Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves · chapter 3 of 5
The White Marks
白色的记号
The robbers are hunting for whoever knows their secret, and a mysterious white circle appears on a door. Can Morgiana stay one step ahead of them?
Read what you hear
- The Robber Captain 你是谁？谁告诉你“芝麻开门”的？
Nǐ shì shéi? Shéi gàosu nǐ “zhīma kāimén” de?
Who are you? Who told you “Open, Sesame”?
- Cassim 我……我……金子我不要了！放我走吧！
Wǒ… wǒ… jīnzi wǒ bú yào le! Fàng wǒ zǒu ba!
I… I… I don't want the gold anymore! Please let me go!
- The Robber Captain 不说？兄弟们，带走！
Bù shuō? Xiōngdìmen, dàizǒu!
You won't talk? Brothers, take him away!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves 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.
- Narrator 强盗们把卡西姆带走了。从那天起，没有人再见过他。
Qiángdàomen bǎ Kǎxīmǔ dàizǒu le. Cóng nà tiān qǐ, méiyǒu rén zài jiàn guo tā.
The robbers took Cassim away. From that day on, no one ever saw him again.
- The Robber Captain 等一下。我们的金子，早就少了三个口袋。那不是他拿的！
Děng yíxià. Wǒmen de jīnzi, zǎo jiù shǎo le sān gè kǒudai. Nà bú shì tā ná de!
Wait. We were already three sacks of gold short before today. He didn't take those!
- The Robber Captain 城里还有一个人，知道我们的秘密！
Chéng lǐ hái yǒu yí gè rén, zhīdào wǒmen de mìmì!
Someone else in town knows our secret!
- The Young Robber 头儿，我去城里找！我一定能找到他！
Tóur, wǒ qù chéng lǐ zhǎo! Wǒ yídìng néng zhǎodào tā!
Boss, let me go and search the town! I'll find him for sure!
- Narrator 那天晚上，卡西姆没有回家。玛吉娜跑到了阿里巴巴家。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, Kǎxīmǔ méiyǒu huí jiā. Mǎjínà pǎo dào le Ālǐbābā jiā.
That night Cassim didn't come home, and Morgiana ran to Ali Baba's house.
- Morgiana 阿里巴巴先生，天都黑了，我家先生还没回来！
Ālǐbābā xiānsheng, tiān dōu hēi le, wǒ jiā xiānsheng hái méi huílái!
Mr. Ali Baba, it's already dark, and my master still hasn't come home!
- Ali Baba 我的天哪！哥哥一个人去了四十个强盗的山洞！我明天一早就去找他！
Wǒ de tiān na! Gēge yí gè rén qù le sìshí gè qiángdào de shāndòng! Wǒ míngtiān yìzǎo jiù qù zhǎo tā!
Oh my heavens! My brother went all alone to the cave of forty robbers! I'll go and look for him first thing tomorrow!
- Narrator 第二天，阿里巴巴在大石头前面，只找到了卡西姆的一只红鞋子。
Dì'èr tiān, Ālǐbābā zài dà shítou qiánmiàn, zhǐ zhǎodào le Kǎxīmǔ de yì zhī hóng xiézi.
The next day, in front of the big rock, all Ali Baba found was one of Cassim's red slippers.
- Ali Baba 玛吉娜，这是哥哥的鞋……强盗们把他带走了。都是我不好！
Mǎjínà, zhè shì gēge de xié… qiángdàomen bǎ tā dàizǒu le. Dōu shì wǒ bù hǎo!
Morgiana, this is my brother's slipper… The robbers have taken him. It's all my fault!
- Morgiana 阿里巴巴先生，现在不是哭的时候。强盗们一定会来找您的！
Ālǐbābā xiānsheng, xiànzài bú shì kū de shíhou. Qiángdàomen yídìng huì lái zhǎo nín de!
Mr. Ali Baba, this is no time for tears. The robbers are sure to come looking for you!
- Morgiana 我们什么都别说。别人问，就说先生去很远的地方了。
Wǒmen shénme dōu bié shuō. Biérén wèn, jiù shuō xiānsheng qù hěn yuǎn de dìfang le.
We mustn't say a word. If anyone asks, we'll say my master has gone somewhere far away.
- Ali Baba 好，听你的。我们一家也搬过来，大家住在一起。
Hǎo, tīng nǐ de. Wǒmen yì jiā yě bān guòlái, dàjiā zhù zài yìqǐ.
All right, we'll do as you say. My family will move in here too, and we'll all live together.
