The Butterfly Lovers · chapter 8 of 25
Three Years at School
学堂三年
A hot day at the river, a bitter winter and three years with a bowl of water between them. In the third spring, Yingtai has a new secret to tell.
Read what you hear
- Liang Shanbo 英台，快下来！夏天的河水，一点儿也不冷，舒服极了！
Yīngtái, kuài xiàlái! Xiàtiān de héshuǐ, yìdiǎnr yě bù lěng, shūfu jí le!
Yingtai, come on in! The river in summer isn't cold at all. It's wonderful!
- Zhu Yingtai 我不下去。我从小就怕水，在河边看一看就好。
Wǒ bú xiàqù. Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù pà shuǐ, zài hébiān kàn yi kàn jiù hǎo.
I'm not coming in. I've been scared of water since I was little. I'll just watch from the bank.
- Sijiu 祝公子，你看银心，他也不下来！你们祝家的人都怕水吗？
Zhù gōngzǐ, nǐ kàn Yínxīn, tā yě bú xiàlái! Nǐmen Zhù jiā de rén dōu pà shuǐ ma?
Young Master Zhu, look at Yinxin, he won't come in either! Is everyone in the Zhu family scared of water?
Chapter 8 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1–3 of The Butterfly Lovers 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.
- Yinxin 我不是怕水。我在这儿拿着衣服，要是起风了，四九的衣服就飞了！
Wǒ bú shì pà shuǐ. Wǒ zài zhèr názhe yīfu, yàoshi qǐ fēng le, Sìjiǔ de yīfu jiù fēi le!
I'm not scared of water. I'm holding the clothes. If the wind gets up, Sijiu's clothes will fly away!
- Liang Shanbo 英台，你来学堂这么久了，我从来没看见你脱过衣服。
Yīngtái, nǐ lái xuétáng zhème jiǔ le, wǒ cónglái méi kànjiàn nǐ tuō guo yīfu.
Yingtai, you've been at school all this time, and I've never once seen you take your clothes off.
- Zhu Yingtai 我感冒了，梁兄。感冒的人不能下水，也不能脱衣服。
Wǒ gǎnmào le, Liáng xiōng. Gǎnmào de rén bù néng xiàshuǐ, yě bù néng tuō yīfu.
I've got a cold, Brother Liang. People with colds can't go in the water, or take their clothes off.
- Liang Shanbo 刚才你说怕水，现在又说感冒。还有，英台，你的手为什么这么小？
Gāngcái nǐ shuō pà shuǐ, xiànzài yòu shuō gǎnmào. Hái yǒu, Yīngtái, nǐ de shǒu wèi shénme zhème xiǎo?
A minute ago you were scared of water, now you've got a cold. And Yingtai, why are your hands so small?
- Zhu Yingtai 又怕水，又感冒，不行吗？手小，字才写得好。你的手那么大，一张纸只能写三个字！
Yòu pà shuǐ, yòu gǎnmào, bùxíng ma? Shǒu xiǎo, zì cái xiě de hǎo. Nǐ de shǒu nàme dà, yì zhāng zhǐ zhǐ néng xiě sān gè zì!
Scared of water and a cold. Can't I have both? Small hands write good characters. Your hands are so big, you only fit three characters on a page!
- Sijiu 哈哈！公子，祝公子说得对，你的字是很大！
Hāhā! Gōngzǐ, Zhù gōngzǐ shuō de duì, nǐ de zì shì hěn dà!
Ha ha! Young Master, Young Master Zhu's right, your characters really are huge!
- Liang Shanbo 哈哈，我说不过你。大字就大字吧，看得清楚！
Hāhā, wǒ shuō bu guò nǐ. Dà zì jiù dà zì ba, kàn de qīngchu!
Ha ha, I can't win with you. Big characters it is. At least they're easy to read!
- Zhu Yingtai 他又开始怀疑了……英台，以后要更小心了。
Tā yòu kāishǐ huáiyí le… Yīngtái, yǐhòu yào gèng xiǎoxīn le.
He's starting to wonder again... Yingtai, from now on you'll have to be even more careful.
- Narrator 夏天过去了，冬天来了。这一年的冬天，特别冷。
Xiàtiān guòqù le, dōngtiān lái le. Zhè yì nián de dōngtiān, tèbié lěng.
Summer passed, and winter came. That winter was bitterly cold.
- Liang Shanbo 英台，你又说冷了。来，我的冬衣给你穿上。
Yīngtái, nǐ yòu shuō lěng le. Lái, wǒ de dōngyī gěi nǐ chuān shàng.
Yingtai, you're saying you're cold again. Here, put on my winter coat.
- Zhu Yingtai 梁兄，你只有这一件冬衣。给了我，你穿什么？
Liáng xiōng, nǐ zhǐ yǒu zhè yí jiàn dōngyī. Gěi le wǒ, nǐ chuān shénme?
