A Chinese Ghost Story: Nie Xiaoqian · chapter 5 of 5
A Daughter at Home
回家
Ning brings Xiaoqian home, and his mother has to decide whether a ghost girl can be a daughter.
Read what you hear
- Ning's Mother 采臣！你回来了！
Cǎichén! Nǐ huílái le!
Caichen! You're back!
- Ning Caichen 妈妈！我回来了！路上很远，我好想您！
Māma! Wǒ huílái le! Lù shàng hěn yuǎn, wǒ hǎo xiǎng nín!
Mother! I'm home! The road was long, and I missed you so much!
- Ning's Mother 这个女孩子是谁？她为什么站在门口，不进来？
Zhège nǚháizi shì shéi? Tā wèishénme zhàn zài ménkǒu, bú jìnlái?
Who is this girl? Why is she standing at the door and not coming in?
Chapter 5 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of A Chinese Ghost Story: Nie Xiaoqian is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Ning Caichen 妈妈，她叫聂小倩。她……她是一个鬼。
Māma, tā jiào Niè Xiǎoqiàn. Tā… tā shì yí gè guǐ.
Mother, her name is Nie Xiaoqian. She... she is a ghost.
- Ning's Mother 什么？！鬼？采臣，你说什么？
Shénme?! Guǐ? Cǎichén, nǐ shuō shénme?
What?! A ghost? Caichen, what are you saying?
- Nie Xiaoqian 老夫人，对不起。我不是坏鬼。我没有家了。
Lǎofūrén, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ bú shì huài guǐ. Wǒ méiyǒu jiā le.
Madam, I'm sorry. I'm not a bad ghost. I have no home.
- Ning's Mother 你有没有害过我的儿子？
Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu hàiguo wǒ de érzi?
Have you ever hurt my son?
- Ning Caichen 没有，妈妈！她还救了我。她的骨头，就在这个盒子里。
Méiyǒu, māma! Tā hái jiùle wǒ. Tā de gǔtou, jiù zài zhège hézi lǐ.
No, Mother! She even saved me. Her bones are in this box.
- Ning's Mother 鬼不能住在我家！你们两个，快走！
Guǐ bù néng zhù zài wǒ jiā! Nǐmen liǎng gè, kuài zǒu!
A ghost can't live in my house! You two, go away!
- Nie Xiaoqian 老夫人，我只想要一个睡觉的地方。我会做事。
Lǎofūrén, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng yào yí gè shuìjiào de dìfang. Wǒ huì zuòshì.
Madam, I only want a place to sleep. I can work.
- Ning Caichen 妈妈，外面很黑。她没有别的地方去。
Māma, wàimiàn hěn hēi. Tā méiyǒu bié de dìfang qù.
Mother, it's dark outside. She has nowhere else to go.
- Ning's Mother 唉……好吧。只住一个晚上！明天早上再说。
Āi… hǎo ba. Zhǐ zhù yí gè wǎnshang! Míngtiān zǎoshang zàishuō.
Oh... all right. Just one night! We'll talk in the morning.
- Narrator 宁采臣把骨头埋在书房旁边，一棵小树下面。
Níng Cǎichén bǎ gǔtou mái zài shūfáng pángbiān, yì kē xiǎo shù xiàmiàn.
Ning Caichen buried the bones beside his study, under a small tree.
- Nie Xiaoqian 谢谢您，宁先生。您把我埋在这里，我有一个安静的家了。
Xièxie nín, Níng xiānsheng. Nín bǎ wǒ mái zài zhèlǐ, wǒ yǒu yí gè ānjìng de jiā le.
Thank you, Mr. Ning. You buried me here, and now I have a quiet home.
- Narrator 几个星期过去了。每天天不亮，小倩就起来，做很多事。
Jǐ gè xīngqī guòqù le. Měitiān tiān bú liàng, Xiǎoqiàn jiù qǐlái, zuò hěn duō shì.
A few weeks passed. Every day before dawn, Xiaoqian was up, doing all kinds of work.
- Ning's Mother 茶好了，饭好了，衣服也洗好了……这个孩子，她到底什么时候睡觉？
Chá hǎo le, fàn hǎo le, yīfu yě xǐ hǎo le… Zhège háizi, tā dàodǐ shénme shíhou shuìjiào?
The tea is ready, the food is ready, the washing is done... When does this child ever sleep?
- Ning's Mother 小倩，来，外面的太阳很好，跟我来。
Xiǎoqiàn, lái, wàimiàn de tàiyáng hěn hǎo, gēn wǒ lái.
Xiaoqian, come. The sun is lovely outside. Come with me.
- Nie Xiaoqian 太阳？老夫人，我不能去……我怕。
Tàiyáng? Lǎofūrén, wǒ bù néng qù… wǒ pà.
The sun? Madam, I can't go... I'm afraid.
- Ning's Mother 别怕。有我在。来，拉着我的手。
Bié pà. Yǒu wǒ zài. Lái, lāzhe wǒ de shǒu.
Don't be afraid. I'm here. Come, hold my hand.
- Nie Xiaoqian 啊……太阳好暖啊，我从来不知道。
A… tàiyáng hǎo nuǎn a, wǒ cónglái bù zhīdào.
Oh... the sun is so warm. I never knew.
- Ning Caichen 妈妈，你看地上！小倩有影子了！
Māma, nǐ kàn dì shàng! Xiǎoqiàn yǒu yǐngzi le!
Mother, look at the ground! Xiaoqian has a shadow!
- Nie Xiaoqian 我的影子……我有影子了！我真的有影子了！
Wǒ de yǐngzi… wǒ yǒu yǐngzi le! Wǒ zhēn de yǒu yǐngzi le!
My shadow... I have a shadow! I really have a shadow!
- Ning's Mother 傻孩子，你不是鬼了。你是一个好女孩，也是我的孩子。
Shǎ háizi, nǐ bú shì guǐ le. Nǐ shì yí gè hǎo nǚhái, yě shì wǒ de háizi.
Silly child, you're not a ghost anymore. You're a good girl, and you're my child.
- Ning's Mother 小倩，以后不要叫我老夫人。叫我妈妈。
Xiǎoqiàn, yǐhòu bú yào jiào wǒ lǎofūrén. Jiào wǒ māma.
Xiaoqian, don't call me Madam anymore. Call me Mother.
- Nie Xiaoqian 妈……妈妈？
Mā… māma?
M... Mother?
- Ning's Mother 哎！我的好孩子！
Āi! Wǒ de hǎo háizi!
Yes! My good girl!
- Ning Caichen 那我呢？妈妈，我今天的饭在哪儿？
Nà wǒ ne? Māma, wǒ jīntiān de fàn zài nǎr?
And me? Mother, where's my lunch today?
- Ning's Mother 你自己去拿！小倩，来，我们先喝茶。
Nǐ zìjǐ qù ná! Xiǎoqiàn, lái, wǒmen xiān hē chá.
Get it yourself! Xiaoqian, come, let's have tea first.
- Nie Xiaoqian 妈妈……我回家了。
Māma… wǒ huíjiā le.
Mother... I'm home.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does Ning's mother react when she hears Xiaoqian is a ghost?
“鬼不能住在我家！你们两个，快走！”
- Why does Ning say Xiaoqian must stay?
“外面很黑。她没有别的地方去。”
- Where does Ning bury the bones?
“宁采臣把骨头埋在书房旁边，一棵小树下面。”
- What does Xiaoqian see in the sun?
“小倩有影子了！”
- What does Ning's mother ask Xiaoqian to call her?
“叫我妈妈。”