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, finds a way to answer, and a neighbor asks who the cakes are for.
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, kàn zhe yuèliang.
From then on, Hou Yi sat in the courtyard every night, watching the moon.
- Chang'e 小兔子，你看，他又坐在院子里了。他手里还拿着那把大弓。
Xiǎo tùzi, nǐ kàn, tā yòu zuò zài yuànzi lǐ le. Tā shǒu lǐ hái ná zhe nà bǎ dà gōng.
Little rabbit, look. He's sitting in the courtyard again, still holding that great bow.
- Chang'e 他每天晚上都在等我。下雨的晚上，他也不进屋。
Tā měi tiān wǎnshang dōu zài děng wǒ. Xià yǔ de wǎnshang, tā yě bú jìn wū.
He waits for me every night. Even when it rains, he won't go inside.
- Chang'e 你又在吃桂花了？那是树上的花，不是你的饭！
Nǐ yòu zài chī guìhuā le? Nà shì shù shàng de huā, bú shì nǐ de fàn!
Are you eating the osmanthus again? Those are the tree's flowers, not your dinner!
- Chang'e 有时候我问自己：那天，我做得对吗？
Yǒu shíhou wǒ wèn zìjǐ: nà tiān, wǒ zuò de duì ma?
Sometimes I ask myself: did I do the right thing that day?
- Chang'e 我不后悔。如果我不喝药，蓬蒙就会永远做坏事。
Wǒ bú hòuhuǐ. Rúguǒ wǒ bù hē yào, Péng Méng jiù huì yǒngyuǎn zuò huàishì.
I don't regret it. If I hadn't drunk the elixir, Peng Meng would be doing evil forever.
- Chang'e 可是，我好想他。月亮上这么冷，这么安静。
Kěshì, wǒ hǎo xiǎng tā. Yuèliang shàng zhème lěng, zhème ānjìng.
But I miss him so much. The moon is so cold, and so quiet.
- Chang'e 后羿，你一个人在下面，冷不冷？有没有好好吃饭？
Hòu Yì, nǐ yí gè rén zài xiàmiàn, lěng bu lěng? Yǒu méiyǒu hǎohǎo chī fàn?
Hou Yi, down there all alone, are you cold? Are you eating properly?
- Narrator 一年过去了。第二年的八月十五，月亮又大又圆。
Yì nián guòqù le. Dì èr nián de bā yuè shíwǔ, yuèliang yòu dà yòu yuán.
A year went by. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the moon was big and round again.
- 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。
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan de shuǐguǒ, nǐ zuì ài chī de yuán bǐng, wǒ dōu zhǔnbèi hǎo le.
Your favorite fruit, the round cakes you love best, I've got them all ready.
- Hou Yi 你在月亮上，能看见吗？
Nǐ zài yuèliang shàng, néng kànjiàn ma?
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 bu 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？
Zhè shì… guìhuā de xiāngwèi?
Is this… the scent of osmanthus?
- Hou Yi 嫦娥，你看见了，对不对？这是你给我的回答！
Cháng'é, nǐ kànjiàn le, duì bu duì? Zhè shì nǐ gěi wǒ de huídá!
Chang'e, you saw, didn't you? This is your answer to me!
- 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，你还不睡？这些水果和圆饼，是给谁的？
Hòu Yì, zhème wǎn le, nǐ hái bú shuì? Zhèxiē shuǐguǒ hé yuán bǐng, shì gěi shéi de?
Hou Yi, it's so late. Still not in bed? 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 shàng 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 fullest, and she is closest to me.
- The Neighbor 这么多饼，一个人可吃不完啊。为什么都是圆的？
Zhème duō bǐng, yí gè rén kě chī bu wán a. Wèishénme dōu shì yuán de?
That's a lot of cakes for one person. And why are they 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。想一个人的时候，就看看月亮吧。你们看的，是同一个月亮。
Huì de. Xiǎng 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，一边想我的儿子！
Nà míngnián bā yuè shíwǔ, wǒ yě bǎi yì zhāng zhuōzi, yìbiān kàn yuèliang, yìbiān xiǎng wǒ de érzi!
Then next year on the fifteenth, I'll set out a table too, and think of my son while I watch the moon!
- Hou Yi 好啊，大娘。等他回来，你们就能团圆了。
Hǎo a, dàniáng. Děng tā huílái, nǐmen jiù néng tuányuán le.
Good, Auntie. And when he comes home, you'll be together again.
- 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 Zhōngqiūjié.
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 kàn zhe 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?
- What does Hou Yi do every night after Chang'e leaves?
“后羿每天晚上都坐在院子里，看着月亮。”
- How does Chang'e feel about drinking the elixir?
“我不后悔。……可是，我好想他。”
- How does Chang'e let Hou Yi know she sees him?
“风啊，请你把桂花的香味带给他吧！”
- Why are the cakes round?
“因为月亮是圆的。圆，就是团圆。”
- What will the neighbor do next year?
“我也摆一张桌子，一边看月亮，一边想我的儿子！”