Beauty and the Beast · chapter 5 of 23
The Road to the Palace
去宫殿的路
That night Father finds a secret he can show only Beauty. Then comes a goodbye full of tears, and not all of them are real.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 那天晚上，爸爸回到他的房间。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, bàba huí dào tā de fángjiān.
That night, Father went back to his room.
- Father 这是野兽的箱子！真的来了！
Zhè shì Yěshòu de xiāngzi! Zhēn de lái le!
It's the Beast's chest! It really came!
- Father 里边都是金子！美儿，你来看！
Lǐbian dōu shì jīnzi! Měi'ér, nǐ lái kàn!
It's full of gold! Beauty, come and look!
Chapter 5 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1–3 of Beauty and the Beast are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Beauty 爸爸，这么多金子！是野兽给的吗？
Bàba, zhème duō jīnzi! Shì Yěshòu gěi de ma?
Father, so much gold! Did the Beast give it to you?
- Father 对。这个只有你知道。不要对他们说。
Duì. Zhège zhǐyǒu nǐ zhīdào. Bú yào duì tāmen shuō.
Yes. Only you may know about this. Don't tell the others.
- Beauty 好。爸爸，你不在家的时候，有两个先生来了。
Hǎo. Bàba, nǐ bú zài jiā de shíhou, yǒu liǎng gè xiānsheng lái le.
All right. Father, while you were away, two gentlemen came.
- Father 两个先生？他们来做什么？
Liǎng gè xiānsheng? Tāmen lái zuò shénme?
Two gentlemen? What did they come for?
- Beauty 他们想和大姐、二姐结婚。你答应他们吧。
Tāmen xiǎng hé dàjiě, èrjiě jiéhūn. Nǐ dāying tāmen ba.
They want to marry Eldest Sister and Second Sister. Please say yes to them.
- Father 美儿，她们对你那么不好……
Měi'ér, tāmen duì nǐ nàme bù hǎo…
Beauty, they've been so unkind to you...
- Beauty 没关系，她们是我的姐姐。给她们一些金子吧。
Méi guānxi, tāmen shì wǒ de jiějie. Gěi tāmen yìxiē jīnzi ba.
That doesn't matter, they're my sisters. Give them some of the gold.
- Father 你真是个好孩子。好，我答应你。
Nǐ zhēn shì gè hǎo háizi. Hǎo, wǒ dāying nǐ.
You really are a good child. All right, I'll do as you ask.
- Narrator 几个星期后，美儿和爸爸要去宫殿了。
Jǐ gè xīngqī hòu, Měi'ér hé bàba yào qù gōngdiàn le.
Some weeks later, Beauty and Father were setting off for the palace.
- Eldest Brother 美儿，不要去！要去也是大哥去！
Měi'ér, bú yào qù! Yào qù yě shì dàgē qù!
Beauty, don't go! If anyone goes, it should be me!
- Second Sister 大姐，你看，大家都在哭。我们也要哭吗？
Dàjiě, nǐ kàn, dàjiā dōu zài kū. Wǒmen yě yào kū ma?
Eldest Sister, look, everyone's crying. Do we have to cry too?
- Eldest Sister 要。这里有洋葱，给你。
Yào. Zhèlǐ yǒu yángcōng, gěi nǐ.
Yes. Here's an onion. Take it.
- Second Sister 天哪，我哭了！美儿，我们会想你的！
Tiān na, wǒ kū le! Měi'ér, wǒmen huì xiǎng nǐ de!
Oh my, I'm crying! Beauty, we'll miss you!
- Narrator 爸爸和儿子们真的哭了。只有美儿没有哭。
Bàba hé érzimen zhēn de kū le. Zhǐyǒu Měi'ér méiyǒu kū.
Father and his sons really cried. Only Beauty did not cry.
- Beauty 不能哭，美儿。你也哭了，爸爸怎么办？
Bù néng kū, Měi'ér. Nǐ yě kū le, bàba zěnme bàn?
You mustn't cry, Beauty. If you cry too, what will Father do?
- Father 美儿，你看，马知道宫殿在哪儿。
Měi'ér, nǐ kàn, mǎ zhīdào gōngdiàn zài nǎr.
Beauty, look, the horse knows where the palace is.
- Narrator 晚上，他们到了宫殿。
Wǎnshang, tāmen dào le gōngdiàn.
In the evening, they reached the palace.
- Beauty 爸爸，这是野兽的宫殿？好大，好多灯！
Bàba, zhè shì Yěshòu de gōngdiàn? Hǎo dà, hǎo duō dēng!
Father, is this the Beast's palace? It's so big, and so many lights!
- Father 桌子上有两个人的饭……他知道你会来。
Zhuōzi shang yǒu liǎng gè rén de fàn… tā zhīdào nǐ huì lái.
There's dinner on the table for two... He knew you would come.
- Beauty 爸爸，来，你坐。多吃一点儿。
Bàba, lái, nǐ zuò. Duō chī yìdiǎnr.
Father, come, sit down. Eat plenty.
- Father 孩子，爸爸一点儿也吃不下。
Háizi, bàba yìdiǎnr yě chī bu xià.
My child, I can't eat a thing.
- Beauty 吃吧，爸爸。野兽要我多吃，再吃我！
Chī ba, bàba. Yěshòu yào wǒ duō chī, zài chī wǒ!
Eat, Father. The Beast wants me to eat plenty first, and then he'll eat me!
- Father 是他！他来了！
Shì tā! Tā lái le!
It's him! He's coming!
- Father 美儿，爸爸对不起你……再见了，我的孩子！
Měi'ér, bàba duìbuqǐ nǐ… zàijiàn le, wǒ de háizi!
Beauty, I've failed you... Goodbye, my child!
- Narrator 野兽在门口，很大很大。他在看美儿。
Yěshòu zài ménkǒu, hěn dà hěn dà. Tā zài kàn Měi'ér.
The Beast stood in the doorway, huge. He was looking at Beauty.
- Beauty 美儿，不要害怕……
Měi'ér, bú yào hàipà…
Beauty, don't be afraid...
- The Beast 你是自己想来的吗？
Nǐ shì zìjǐ xiǎng lái de ma?
Did you come here of your own will?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Father find in his room that night?
“这是野兽的箱子！”……“里边都是金子！”
- What does Beauty ask Father to do for her sisters?
“你答应他们吧。”……“给她们一些金子吧。”
- How do Eldest Sister and Second Sister manage to cry?
“这里有洋葱，给你。”……“天哪，我哭了！”
- Why does Beauty tell herself not to cry?
“你也哭了，爸爸怎么办？”
- What does the Beast ask Beauty?
“你是自己想来的吗？”