The Butterfly Lovers · chapter 9 of 25
If You Were a Girl
要是你是女孩子
Yinxin needs a fast excuse. Then, under a spring moon, Shanbo talks about his dreams and makes a joke about marriage that Yingtai cannot forget.
Read what you hear
- Yinxin 小姐？我叫的是小鸡！你看，那边树下有一只小鸡！
Xiǎojie? Wǒ jiào de shì xiǎojī! Nǐ kàn, nàbiān shù xià yǒu yì zhī xiǎojī!
Miss? I said 'chick'! Look, there's a little chick under that tree!
- Sijiu 小鸡？学堂的花园里，哪儿来的小鸡？
Xiǎojī? Xuétáng de huāyuán lǐ, nǎr lái de xiǎojī?
A chick? Where would a chick come from in the school garden?
- Yinxin 外面跑进来的！它跑得很快，你不信，就去追啊！
Wàimiàn pǎo jìnlái de! Tā pǎo de hěn kuài, nǐ bú xìn, jiù qù zhuī a!
It ran in from outside! It's really quick. Don't believe me? Go and chase it!
Chapter 9 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of The Butterfly Lovers (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Zhu Yingtai 哈哈，四九，快去追吧！你不是最爱吃吗？
Hāhā, Sìjiǔ, kuài qù zhuī ba! Nǐ bú shì zuì ài chī ma?
Ha ha, Sijiu, go on, chase it! Don't you love your food?
- Sijiu 好吧，小鸡就小鸡。可是银心，你有时候真像个丫鬟。
Hǎo ba, xiǎojī jiù xiǎojī. Kěshì Yínxīn, nǐ yǒu shíhou zhēn xiàng gè yāhuan.
Fine, a chick it is. But Yinxin, sometimes you're just like a maid.
- Yinxin 你才像丫鬟呢！话那么多，比小鸡还吵。
Nǐ cái xiàng yāhuan ne! Huà nàme duō, bǐ xiǎojī hái chǎo.
You're the one who's like a maid! You talk so much, you're noisier than a chick.
- Sijiu 好，我走。可是我会一直看着你们的。
Hǎo, wǒ zǒu. Kěshì wǒ huì yìzhí kànzhe nǐmen de.
All right, I'm going. But I'll be keeping an eye on you two.
- Yinxin 公子，对不起，我差一点儿就说出来了！
Gōngzǐ, duìbuqǐ, wǒ chà yìdiǎnr jiù shuō chūlái le!
Young Master, I'm sorry. I nearly gave it all away!
- Zhu Yingtai 没事。可是四九这个孩子，比他的公子聪明多了。
Méi shì. Kěshì Sìjiǔ zhège háizi, bǐ tā de gōngzǐ cōngming duō le.
It's all right. But that Sijiu is a lot sharper than his young master.
- Yinxin 聪明？他吃饼的时候，一点儿也不聪明。
Cōngming? Tā chī bǐng de shíhou, yìdiǎnr yě bù cōngming.
Sharp? Not when he's eating cakes, he isn't.
- Narrator 那天晚上，月亮又大又亮。山伯和英台坐在花园里，说了很多心里话。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, yuèliang yòu dà yòu liàng. Shānbó hé Yīngtái zuò zài huāyuán lǐ, shuō le hěn duō xīnlǐhuà.
That night the moon was big and bright. Shanbo and Yingtai sat in the garden and talked from the heart.
- Zhu Yingtai 梁兄，读完书以后，你想做什么？
Liáng xiōng, dú wán shū yǐhòu, nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme?
Brother Liang, what do you want to do when you finish your studies?
- Liang Shanbo 英台，我要好好读书，以后做官，让我妈妈过上好日子。
Yīngtái, wǒ yào hǎohǎo dúshū, yǐhòu zuò guān, ràng wǒ māma guò shàng hǎo rìzi.
Yingtai, I'm going to study hard, become an official one day and give my mother a good life.
- Zhu Yingtai 梁兄，你这么老实，又这么认真，一定能做个好官。
Liáng xiōng, nǐ zhème lǎoshi, yòu zhème rènzhēn, yídìng néng zuò gè hǎo guān.
Brother Liang, you're so honest and so hardworking, you'll make a good official.
- Liang Shanbo 做官以后，我还要给四九买一百个饼！那你呢？英台，你以后想娶一个什么样的妻子？
Zuò guān yǐhòu, wǒ hái yào gěi Sìjiǔ mǎi yìbǎi gè bǐng! Nà nǐ ne? Yīngtái, nǐ yǐhòu xiǎng qǔ yí gè shénmeyàng de qīzi?
