Chang'e and the Moon · chapter 1 of 3
Ten Suns
十个太阳
Ten suns are burning up the earth, and only one archer can stop them. But his reward is a gift meant for just one person, and someone is watching.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久很久以前，天上有十个太阳。地上热得像火一样。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, tiān shàng yǒu shí gè tàiyáng. Dì shàng rè de xiàng huǒ yíyàng.
Long, long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. The earth was as hot as fire.
- Chang'e 后羿，你看那些孩子。他们已经三天没喝到水了。
Hòu Yì, nǐ kàn nàxiē háizi. Tāmen yǐjīng sān tiān méi hē dào shuǐ le.
Hou Yi, look at those children. They haven't had a drop of water in three days.
- Hou Yi 河干了，树也死了。不能再这样下去了！
Hé gān le, shù yě sǐ le. Bù néng zài zhèyàng xiàqù le!
The rivers are dry, and the trees are dead. It can't go on like this!
- Chang'e 可是，太阳那么高，你的箭能飞到天上吗？
Kěshì, tàiyáng nàme gāo, nǐ de jiàn néng fēi dào tiān shàng ma?
But the suns are so high. Can your arrows really reach the sky?
- Hou Yi 能。我的箭，比鸟飞得还高。嫦娥，把我的弓和箭拿来！
Néng. Wǒ de jiàn, bǐ niǎo fēi de hái gāo. Cháng'é, bǎ wǒ de gōng hé jiàn ná lái!
They can. My arrows fly higher than any bird. Chang'e, bring me my bow and arrows!
- Chang'e 给你！你是世界上射箭射得最好的人。我相信你。
Gěi nǐ! Nǐ shì shìjiè shàng shèjiàn shè de zuì hǎo de rén. Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ.
Here! No one in the world shoots better than you. I believe in you.
- Hou Yi 一支箭，一个太阳。我一支也不能射错。
Yì zhī jiàn, yí gè tàiyáng. Wǒ yì zhī yě bù néng shè cuò.
One arrow, one sun. I can't miss a single shot.
- Narrator 后羿拉开红色的大弓，第一支箭飞上了天。
Hòu Yì lā kāi hóngsè de dà gōng, dì yī zhī jiàn fēi shàng le tiān.
Hou Yi drew his great red bow, and the first arrow flew up into the sky.
- Chang'e 你看！一个太阳掉下来了！
Nǐ kàn! Yí gè tàiyáng diào xiàlái le!
Look! One of the suns is falling!
- Hou Yi 还有九个！嫦娥，再拿箭来！
Hái yǒu jiǔ gè! Cháng'é, zài ná jiàn lái!
Nine to go! Chang'e, more arrows!
- Chang'e 两个，三个，四个……天没有那么热了！
Liǎng gè, sān gè, sì gè… tiān méiyǒu nàme rè le!
Two, three, four… it's not so hot anymore!
- Hou Yi 你数得太快了，我都跟不上你了！
Nǐ shǔ de tài kuài le, wǒ dōu gēn bu shàng nǐ le!
You're counting faster than I can shoot!
- Chang'e 五个，六个，七个，八个，九个！
Wǔ gè, liù gè, qī gè, bā gè, jiǔ gè!
Five, six, seven, eight, nine!
- Chang'e 等一下！后羿，留下一个吧！没有太阳，花和树都长不大。
Děng yíxià! Hòu Yì, liú xià yí gè ba! Méiyǒu tàiyáng, huā hé shù dōu zhǎng bu dà.
Wait! Hou Yi, leave one! Without a sun, no flower or tree can grow.
- Hou Yi 你说得对。那就留下这一个吧，让它每天早上出来。
Nǐ shuō de duì. Nà jiù liú xià zhè yí gè ba, ràng tā měi tiān zǎoshang chūlái.
You're right. Then this one stays, to rise every morning.
- Narrator 从那天起，天上只有一个太阳。下了几场雨，地上又绿了。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, tiān shàng zhǐ yǒu yí gè tàiyáng. Xià le jǐ chǎng yǔ, dì shàng yòu lǜ le.
From that day on, there was only one sun in the sky. The rains came, and the land turned green again.
- Peng Meng 师父！您救了我们大家！我叫蓬蒙，我想跟您学射箭。
Shīfu! Nín jiù le wǒmen dàjiā! Wǒ jiào Péng Méng, wǒ xiǎng gēn nín xué shèjiàn.
