Aladdin and the Magic Lamp · chapter 1 of 5
The Long-Lost Uncle
叔叔回来了
Aladdin would rather play than sew and dreams of being rich. Then a tall stranger with a pocketful of gold claims to be his long-lost uncle. But why has he really come?
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- Narrator 很久很久以前，中国有一个大城市。城市里有一个男孩，叫阿拉丁。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Zhōngguó yǒu yí gè dà chéngshì. Chéngshì lǐ yǒu yí gè nánhái, jiào Ālādīng.
Long, long ago, there was a great city in China. In that city lived a boy called Aladdin.
- Aladdin's Mother 阿拉丁！你又在街上玩儿？快回家，学做衣服！
Ālādīng! Nǐ yòu zài jiē shang wánr? Kuài huí jiā, xué zuò yīfu!
Aladdin! Playing in the street again? Come home and learn to make clothes!
- Aladdin 妈妈，我不想做衣服！爸爸做了很多年衣服，我们家还是没有钱。
Māma, wǒ bù xiǎng zuò yīfu! Bàba zuò le hěn duō nián yīfu, wǒmen jiā háishi méiyǒu qián.
Mom, I don't want to make clothes! Dad made clothes for years, and we still never had any money.
- Aladdin's Mother 你爸爸已经不在了。妈妈天天做到很晚，你还只想着玩！
Nǐ bàba yǐjīng bú zài le. Māma tiāntiān zuò dào hěn wǎn, nǐ hái zhǐ xiǎngzhe wán!
Your father is gone now. I work late every single night, and all you think about is playing!
- Aladdin 妈妈，别生气。以后我一定做个有钱人，天天请你吃肉！
Māma, bié shēngqì. Yǐhòu wǒ yídìng zuò gè yǒuqiánrén, tiāntiān qǐng nǐ chī ròu!
Don't be mad, Mom. Someday I'll be rich, and I'll treat you to meat every day!
- Aladdin's Mother 你这个孩子！有钱人？钱会从天上掉下来吗？
Nǐ zhège háizi! Yǒuqiánrén? Qián huì cóng tiānshàng diào xiàlái ma?
Oh, you! Rich? Is money going to fall out of the sky?
- Narrator 妈妈回家了。这时，一个高高的老人走了过来。他一直在看阿拉丁。
Māma huí jiā le. Zhèshí, yí gè gāogāo de lǎorén zǒu le guòlái. Tā yìzhí zài kàn Ālādīng.
Mother went back inside. Just then, a tall old man came over. He had been watching Aladdin all along.
- The Magician 就是他……我找了很久的孩子，就是他！
Jiù shì tā… wǒ zhǎo le hěn jiǔ de háizi, jiù shì tā!
That's him… the boy I've been searching for all this time. It's him!
- The Magician 孩子，你爸爸是不是做衣服的？
Háizi, nǐ bàba shì bú shì zuò yīfu de?
Tell me, child, was your father a tailor?
- Aladdin 是啊。可是他已经不在了。您是谁？
Shì a. Kěshì tā yǐjīng bú zài le. Nín shì shéi?
Yes. But he's gone now. Who are you?
- The Magician 啊，我的哥哥！孩子，我是你的叔叔啊！
A, wǒ de gēge! Háizi, wǒ shì nǐ de shūshu a!
Oh, my poor brother! Child, I'm your uncle!
- Aladdin 叔叔？我有叔叔？
Shūshu? Wǒ yǒu shūshu?
An uncle? I have an uncle?
- The Magician 我四十年前就离开了家，去了很远很远的地方。今天回来，哥哥已经不在了……
Wǒ sìshí nián qián jiù líkāi le jiā, qù le hěn yuǎn hěn yuǎn de dìfang. Jīntiān huílái, gēge yǐjīng bú zài le…
I left home forty years ago and went far, far away. Now I've come back, and my brother is gone…
- The Magician 我的好孩子，这些金子拿回家，给你妈妈！
Wǒ de hǎo háizi, zhèxiē jīnzi ná huí jiā, gěi nǐ māma!
My dear boy, take this gold home to your mother!
- Aladdin 金子！这么多！谢谢叔叔！
Jīnzi! Zhème duō! Xièxie shūshu!
Gold! So much of it! Thank you, Uncle!
- Aladdin 妈妈！钱真的从天上掉下来了！我有一个叔叔！
Māma! Qián zhēn de cóng tiānshàng diào xiàlái le! Wǒ yǒu yí gè shūshu!
