos.""E as brancas?"Também produzem 20 quilos."Desta vez, o homem fica um pouco irritado, mas deixa passar."Quanto leite é que elas produzem?""Quais, as pretas ou as brancas?"O homem mantém a paciência e pergunta: "As pretas?""Cerca de 15 litros por dia.""E as brancas?" Continua."Também 15 litros."Desta vez, o homem perde a paciência e, furioso, diz:"Se são todas suas e produzem a mesma quantidade de leite e de lã, porque é que está sempre a perguntar por elas separadamente?"O pastor responde calmamente:"Sabe… As ovelhas pretas eram do meu falecido pai."O homem sente-se um pouco arrependido depois de o ouvir mencionar o seu falecido pai."O-oh, estou a ver.""E as brancas?""Também eram do meu pai."A man was walking along the countryside, and he noticed a lot of sheep and only one shepherd so, curiously, he walks over to him and asks:"Are those sheep yours?""Which ones, the black, or the white?" the shepherd asks."The black ones?""They're mine." He says."I see, what about the white ones then?""They are also mine." he repliesThe man thinks of his reply as funny and lets it slide.The man goes again and asks, "How much wool do they produce?""The black or the white?" the shepherd asks again."The black ones." The man says."About 20 kilograms.""And the whites?""They also produce 20 kilograms."This time the man gets a little annoyed but still lets it pass."How much milk do they produce?""Which ones, the black or the white?"The man holds on to his patience and asks, "The black ones.""About 15 litres per day.""And the whites?" He continues."Also 15 litres."The man loses it this time, enraged he says:"If all of them are yours, and produce the same amount of milk and wool, then why do you always keep asking for them separately?"The shepherd calmly replies:“You see… the black sheep belonged to my late father.”The man feels a little guilty after hearing him mention his late father."O-oh I see.""And the white ones?"“They also belonged to my father.”
✨ Today's vocabulary
🌾 Campo [masc. noun]: Field🐑 Ovelha [fem. noun]: Sheep👨🌾 Pastor [masc. noun]: Shepherd🧶 Lã [fem. noun]: Wool🛠️ Produzir: To produce⚖️ Quilo: Kilo😠 Irritado [masc. adj.]: Irritated🥛 Leite [masc. noun]: Milk🧘♀️ Paciência: Patience🍶 Litro [masc. noun]: Litre😡 Furioso [masc. adj.]: Furious⚰️ Falecido [masc. adj.]: Late, deceased😔 Arrependido [masc. adj.]: Regretful, sorry
There is a Plus version of this story
The same story, taken further, for DailyNata Plus members. This one works on adjectives.
- The whole story in Portuguese, and its English
- The words in it, explained, with examples
- One more recording
- 2 interactive exercises
Written for level B1–B2. Every story has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.
