Chang'e and the Moon · chapter 3 of 3
When the Moon Is Closest
月亮最近的时候
A year later, Hou Yi sets a table under the full moon. Chang'e watches from above, a neighbor asks who it's for, and something new begins.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 从那以后，后羿每天晚上都坐在院子里，看着月亮。
Cóng nà yǐhòu, Hòu Yì měi tiān wǎnshang dōu zuò zài yuànzi lǐ, kànzhe yuèliang.
From then on, Hou Yi sat in the courtyard every night, watching the moon.
- Hou Yi 嫦娥，今天的月亮不圆。你一个人在上面，冷不冷？
Cháng'é, jīntiān de yuèliang bù yuán. Nǐ yí gè rén zài shàngmiàn, lěng bu lěng?
Chang'e, the moon isn't full tonight. Are you cold, up there all alone?
- Chang'e 小兔子，你看，他又拿着那把大弓，坐在院子里了。他每天晚上都在等我。
Xiǎo tùzi, nǐ kàn, tā yòu názhe nà bǎ dà gōng, zuò zài yuànzi lǐ le. Tā měi tiān wǎnshang dōu zài děng wǒ.
Little rabbit, look. There he is in the courtyard again, holding his great bow. He waits for me every night.
- Chang'e 我不后悔。那天如果我不喝药，蓬蒙就会永远做坏事。可是，我好想他。
Wǒ bú hòuhuǐ. Nà tiān rúguǒ wǒ bù hē yào, Péng Méng jiù huì yǒngyuǎn zuò huàishì. Kěshì, wǒ hǎo xiǎng tā.
I don't regret it. If I hadn't drunk the elixir that day, Peng Meng would be doing evil forever. But I miss him so much.
- Narrator 第二年的八月十五，月亮又大又圆。
Dì èr nián de bā yuè shíwǔ, yuèliang yòu dà yòu yuán.
The next year, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the moon was big and round.
- Hou Yi 嫦娥，今天是八月十五。我在院子里摆了一张桌子。
Cháng'é, jīntiān shì bā yuè shíwǔ. Wǒ zài yuànzi lǐ bǎi le yì zhāng zhuōzi.
Chang'e, today is the fifteenth of the eighth month. I've set out a table in the courtyard.
- Hou Yi 你最喜欢的水果，你最爱吃的圆饼，我都准备好了。你在月亮上，能看见吗？
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de shuǐguǒ, nǐ zuì ài chī de yuán bǐng, wǒ dōu zhǔnbèi hǎo le. Nǐ zài yuèliang shang, néng kànjiàn ma?
Your favorite fruit, the round cakes you love best, I've got them all ready. Can you see them from the moon?
- Chang'e 我看见了！后羿，我都看见了！
Wǒ kànjiàn le! Hòu Yì, wǒ dōu kànjiàn le!
I see them! Hou Yi, I see it all!
- Chang'e 可是他听不见我。小兔子，你说，我怎么告诉他呢？
Kěshì tā tīng bú jiàn wǒ. Xiǎo tùzi, nǐ shuō, wǒ zěnme gàosu tā ne?
But he can't hear me. Little rabbit, tell me, how can I let him know?
- Chang'e 有了！风啊，请你把桂花的香味带给他吧！
Yǒu le! Fēng a, qǐng nǐ bǎ guìhuā de xiāngwèi dài gěi tā ba!
I know! Wind, please carry the scent of osmanthus down to him!
- Hou Yi 这是……桂花的香味？嫦娥，你看见了，对不对？
Zhè shì… guìhuā de xiāngwèi? Cháng'é, nǐ kànjiàn le, duì bu duì?
Is this… the scent of osmanthus? Chang'e, you saw, didn't you?
- Hou Yi 谢谢你，嫦娥。明年的今天，我还在这里等你。
Xièxie nǐ, Cháng'é. Míngnián de jīntiān, wǒ hái zài zhèlǐ děng nǐ.
Thank you, Chang'e. A year from today, I'll be right here waiting for you.
- The Neighbor 后羿，这么晚了，你摆这些水果和圆饼，是给谁的？
Hòu Yì, zhème wǎn le, nǐ bǎi zhèxiē shuǐguǒ hé yuán bǐng, shì gěi shéi de?
Hou Yi, it's so late. Who are all these fruits and round cakes for?
- Hou Yi 大娘，这是给月亮上的嫦娥的。今天月亮最圆，她离我最近。
Dàniáng, zhè shì gěi yuèliang shang de Cháng'é de. Jīntiān yuèliang zuì yuán, tā lí wǒ zuì jìn.
Auntie, they're for Chang'e, up on the moon. Tonight the moon is at its fullest, and she is closest to me.
- The Neighbor 这些饼为什么都是圆的？
Zhèxiē bǐng wèishénme dōu shì yuán de?
Why are these cakes all round?
- Hou Yi 因为月亮是圆的。圆，就是团圆。
Yīnwèi yuèliang shì yuán de. Yuán, jiù shì tuányuán.
Because the moon is round. And round means being together again.
- The Neighbor 团圆……我的儿子在很远的地方。他今天晚上，也会看月亮吗？
Tuányuán… wǒ de érzi zài hěn yuǎn de dìfang. Tā jīntiān wǎnshang, yě huì kàn yuèliang ma?
Together again… My son is far away. Will he look at the moon tonight too?
- Hou Yi 会的。想念一个人的时候，就看看月亮吧。你们看的，是同一个月亮。
Huì de. Xiǎngniàn yí gè rén de shíhou, jiù kànkan yuèliang ba. Nǐmen kàn de, shì tóng yí gè yuèliang.
He will. When you miss someone, look at the moon. You're both looking at the same one.
- The Neighbor 那明年八月十五，我也摆一张桌子，一边看月亮，一边想他！
Nà míngnián bā yuè shíwǔ, wǒ yě bǎi yì zhāng zhuōzi, yìbiān kàn yuèliang, yìbiān xiǎng tā!
Then next year on the fifteenth, I'll set out a table too, and think of him while I watch the moon!
- Narrator 后来，每年八月十五，家家都摆出水果和圆饼，一起看月亮。这一天，就是中秋节。
Hòulái, měi nián bā yuè shíwǔ, jiājiā dōu bǎi chū shuǐguǒ hé yuán bǐng, yìqǐ kàn yuèliang. Zhè yì tiān, jiù shì Zhōngqiū Jié.
In time, every family set out fruit and round cakes on that night each year, and watched the moon together. That day became the Mid-Autumn Festival.
- Narrator 那些圆圆的饼，就是今天的月饼。
Nàxiē yuányuán de bǐng, jiù shì jīntiān de yuèbǐng.
And those round cakes are today's mooncakes.
- Chang'e 后羿，我也在看着你。每年月亮最圆的时候，就是我离你最近的时候。
Hòu Yì, wǒ yě zài kànzhe nǐ. Měi nián yuèliang zuì yuán de shíhou, jiù shì wǒ lí nǐ zuì jìn de shíhou.
Hou Yi, I'm watching you too. Every year, when the moon is at its fullest, that is when I am closest to you.
What changed in the story?
- Does Chang'e regret drinking the elixir?
“我不后悔……可是，我好想他。”
- How does Chang'e let Hou Yi know she has seen his table?
“风啊，请你把桂花的香味带给他吧！”
- Why are the cakes round, according to Hou Yi?
“因为月亮是圆的。圆，就是团圆。”
- What does Hou Yi tell the neighbor to do when she misses her son?
“想念一个人的时候，就看看月亮吧。你们看的，是同一个月亮。”
- What did that day become?
“这一天，就是中秋节。”