This is the 14th episode from our new lesson series – News story.
Today’s news is about California using goats to prevent wildfires.
The title of today’s article [ヤギの手を借りて山火事対策] means “taking measures against wildfires with the help of goats”.
This is a play on words – the usual expression would be [猫の手も借りたい] which literally means “I even want to borrow the hands of a cat”. This phrase is used when one is very busy and doesn’t have the luxury of being picky about whom to ask for help.
In the title, however, the word ねこ (cat) is replaced by やぎ (goat) as goats are the heroes of today’s news.
This episode is for upper-intermediate learners.
The accompanying book to all the news stories which contains the news transcript, the English translation, keywords, grammar points, and excises is available for purchase from the link below.