Master! You saved us all! My name is Peng Meng. I want to learn archery from you.
- Hou Yi 师父？我还没说要教你呢。
Shīfu? Wǒ hái méi shuō yào jiāo nǐ ne.
Master? I haven't said I'll teach you yet.
- Peng Meng 您的弓真漂亮！我每天都会练习，什么苦都不怕。
Nín de gōng zhēn piàoliang! Wǒ měi tiān dōu huì liànxí, shénme kǔ dōu bú pà.
What a beautiful bow! I'll practice every day. No hardship scares me.
- Hou Yi 好，明天早上来吧。别来晚了！
Hǎo, míngtiān zǎoshang lái ba. Bié lái wǎn le!
All right. Come tomorrow morning. Don't be late!
- Chang'e 后羿，我不喜欢蓬蒙的眼睛。他看东西的时候，好像什么都想要。
Hòu Yì, wǒ bù xǐhuan Péng Méng de yǎnjing. Tā kàn dōngxi de shíhou, hǎoxiàng shénme dōu xiǎng yào.
Hou Yi, I don't like Peng Meng's eyes. When he looks at things, it's as if he wants them all.
- Hou Yi 别担心。他只是想学射箭，我会好好教他的。
Bié dānxīn. Tā zhǐshì xiǎng xué shèjiàn, wǒ huì hǎohǎo jiāo tā de.
Don't worry. He only wants to learn archery. I'll teach him well.
- Chang'e 后羿，你带回来的这个小瓶子真漂亮。是从哪儿来的？
Hòu Yì, nǐ dài huílái de zhège xiǎo píngzi zhēn piàoliang. Shì cóng nǎr lái de?
Hou Yi, what a pretty little bottle you brought home. Where did it come from?
- Hou Yi 是天上的王母娘娘送给我的。里面是不死药。
Shì tiān shàng de Wángmǔ Niángniang sòng gěi wǒ de. Lǐmiàn shì bùsǐ yào.
The Queen Mother of the West gave it to me, up in heaven. Inside is the elixir of immortality.
- Hou Yi 喝了它，就能飞上天，做神仙，永远不会死。
Hē le tā, jiù néng fēi shàng tiān, zuò shénxiān, yǒngyuǎn bú huì sǐ.
Drink it, and you fly up to the sky, become an immortal, and never die.
- Chang'e 那你快喝吧！你救了那么多人，应该做神仙。
Nà nǐ kuài hē ba! Nǐ jiù le nàme duō rén, yīnggāi zuò shénxiān.
Then drink it! You saved so many people. You deserve to be an immortal.
- Hou Yi 可是，王母娘娘说了，它只够一个人喝。
Kěshì, Wángmǔ Niángniang shuō le, tā zhǐ gòu yí gè rén hē.
But the Queen Mother said there's only enough for one.
- Hou Yi 没有你，就算活一万年，又有什么意思呢？
Méiyǒu nǐ, jiùsuàn huó yíwàn nián, yòu yǒu shénme yìsi ne?
Without you, what would be the point of living ten thousand years?
- Chang'e 好，那我们谁也不喝。我把它放在这个木盒子里。
Hǎo, nà wǒmen shéi yě bù hē. Wǒ bǎ tā fàng zài zhège mù hézi lǐ.
All right. Then neither of us drinks it. I'll keep it in this wooden box.
- Narrator 门外，有一双眼睛，看见了这一切。
Mén wài, yǒu yì shuāng yǎnjing, kànjiàn le zhè yíqiè.
Outside the door, a pair of eyes had seen it all.
- Peng Meng 不死药……原来在木盒子里。
Bùsǐ yào… yuánlái zài mù hézi lǐ.
The elixir… so it's in the wooden box.
- Peng Meng 做神仙的，为什么不能是我呢？
Zuò shénxiān de, wèishénme bù néng shì wǒ ne?
Why shouldn't I be the one who becomes an immortal?
What changed in the story?
- Why does Hou Yi decide to shoot the suns?
“河干了，树也死了。不能再这样下去了！”
- Why does Chang'e stop him before the last sun?
“没有太阳，花和树都长不大。”
- What worries Chang'e about Peng Meng?
“他看东西的时候，好像什么都想要。”
- Why won't Hou Yi drink the elixir?
“它只够一个人喝。……没有你，就算活一万年，又有什么意思呢？”
- Who learns where the elixir is hidden?
“不死药……原来在木盒子里。”