And once I'm an official, I'll buy Sijiu a hundred cakes! What about you? Yingtai, what kind of wife do you want someday?
- Zhu Yingtai 我想要的人，要老实，要爱读书，还要……有一点儿傻。
Wǒ xiǎng yào de rén, yào lǎoshi, yào ài dúshū, hái yào… yǒu yìdiǎnr shǎ.
The one I want has to be honest, love books, and... be a little bit slow.
- Liang Shanbo 哈哈哈！这不是在说我吗？英台，要是你是女孩子，我就娶你！
Hāhāhā! Zhè bú shì zài shuō wǒ ma? Yīngtái, yàoshi nǐ shì nǚháizi, wǒ jiù qǔ nǐ!
Ha ha ha! Isn't that me? Yingtai, if you were a girl, I'd marry you!
- Zhu Yingtai 他说……他要娶我？英台，现在就告诉他！
Tā shuō… tā yào qǔ wǒ? Yīngtái, xiànzài jiù gàosu tā!
He said... he'd marry me? Yingtai, tell him now!
- Zhu Yingtai 梁兄……我，我有一件事，想告诉你……
Liáng xiōng… wǒ, wǒ yǒu yí jiàn shì, xiǎng gàosu nǐ…
Brother Liang... I, there's something I want to tell you...
- Liang Shanbo 哈哈，你的脸又红了！我是开玩笑的。我们是好兄弟，一辈子的好兄弟！
Hāhā, nǐ de liǎn yòu hóng le! Wǒ shì kāi wánxiào de. Wǒmen shì hǎo xiōngdì, yíbèizi de hǎo xiōngdì!
Ha ha, you've gone red again! I was only joking. We're good brothers, brothers for life!
- Liang Shanbo 不早了，我先回去睡。你也早点儿回来，别又说冷！
Bù zǎo le, wǒ xiān huíqù shuì. Nǐ yě zǎo diǎnr huílái, bié yòu shuō lěng!
It's late. I'm going in to sleep. Don't stay out long, or you'll be telling me you're cold again!
- Narrator 山伯走了。英台一个人坐在花园里，看着天上的月亮。
Shānbó zǒu le. Yīngtái yí gè rén zuò zài huāyuán lǐ, kànzhe tiān shàng de yuèliang.
Shanbo went in. Yingtai sat alone in the garden, looking up at the moon.
- Zhu Yingtai 一辈子的兄弟……梁兄，我不想做你的兄弟。
Yíbèizi de xiōngdì… Liáng xiōng, wǒ bù xiǎng zuò nǐ de xiōngdì.
Brothers for life... Brother Liang, I don't want to be your brother.
- Zhu Yingtai 我想做你的妻子。梁山伯，我想嫁给你。
Wǒ xiǎng zuò nǐ de qīzi. Liáng Shānbó, wǒ xiǎng jià gěi nǐ.
I want to be your wife. Liang Shanbo, I want to marry you.
- Narrator 第二天早上，学生们都在学堂里读书。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, xuéshengmen dōu zài xuétáng lǐ dúshū.
The next morning, the students were all at their books in the schoolroom.
- Liang Shanbo 英台，你的眼睛怎么红了？昨天晚上什么时候回来的？
Yīngtái, nǐ de yǎnjing zěnme hóng le? Zuótiān wǎnshang shénme shíhou huílái de?
Yingtai, why are your eyes red? When did you come in last night?
- Zhu Yingtai 你睡得像石头，当然不知道。
Nǐ shuì de xiàng shítou, dāngrán bù zhīdào.
You were sleeping like a stone. How would you know?
- The Teacher 读书的时候，嘴不说话，眼睛看书。再说话，就罚你们写一百个字。
Dúshū de shíhou, zuǐ bù shuōhuà, yǎnjing kàn shū. Zài shuōhuà, jiù fá nǐmen xiě yìbǎi gè zì.
When you study, the mouth stays shut and the eyes stay on the book. One more word, and you'll each write a hundred characters.
- The Teacher 祝英台，你出来一下。你家里来了一封信。
Zhù Yīngtái, nǐ chūlái yíxià. Nǐ jiā lǐ lái le yì fēng xìn.
Zhu Yingtai, come out here a moment. A letter has come from your home.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does Yinxin explain why she called out 'Miss'?
“我叫的是小鸡”
- What does Shanbo want to do after his studies?
“以后做官，让我妈妈过上好日子”
- What kind of person does Yingtai say she wants?
“要老实，要爱读书，还要……有一点儿傻”
- What does Shanbo say right after 'If you were a girl, I'd marry you'?
“我是开玩笑的……一辈子的好兄弟”
- What does Yingtai say when she is alone in the garden?
“我想做你的妻子……我想嫁给你”