Three Kingdoms: Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats · chapter 4 of 6

Into the Fog

走进大雾

Twenty little boats slip into a fog so thick you can't see your own hand, and Zhuge Liang steers them straight toward the enemy.

Read what you hear

Narrator 二十条船连成了一长排，慢慢地向北边开去。江上起了大雾，雾越来越大。
Èrshí tiáo chuán lián chéng le yì cháng pái, mànmàn de xiàng běibian kāi qù. Jiāng shang qǐ le dà wù, wù yuè lái yuè dà.
The twenty boats were tied together in one long line and slowly headed north. Fog rose over the river, thicker and thicker.
Lu Su 先生，雾这么大，我连你的脸都快看不清了！
Xiānsheng, wù zhème dà, wǒ lián nǐ de liǎn dōu kuài kàn bu qīng le!
Sir, the fog's so thick, I can hardly even see your face!
Zhuge Liang 雾越大越好。鲁兄，今天的雾，是我们的好朋友啊。
Wù yuè dà yuè hǎo. Lǔ xiōng, jīntiān de wù, shì wǒmen de hǎo péngyou a.
The thicker the better. Brother Lu, tonight this fog is our good friend.

Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Three Kingdoms: Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats 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.

Lu Su 好朋友？我怎么觉得，它是来吓我们的？
Hǎo péngyou? Wǒ zěnme juéde, tā shì lái xià wǒmen de?
Our good friend? Why do I get the feeling it's here to scare us?
Lu Su 我又不会游泳……船要是翻了，我就完了。
Wǒ yòu bú huì yóuyǒng… Chuán yàoshi fān le, wǒ jiù wán le.
And I can't even swim… If this boat tips over, I'm done for.
The Young Soldier 先生，前面什么也看不见！我们还往前开吗？
Xiānsheng, qiánmiàn shénme yě kàn bu jiàn! Wǒmen hái wǎng qián kāi ma?
Sir, I can't see a thing up ahead! Do we keep going?
Zhuge Liang 往前开，一直往北开，不要停。
Wǎng qián kāi, yìzhí wǎng běi kāi, bú yào tíng.
Keep going. Straight north, and don't stop.
Lu Su 往北？先生，北边是曹操的大营啊！
Wǎng běi? Xiānsheng, běibian shì Cáo Cāo de dàyíng a!
North? Sir, north is Cao Cao's camp!
Zhuge Liang 对。我们去拿箭，当然要去有箭的地方。
Duì. Wǒmen qù ná jiàn, dāngrán yào qù yǒu jiàn de dìfang.
Exactly. If we want arrows, we have to go where the arrows are.
Lu Su 有箭的地方……曹操那里？先生，你要去偷曹操的箭？
Yǒu jiàn de dìfang… Cáo Cāo nàlǐ? Xiānsheng, nǐ yào qù tōu Cáo Cāo de jiàn?
Where the arrows are… Cao Cao's camp? Sir, you're going to steal Cao Cao's arrows?
Zhuge Liang 偷？不，不，我们是去借。
Tōu? Bù, bù, wǒmen shì qù jiè.
Steal? No, no. We're going to borrow them.
Lu Su 借？哎呀，这可怎么办？我们只有二十条船，曹操有几十万士兵啊！
Jiè? Āiyā, zhè kě zěnme bàn? Wǒmen zhǐyǒu èrshí tiáo chuán, Cáo Cāo yǒu jǐshí wàn shìbīng a!
Borrow? Oh dear, what now? We've only got twenty boats, and Cao Cao has hundreds of thousands of soldiers!
The Young Soldier 先生，这雾真大，我连我的鼓都看不见了！
Xiānsheng, zhè wù zhēn dà, wǒ lián wǒ de gǔ dōu kàn bu jiàn le!
Sir, this fog is so thick I can't even see my own drum!
Zhuge Liang 看不见没关系，听得见就行。今天，我们要让曹操听得清清楚楚。
Kàn bu jiàn méi guānxi, tīng de jiàn jiù xíng. Jīntiān, wǒmen yào ràng Cáo Cāo tīng de qīngqīngchuchǔ.
Never mind seeing it. Hearing it is what counts. Today we're going to make Cao Cao hear us loud and clear.
Zhuge Liang 现在，大家都别说话。到了曹操那里，再打起鼓来。
Xiànzài, dàjiā dōu bié shuōhuà. Dào le Cáo Cāo nàlǐ, zài dǎ qǐ gǔ lái.
For now, nobody say a word. When we reach Cao Cao's camp, then we'll beat the drum.
The Young Soldier 先生，我们到哪儿了？还有多远啊？
Xiānsheng, wǒmen dào nǎr le? Hái yǒu duō yuǎn a?
Sir, where are we? How much farther is it?
Lu Su 别问了。他一定会说：“到时候，你就知道了。”
Bié wèn le. Tā yídìng huì shuō: “Dào shíhou, nǐ jiù zhīdào le.”
