Chinese New Year Tales · chapter 5 of 5
The Lantern Trick
灯笼的故事
On the last night of the festival, Grandma tells how a whole city fooled the Emperor of Heaven with nothing but red lanterns.
Read what you hear
- Xiaoyu 奶奶！今天是十五！外边有很多灯笼！
Nǎinai! Jīntiān shì shíwǔ! Wàibian yǒu hěn duō dēnglong!
Grandma! Tonight is the fifteenth! There are so many lanterns outside!
- Mingming 红红的，真好看！我也要一个！
Hónghóng de, zhēn hǎokàn! Wǒ yě yào yí gè!
All red, so pretty! I want one too!
- Grandma 今天是最后一个晚上。灯笼好看吧？
Jīntiān shì zuìhòu yí gè wǎnshang. Dēnglong hǎokàn ba?
Tonight is the last night. Aren't the lanterns pretty?
Chapter 5 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.
- Xiaoyu 为什么大家都要点灯笼？
Wèishénme dàjiā dōu yào diǎn dēnglong?
Why does everyone light lanterns?
- Grandma 因为有一个人，让天上的皇帝看错了。
Yīnwèi yǒu yí gè rén, ràng tiānshàng de huángdì kàn cuò le.
Because one person made the Emperor of Heaven see wrong.
- Mingming 让皇帝看错了？太好玩了！
Ràng huángdì kàn cuò le? Tài hǎowán le!
Made an emperor see wrong? That's so much fun!
- Narrator 很久以前，长安有一个人，叫东方朔。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Cháng'ān yǒu yí gè rén, jiào Dōngfāng Shuò.
Long ago, in Chang'an, there was a man named Dongfang Shuo.
- Yuanxiao 东方朔先生！不好了！
Dōngfāng Shuò xiānsheng! Bù hǎo le!
Master Dongfang Shuo! Something terrible has happened!
- Dongfang Shuo 元宵，你慢一点说。
Yuánxiāo, nǐ màn yìdiǎn shuō.
Yuanxiao, slow down and tell me.
- Yuanxiao 天上的皇帝很生气！十五的晚上，他要烧长安！
Tiānshàng de huángdì hěn shēngqì! Shíwǔ de wǎnshang, tā yào shāo Cháng'ān!
The Emperor of Heaven is very angry! On the fifteenth night, he will burn Chang'an!
- Dongfang Shuo 什么？那大家都没有家了！
Shénme? Nà dàjiā dōu méiyǒu jiā le!
What? Then everyone will lose their homes!
- Yuanxiao 怎么办？我好怕！
Zěnme bàn? Wǒ hǎo pà!
What do we do? I'm so scared!
- Dongfang Shuo 让我想想……有了！
Ràng wǒ xiǎngxiang… Yǒu le!
Let me think... I've got it!
- Dongfang Shuo 十五的晚上，家家都点红灯笼！
Shíwǔ de wǎnshang, jiājiā dōu diǎn hóng dēnglong!
On the fifteenth night, every house lights red lanterns!
- Yuanxiao 灯笼？灯笼能做什么？
Dēnglong? Dēnglong néng zuò shénme?
Lanterns? What can lanterns do?
- Dongfang Shuo 天上的皇帝一看，就会说：那儿已经烧了！
Tiānshàng de huángdì yí kàn, jiù huì shuō: Nàr yǐjīng shāo le!
The Emperor of Heaven will look down and say: it's already burning there!
- Yuanxiao 哈哈！那他就不用烧了！
Hāhā! Nà tā jiù bú yòng shāo le!
Ha ha! Then he won't need to burn it!
- Dongfang Shuo 对！快去告诉大家：灯笼要多，要亮！
Duì! Kuài qù gàosu dàjiā: dēnglong yào duō, yào liàng!
Yes! Go tell everyone: we need many lanterns, and they must be bright!
- Emperor of Heaven 十五的晚上到了！我来烧长安！
Shíwǔ de wǎnshang dào le! Wǒ lái shāo Cháng'ān!
The fifteenth night has come! I will burn Chang'an!
- Emperor of Heaven 什么？下边都是红的！
Shénme? Xiàbian dōu shì hóng de!
What? Everything below is red!
- Emperor of Heaven 已经烧了？那我不烧了。
Yǐjīng shāo le? Nà wǒ bù shāo le.
It's already burning? Then I won't burn it.
- Yuanxiao 先生，天上没有声音了！
Xiānsheng, tiānshàng méiyǒu shēngyīn le!
Master, heaven has gone quiet!
- Dongfang Shuo 哈哈！灯笼让皇帝看错了！
Hāhā! Dēnglong ràng huángdì kàn cuò le!
Ha ha! The lanterns made the emperor see wrong!
- Xiaoyu 灯笼帮了长安的人！
Dēnglong bāng le Cháng'ān de rén!
The lanterns saved the people of Chang'an!
- Mingming 我们也吃元宵吧！
Wǒmen yě chī yuánxiāo ba!
Let's eat yuanxiao too!
- Grandma 好！有人说，元宵这个名字，是那个女孩的名字。
Hǎo! Yǒu rén shuō, yuánxiāo zhège míngzi, shì nàge nǚhái de míngzi.
Good! Some say the sweet rice balls are named after that girl.
- Grandma 五个晚上，五个故事。明年，我讲最大的怪：年。
Wǔ gè wǎnshang, wǔ gè gùshi. Míngnián, wǒ jiǎng zuì dà de guài: Nián.
Five nights, five stories. Next year, I'll tell you about the biggest monster of all: the Nian.
- Xiaoyu 年？我等着！奶奶，新年快乐！
Nián? Wǒ děngzhe! Nǎinai, xīnnián kuàilè!
The Nian? I can't wait! Grandma, happy New Year!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the Emperor of Heaven plan to do?
“十五的晚上，他要烧长安！”
- Who brings the bad news?
“东方朔先生！不好了！”
- What is Dongfang Shuo's plan?
“十五的晚上，家家都点红灯笼！”
- Why does the Emperor of Heaven change his mind?
“已经烧了？那我不烧了。”
- What will Grandma tell next year?
“明年，我讲最大的怪：年。”