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 Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of Chinese New Year Tales 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.
- 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。”