Brother Liang, it's your only winter coat. If you give it to me, what will you wear?
- Liang Shanbo 我，我不冷！我是哥哥嘛，哥哥的身体好。
Wǒ, wǒ bù lěng! Wǒ shì gēge ma, gēge de shēntǐ hǎo.
I-I'm not cold! I'm the big brother. Big brothers are tough.
- Sijiu 还说不冷，公子的手都冷得像石头了！我们公子穷，可是心最好。
Hái shuō bù lěng, gōngzǐ de shǒu dōu lěng de xiàng shítou le! Wǒmen gōngzǐ qióng, kěshì xīn zuì hǎo.
Not cold, he says, and his hands are stone cold! My young master is poor, but nobody has a kinder heart.
- Yinxin 公子，这么晚了，你还在给梁公子补衣服？
Gōngzǐ, zhème wǎn le, nǐ hái zài gěi Liáng gōngzǐ bǔ yīfu?
Young Master, it's so late. Are you still mending Young Master Liang's clothes?
- Zhu Yingtai 小声点儿。他的衣服破了，他又没有钱买新的。
Xiǎoshēng diǎnr. Tā de yīfu pò le, tā yòu méiyǒu qián mǎi xīn de.
Shh, quietly. His clothes are torn, and he has no money for new ones.
- Liang Shanbo 四九，我早上起来一看，衣服补好了！是你给我补的吗？
Sìjiǔ, wǒ zǎoshang qǐlái yí kàn, yīfu bǔ hǎo le! Shì nǐ gěi wǒ bǔ de ma?
Sijiu, I got up this morning and found my clothes mended! Was it you?
- Sijiu 我？公子，我的手只会拿饼，不会补衣服！
Wǒ? Gōngzǐ, wǒ de shǒu zhǐ huì ná bǐng, bú huì bǔ yīfu!
Me? Young Master, my hands can hold a cake, not mend clothes!
- Zhu Yingtai 也许是天上的人看你太穷，晚上下来帮你补的。
Yěxǔ shì tiān shàng de rén kàn nǐ tài qióng, wǎnshang xiàlái bāng nǐ bǔ de.
Maybe someone up in heaven saw how poor you are and came down in the night to mend them.
- Liang Shanbo 哈哈，那今天晚上我不睡了，我要看看是谁！
Hāhā, nà jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ bú shuì le, wǒ yào kànkan shì shéi!
Ha ha, then I'm staying up tonight to see who it is!
- Sijiu 公子，你每天晚上都睡得像石头，你看不见的！
Gōngzǐ, nǐ měi tiān wǎnshang dōu shuì de xiàng shítou, nǐ kàn bu jiàn de!
Young Master, you sleep like a stone every night. You'll never see a thing!
- Narrator 一年过去了，两年过去了。床中间的那碗水，从来没有碰翻过。
Yì nián guòqù le, liǎng nián guòqù le. Chuáng zhōngjiān de nà wǎn shuǐ, cónglái méiyǒu pèngfān guo.
One year passed, then two. The bowl of water in the middle of the bed was never once knocked over.
- Zhu Yingtai 银心，花又开了。这已经是我们在这儿的第三个春天了。
Yínxīn, huā yòu kāi le. Zhè yǐjīng shì wǒmen zài zhèr de dì sān gè chūntiān le.
Yinxin, the flowers are out again. This is our third spring here already.
- Yinxin 公子，你天天看着梁公子，是不是……有什么秘密？
Gōngzǐ, nǐ tiāntiān kànzhe Liáng gōngzǐ, shì bu shì… yǒu shénme mìmì?
Young Master, you watch Young Master Liang every day. Is there... some secret?
- Zhu Yingtai 银心，我只告诉你一个人。我……我喜欢上梁兄了。
Yínxīn, wǒ zhǐ gàosu nǐ yí gè rén. Wǒ… wǒ xǐhuan shàng Liáng xiōng le.
Yinxin, you're the only one I'll tell. I... I've fallen in love with Brother Liang.
- Yinxin 真的？太好了，小姐！我早就看出来了！
Zhēn de? Tài hǎo le, xiǎojie! Wǒ zǎo jiù kàn chūlái le!
Really? Oh, that's wonderful, Miss! I knew it all along!
- Sijiu 小姐？银心，你叫谁小姐？
Xiǎojie? Yínxīn, nǐ jiào shéi xiǎojie?
Miss? Yinxin, who are you calling 'Miss'?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What two reasons does Yingtai give for not going into the river?
“我从小就怕水”……“我感冒了”
- What else makes Shanbo wonder about Yingtai at the river?
“你的手为什么这么小？”
- What does Shanbo give Yingtai in the winter?
“你只有这一件冬衣”
- Who really mends Shanbo's torn clothes?
“这么晚了，你还在给梁公子补衣服？”
- What does Sijiu overhear at the end of the chapter?
“太好了，小姐！”