Mom! Money really did fall out of the sky! I have an uncle!
- Aladdin's Mother 叔叔？你爸爸从来没说过，他有一个弟弟啊。
Shūshu? Nǐ bàba cónglái méi shuō guo, tā yǒu yí gè dìdi a.
An uncle? Your father never once told me he had a brother.
- Narrator 那天晚上，叔叔来了。他带来了很多好吃的，还有酒。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, shūshu lái le. Tā dài lái le hěn duō hǎochī de, hái yǒu jiǔ.
That evening, the uncle came to visit. He brought lots of good food, and wine too.
- The Magician 对不起，我来晚了！以后，你们的事就是我的事！
Duìbuqǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le! Yǐhòu, nǐmen de shì jiù shì wǒ de shì!
Forgive me for coming so late! From now on, your troubles are my troubles!
- Aladdin's Mother 这么多菜……阿拉丁，快谢谢你叔叔！
Zhème duō cài… Ālādīng, kuài xièxie nǐ shūshu!
So much food… Aladdin, quick, thank your uncle!
- Aladdin 谢谢叔叔！这个肉太好吃了！妈妈，你也吃！
Xièxie shūshu! Zhège ròu tài hǎochī le! Māma, nǐ yě chī!
Thank you, Uncle! This meat is so good! Mom, you have some too!
- The Magician 阿拉丁，你不想做衣服，那就不做。叔叔给你开一个大商店！
Ālādīng, nǐ bù xiǎng zuò yīfu, nà jiù bú zuò. Shūshu gěi nǐ kāi yí gè dà shāngdiàn!
Aladdin, if you don't want to make clothes, then don't. Your uncle will open a big shop for you!
- Aladdin 我的大商店？妈妈你看，我要做有钱人了！
Wǒ de dà shāngdiàn? Māma nǐ kàn, wǒ yào zuò yǒuqiánrén le!
A big shop, all mine? See, Mom? I'm going to be rich!
- Aladdin's Mother 你这个孩子，商店还没开，就想着钱了！
Nǐ zhège háizi, shāngdiàn hái méi kāi, jiù xiǎngzhe qián le!
Oh, you! The shop isn't even open, and you're already thinking about the money!
- The Magician 明天，叔叔先带你去城外。那里有一个好地方，你一定喜欢！
Míngtiān, shūshu xiān dài nǐ qù chéngwài. Nàlǐ yǒu yí gè hǎo dìfang, nǐ yídìng xǐhuan!
Tomorrow, I'll take you outside the city first. There's a wonderful place out there. You'll love it!
- Aladdin 好啊！明天见，叔叔！
Hǎo a! Míngtiān jiàn, shūshu!
Great! See you tomorrow, Uncle!
- Narrator 晚饭以后，叔叔一个人走在黑黑的街上。
Wǎnfàn yǐhòu, shūshu yí gè rén zǒu zài hēihēi de jiē shang.
After supper, the uncle walked alone down the dark street.
- The Magician 叔叔？哈哈……我不是他的叔叔。我是从非洲来的魔法师！
Shūshu? Hāhā… wǒ bú shì tā de shūshu. Wǒ shì cóng Fēizhōu lái de mófǎshī!
Uncle? Ha ha… I'm not his uncle. I'm a magician from Africa!
- The Magician 城外的山洞里，有一盏神灯。可是，我自己不能进去……
Chéngwài de shāndòng lǐ, yǒu yì zhǎn shén dēng. Kěshì, wǒ zìjǐ bù néng jìnqù…
In a cave outside the city, there's a magic lamp. But I can't go in myself…
- The Magician 这个孩子会帮我拿出来。拿到神灯以后……他就别想回家了！
Zhège háizi huì bāng wǒ ná chūlái. Nádào shén dēng yǐhòu… tā jiù bié xiǎng huí jiā le!
That boy will fetch it out for me. And once I have the lamp… he can forget about ever going home!
What changed in the story?
- What does Aladdin say he wants?
“以后我一定做个有钱人，天天请你吃肉！”
- Who does the tall stranger say he is?
“孩子，我是你的叔叔啊！”
- Why does Mother doubt the uncle?
“你爸爸从来没说过，他有一个弟弟啊。”
- What does the uncle promise Aladdin at dinner?
“叔叔给你开一个大商店！”
- Why does the magician need Aladdin?
“城外的山洞里，有一盏神灯。可是，我自己不能进去……这个孩子会帮我拿出来。”