Chinese New Year Tales · chapter 4 of 5
Sui and the Red Envelope
岁和红包
A tiny black monster touches sleeping children's heads on New Year's Eve. One mother has a clever plan with eight coins and a scrap of red paper.
Read what you hear
- Mingming 奶奶，小怪是谁？它长什么样？
Nǎinai, xiǎo guài shì shéi? Tā zhǎng shénme yàng?
Grandma, who is the little monster? What does it look like?
- Grandma 它很小，黑黑的，有大大的眼睛，还有小小的手。
Tā hěn xiǎo, hēihēi de, yǒu dàdà de yǎnjing, hái yǒu xiǎoxiǎo de shǒu.
It's very small and black, with big eyes and tiny hands.
- Xiaoyu 它吃小孩吗？
Tā chī xiǎohái ma?
Does it eat children?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese New Year Tales is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Grandma 不吃。它晚上摸小孩的头。
Bù chī. Tā wǎnshang mō xiǎohái de tóu.
No. At night it touches children's heads.
- Mingming 摸头？摸了会怎么样？
Mō tóu? Mō le huì zěnmeyàng?
Touch their heads? What happens then?
- Grandma 小孩会生病，还会哭。
Xiǎohái huì shēngbìng, hái huì kū.
The child gets sick and cries.
- Xiaoyu 我好怕！后来呢？小孩怎么办？
Wǒ hǎo pà! Hòulái ne? Xiǎohái zěnme bàn?
I'm so scared! What happened next? What did the children do?
- Narrator 过年的晚上，妈妈和小宝都没有睡觉。
Guònián de wǎnshang, māma hé Xiǎobǎo dōu méiyǒu shuìjiào.
On New Year's night, a mother and her boy Xiaobao stayed awake.
- Sui 小孩都睡了吗？我要去摸小宝的头！
Xiǎohái dōu shuì le ma? Wǒ yào qù mō Xiǎobǎo de tóu!
Are all the children asleep? I'm going to touch Xiaobao's head!
- Xiaobao's Mother 小宝，别睡。岁今天晚上会来。
Xiǎobǎo, bié shuì. Suì jīntiān wǎnshang huì lái.
Xiaobao, don't fall asleep. Sui will come tonight.
- Xiaobao 妈妈，我不怕。可是，我想睡觉。
Māma, wǒ bú pà. Kěshì, wǒ xiǎng shuìjiào.
Mama, I'm not scared. But I want to sleep.
- Xiaobao's Mother 我们来玩钱。你看，八个铜钱！
Wǒmen lái wán qián. Nǐ kàn, bā gè tóngqián!
Let's play with money. Look, eight coins!
- Xiaobao 太好看了！亮亮的！
Tài hǎokàn le! Liàngliàng de!
How pretty! They're so shiny!
- Xiaobao's Mother 我们把钱，放进红包里。
Wǒmen bǎ qián, fàng jìn hóngbāo lǐ.
Let's put the money in a red paper packet.
- Xiaobao 好玩……可是我好累啊……我想睡了……
Hǎowán… kěshì wǒ hǎo lèi a… wǒ xiǎng shuì le…
This is fun... but I'm so tired... I want to sleep...
- Xiaobao's Mother 睡吧，睡吧。钱就在你的床上。
Shuì ba, shuì ba. Qián jiù zài nǐ de chuáng shàng.
Sleep now, sleep. The money is right there on your bed.
- Sui 小宝睡了。我来摸摸他的头……
Xiǎobǎo shuì le. Wǒ lái mōmo tā de tóu…
Xiaobao is asleep. Now I'll just touch his head...
- Sui 啊！太亮了！我的眼睛！
Ā! Tài liàng le! Wǒ de yǎnjing!
Ah! It's so bright! My eyes!
- Sui 铜钱里有八个人！快跑！
Tóngqián lǐ yǒu bā gè rén! Kuài pǎo!
There are eight people inside the coins! Run!
- Xiaobao's Mother 岁跑了！小宝，你没事了，你真好！
Suì pǎo le! Xiǎobǎo, nǐ méi shì le, nǐ zhēn hǎo!
Sui ran away! Xiaobao, you're safe now, you're wonderful!
- Xiaobao 妈妈……天亮了吗？我睡了很久吗？
Māma… tiān liàng le ma? Wǒ shuì le hěn jiǔ ma?
Mama... is it morning yet? Did I sleep a long time?
- Mingming 那些铜钱，真有用！妈妈真好！
Nàxiē tóngqián, zhēn yǒuyòng! Māma zhēn hǎo!
Those coins were really useful! What a good mother!
- Grandma 对！这就是压岁钱。
Duì! Zhè jiùshì yāsuìqián.
Yes! That is yasuiqian, the lucky New Year money.
- Xiaoyu 我知道！红包里的钱！
Wǒ zhīdào! Hóngbāo lǐ de qián!
I know! The money in the red envelope!
- Grandma 对。孩子有压岁钱，岁就不能来。
Duì. Háizi yǒu yāsuìqián, Suì jiù bù néng lái.
Right. A child with New Year money keeps Sui away.
- Mingming 那我的压岁钱呢？
Nà wǒ de yāsuìqián ne?
Then where's my New Year money?
- Grandma 红包在你的床上。明天是最后一个故事：有人让天上的皇帝看错了！
Hóngbāo zài nǐ de chuáng shàng. Míngtiān shì zuìhòu yí gè gùshi: yǒu rén ràng tiānshàng de huángdì kàn cuò le!
Your red envelope is on your bed. Tomorrow is the last story: someone made the Emperor of Heaven see wrong!
- Mingming 谁让他看错了？我要听！
Shéi ràng tā kàn cuò le? Wǒ yào tīng!
Who made him see wrong? I want to hear it!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Sui do at night?
“它晚上摸小孩的头。”
- What does the mother play with?
“你看，八个铜钱！”
- What happens when Sui reaches for Xiaobao?
“啊！太亮了！我的眼睛！”
- Why does Sui run away?
“铜钱里有八个人！快跑！”
- What is yasuiqian?
“这就是压岁钱。”……“孩子有压岁钱，岁就不能来。”