- Narrator 过了几天，那个小强盗来到了城里。
Guò le jǐ tiān, nàge xiǎo qiángdào lái dào le chéng lǐ.
A few days later, the young robber came to town.
- The Young Robber 我问了很多人。卡西姆没有回来，他弟弟阿里巴巴，住进了他家！
Wǒ wèn le hěn duō rén. Kǎxīmǔ méiyǒu huílái, tā dìdi Ālǐbābā, zhù jìn le tā jiā!
I've asked lots of people. Cassim never came back, and his brother Ali Baba has moved into his house!
- The Young Robber 就是这一家！我在门上画一个白圈，做个记号。晚上，头儿就能找到了！
Jiù shì zhè yì jiā! Wǒ zài mén shang huà yí gè bái quān, zuò gè jìhao. Wǎnshang, tóur jiù néng zhǎodào le!
This is the one! I'll draw a white circle on the door as a mark. Tonight the boss will find it easily!
- Narrator 没过多久，玛吉娜出门买菜。
Méi guò duō jiǔ, Mǎjínà chū mén mǎi cài.
Not long after, Morgiana went out to buy food.
- Morgiana 等一下。门上怎么有一个白圈？
Děng yíxià. Mén shang zěnme yǒu yí gè bái quān?
Wait a moment. Why is there a white circle on our door?
- Morgiana 是小孩子画的？不对……是强盗！他们找到这里了！
Shì xiǎoháizi huà de? Bú duì… shì qiángdào! Tāmen zhǎodào zhèlǐ le!
Did some child draw it? No… it's the robbers! They've found us!
- Morgiana 怎么办？快想想……有了！
Zěnme bàn? Kuài xiǎngxiang… yǒu le!
What do I do? Think fast… I've got it!
- Morgiana 这家画一个，那家也画一个……每一家的门上，都有一个白圈！
Zhè jiā huà yí gè, nà jiā yě huà yí gè… měi yì jiā de mén shang, dōu yǒu yí gè bái quān!
One on this door, one on that door… Now every door in the street has a white circle!
- Narrator 那天晚上，强盗们来到了这条街上。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, qiángdàomen lái dào le zhè tiáo jiē shang.
That night, the robbers crept into the street.
- The Robber Captain 是哪一家？快说！
Shì nǎ yì jiā? Kuài shuō!
Which house is it? Tell me, quick!
- The Young Robber 就是这家！……怎么，这家也有圈？那家也有？
Jiù shì zhè jiā!… Zěnme, zhè jiā yě yǒu quān? Nà jiā yě yǒu?
It's this one!… Wait, this one has a circle too? And that one?
- The Young Robber 头儿，每一家的门上都有白圈！
Tóur, měi yì jiā de mén shang dōu yǒu bái quān!
Boss, every single door has a white circle!
- The Robber Captain 笨蛋！每一家都有圈，你的圈还有什么用？
Bèndàn! Měi yì jiā dōu yǒu quān, nǐ de quān hái yǒu shénme yòng?
You fool! If every house has a circle, what good is your circle?
- The Robber Captain 明天，我自己来找。不做记号，我把那个门记在心里。
Míngtiān, wǒ zìjǐ lái zhǎo. Bú zuò jìhao, wǒ bǎ nàge mén jì zài xīn lǐ.
Tomorrow I'll find it myself. No marks this time. I'll keep that door in my head.
- The Robber Captain 还有，去买四十个大罐子，要很大很大的！
Hái yǒu, qù mǎi sìshí gè dà guànzi, yào hěn dà hěn dà de!
And go and buy forty big jars. Really, really big ones!
- The Young Robber 四十个大罐子？头儿，要罐子干什么？
Sìshí gè dà guànzi? Tóur, yào guànzi gàn shénme?
Forty big jars? Boss, what do we want jars for?
- The Robber Captain 到时候，你就知道了。
Dào shíhou, nǐ jiù zhīdào le.
You'll find out when the time comes.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does the captain know that someone else knows the secret?
“我们的金子，早就少了三个口袋。那不是他拿的！”
- What does Ali Baba find in front of the big rock?
“只找到了卡西姆的一只红鞋子。”
- What does Morgiana say they should tell people who ask?
“别人问，就说先生去很远的地方了。”
- What does Morgiana do after she sees the white circle?
“这家画一个，那家也画一个……每一家的门上，都有一个白圈！”
- What does the captain tell the robbers to buy?
“去买四十个大罐子，要很大很大的！”