Don't bother asking. He'll just say, “You'll see when the time comes.”
Narrator 天快亮的时候，二十条船已经到了曹操大营的前面。
Tiān kuài liàng de shíhou, èrshí tiáo chuán yǐjīng dào le Cáo Cāo dàyíng de qiánmiàn.
Just before dawn, the twenty boats reached the waters in front of Cao Cao's camp.
Zhuge Liang 停！把船一条一条排开，船的一边，对着曹操的大营。
Tíng! Bǎ chuán yì tiáo yì tiáo pái kāi, chuán de yì biān, duì zhe Cáo Cāo de dàyíng.
Stop! Line the boats up one by one, with one side facing Cao Cao's camp.
Zhuge Liang 小兄弟，打起鼓来！大家一起大声喊！
Xiǎo xiōngdi, dǎ qǐ gǔ lái! Dàjiā yìqǐ dàshēng hǎn!
Young fellow, beat that drum! Everyone, shout as loud as you can!
The Young Soldier 是！先生，我可以打得很大声吗？
Shì! Xiānsheng, wǒ kěyǐ dǎ de hěn dàshēng ma?
Yes, sir! Sir, can I beat it really loud?
Zhuge Liang 越大声越好！
Yuè dàshēng yuè hǎo!
The louder the better!
The Young Soldier 好！我打了三年鼓，今天最高兴！大家，喊啊！
Hǎo! Wǒ dǎ le sān nián gǔ, jīntiān zuì gāoxìng! Dàjiā, hǎn a!
Here goes! I've been drumming for three years, and this is the best day ever! Everybody, shout!
Lu Su 先生！你这是干什么？曹操的兵要是冲出来，我们一个也回不去了！
Xiānsheng! Nǐ zhè shì gàn shénme? Cáo Cāo de bīng yàoshi chōng chūlái, wǒmen yí gè yě huí bu qù le!
Sir! What are you doing? If Cao Cao's soldiers charge out, not one of us will make it home!
Zhuge Liang 鲁兄，放心。雾这么大，曹操一定不敢出来。
Lǔ xiōng, fàngxīn. Wù zhème dà, Cáo Cāo yídìng bù gǎn chūlái.
Don't worry, Brother Lu. In fog this thick, Cao Cao won't dare come out.
Zhuge Liang 来，坐下，我们喝酒。等雾散了，我们就回去。
Lái, zuò xià, wǒmen hē jiǔ. Děng wù sàn le, wǒmen jiù huíqù.
Come, sit down and have some wine. When the fog lifts, we'll go home.
Lu Su 喝酒？现在？我的心都快跳出来了，你还要喝酒？
Hē jiǔ? Xiànzài? Wǒ de xīn dōu kuài tiào chūlái le, nǐ hái yào hē jiǔ?
Wine? Now? My heart's about to leap out of my chest, and you want to drink wine?
Zhuge Liang 喝一杯吧。喝了，心就不会跳得这么快了。
Hē yì bēi ba. Hē le, xīn jiù bú huì tiào de zhème kuài le.
Have a cup. Drink up, and your heart won't pound so hard.
Lu Su 好，好……我喝，我喝！
Hǎo, hǎo… wǒ hē, wǒ hē!
All right, all right… I'll drink, I'll drink!
The Young Soldier 先生！对面好像有人在喊，还有人在跑！他们听见了！
Xiānsheng! Duìmiàn hǎoxiàng yǒu rén zài hǎn, hái yǒu rén zài pǎo! Tāmen tīngjiàn le!
Sir! It sounds like people are shouting over there, and running too! They've heard us!
Zhuge Liang 好。鲁兄，把杯子拿好。曹操的礼物，马上就要来了。
Hǎo. Lǔ xiōng, bǎ bēizi ná hǎo. Cáo Cāo de lǐwù, mǎshàng jiù yào lái le.
Good. Hold on to your cup, Brother Lu. Cao Cao's present is on its way.
Lu Su 礼物？曹操要给我们送礼物？
Lǐwù? Cáo Cāo yào gěi wǒmen sòng lǐwù?
A present? Cao Cao is sending us a present?
Zhuge Liang 对，很大很大的礼物。十万份，也许还要多。
Duì, hěn dà hěn dà de lǐwù. Shíwàn fèn, yěxǔ hái yào duō.
Yes, a very, very big present. A hundred thousand of them, maybe more.
Lu Su 十万？先生，你到底在说什么啊？
Shíwàn? Xiānsheng, nǐ dàodǐ zài shuō shénme a?
A hundred thousand? Sir, what on earth are you talking about?

Hear the chapter

What changed in the story?

Why is Zhuge Liang happy about the thick fog?
“雾越大越好。鲁兄，今天的雾，是我们的好朋友啊。”
Where does Zhuge Liang tell the boats to go?
“一直往北开，不要停。……北边是曹操的大营啊！”
When Lu Su asks if they are going to steal Cao Cao's arrows, what does Zhuge Liang say?
“偷？不，不，我们是去借。”
What does Zhuge Liang order when the boats reach Cao Cao's camp?
“小兄弟，打起鼓来！大家一起大声喊！”
Why does Zhuge Liang say Cao Cao won't come out?
“雾这么大，曹操一定不敢出来。”

All chapters in Three Kingdoms: Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats.