there was a long dike built along a great river.
有一条大河，河边建了一座长长的大堤。
This dike was very strong and protected the village from floods.
这条大堤十分坚固，保护着村庄不被洪水淹没。
The villagers felt safe and never worried about the dike breaking.
村民们都很放心，从来不担心大堤会出问题。
One day, a child was playing on the dike and found an ant nest.
一天，有个小孩在堤上玩耍，发现一个蚁穴。
He ran to tell the adults, "There are so many ants digging here!"
他跑去告诉大人：“堤上有好多蚂蚁在挖洞！”
The adults took a quick look and laughed, "Ants are too small to cause any trouble."
大人们看了一眼，笑着说：“蚂蚁这么小，不会有事。”
As time passed, the ants' hole grew bigger and bigger.
过了一些日子，蚂蚁的洞越来越大。
The rainy season came, and the river rose, washing against the dike.
雨季来了，河水涨高，开始冲刷大堤。
Cracks appeared on the dike, but the villagers still didn’t pay attention.
大堤上有了裂缝，但大家还是不在意。
Then, one night, the dike suddenly collapsed with a loud "boom"!
突然，一天夜里，堤坝“轰”的一声倒塌了！
Floodwaters rushed into the village, destroying houses and crops.
大水冲进村庄，房屋被淹，庄稼全毁了。
The villagers deeply regretted not fixing the dike earlier.
村民们后悔极了，早知道应该早点修补堤坝。
An old man sighed and said, "This is what it means by 'a thousand-mile dike destroyed by an ant nest.'"
一位老人叹气说：“这就是千里之堤毁于蚁穴。”
"A small ant hole, if ignored, can eventually destroy an entire dike."
“一个小小的蚁洞，不去管，最终毁了整座大堤。”
This story teaches us that small problems, if not taken seriously, can lead to great disasters!
这个故事告诉我们，小问题如果不重视，最终可能会引发大灾难！
