Chinese New Year Tales · chapter 3 of 5
The Two Door Gods
两个门神
An emperor cannot sleep because of scary noises outside. Two loyal generals stand at his door all night. But what happens when they get too tired?
Read what you hear
- Xiaoyu 奶奶，门神的脸！一个白，一个黑！
Nǎinai, ménshén de liǎn! Yí gè bái, yí gè hēi!
Grandma, look at the door gods' faces! One is white, one is black!
- Mingming 他们的眼睛好大，看着我们！
Tāmen de yǎnjing hǎo dà, kànzhe wǒmen!
Their eyes are so big, and they're looking at us!
- Grandma 他们是好朋友。一个叫秦琼，一个叫尉迟恭。
Tāmen shì hǎo péngyou. Yí gè jiào Qín Qióng, yí gè jiào Yùchí Gōng.
They are good friends. One is Qin Qiong, and one is Yuchi Gong.
Chapter 3 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.
- Mingming 名字好难！我记不住。
Míngzi hǎo nán! Wǒ jì bú zhù.
Those names are so hard! I can't remember them.
- Grandma 没事，你记住他们的脸就好。
Méi shì, nǐ jìzhù tāmen de liǎn jiù hǎo.
No problem. Just remember their faces.
- Xiaoyu 门神为什么站在门上？他们不累吗？
Ménshén wèishénme zhàn zài mén shàng? Tāmen bú lèi ma?
Why do the door gods stand on the door? Aren't they tired?
- Narrator 很久以前，有一个皇帝。他晚上睡不着。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yí gè huángdì. Tā wǎnshang shuì bù zháo.
Long ago, there was an emperor. At night, he could not sleep.
- The Emperor 什么声音？谁在外边？
Shénme shēngyīn? Shéi zài wàibian?
What's that noise? Who's out there?
- The Emperor 是鬼！来人！我好怕！
Shì guǐ! Lái rén! Wǒ hǎo pà!
Ghosts! Guards! I'm so scared!
- Qin Qiong 皇帝别怕。我是秦琼，我在这儿。
Huángdì bié pà. Wǒ shì Qín Qióng, wǒ zài zhèr.
Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. I am Qin Qiong, and I'm here.
- Yuchi Gong 我是尉迟恭。我们站在你的门口。
Wǒ shì Yùchí Gōng. Wǒmen zhàn zài nǐ de ménkǒu.
I am Yuchi Gong. We will stand at your door.
- The Emperor 站一个晚上？你们不累吗？
Zhàn yí gè wǎnshang? Nǐmen bú lèi ma?
Stand all night? Won't you be tired?
- Qin Qiong 有我们在，鬼不能进来！
Yǒu wǒmen zài, guǐ bù néng jìnlái!
With us here, no ghost can come in!
- Yuchi Gong 对！谁来，我们就叫他走开！
Duì! Shéi lái, wǒmen jiù jiào tā zǒukāi!
Yes! Whoever comes, we'll tell them to go away!
- The Emperor 没有声音了！我可以睡觉了！
Méiyǒu shēngyīn le! Wǒ kěyǐ shuìjiào le!
No more noise! I can finally sleep!
- The Emperor 你们两个都很累了。回家睡觉吧。
Nǐmen liǎng gè dōu hěn lèi le. Huí jiā shuìjiào ba.
You two are exhausted. Go home and sleep.
- Yuchi Gong 我不累！啊……我不累！
Wǒ bú lèi! Ā… wǒ bú lèi!
I'm not tired! Ahh... I'm not tired!
- Qin Qiong 尉迟恭，你的头在点，点，点！
Yùchí Gōng, nǐ de tóu zài diǎn, diǎn, diǎn!
Yuchi Gong, your head is nodding, nodding, nodding!
- Yuchi Gong 我……我没有睡！我在想事情！
Wǒ… wǒ méiyǒu shuì! Wǒ zài xiǎng shìqing!
I... I wasn't asleep! I was thinking!
- The Emperor 我有办法了！叫人来画画！
Wǒ yǒu bànfǎ le! Jiào rén lái huàhuà!
I have an idea! Call someone to paint!
- The Emperor 画你们两个，贴在门上。你们回家睡觉！
Huà nǐmen liǎng gè, tiē zài mén shàng. Nǐmen huí jiā shuìjiào!
Paint you two and stick it on the door. You go home and sleep!
- Mingming 所以门神，是画出来的！
Suǒyǐ ménshén, shì huà chūlái de!
So the door gods are paintings!
- Grandma 对。鬼一看，就不能进来。
Duì. Guǐ yí kàn, jiù bù néng jìnlái.
Yes. The ghosts take one look and can't come in.
- Xiaoyu 那个黑脸的，是尉迟恭！
Nàge hēi liǎn de, shì Yùchí Gōng!
The black-faced one is Yuchi Gong!
- Grandma 对！白脸的是秦琼。他们是好朋友。
Duì! Bái liǎn de shì Qín Qióng. Tāmen shì hǎo péngyou.
Right! The white-faced one is Qin Qiong. They're good friends.
- Mingming 奶奶……我听见外边有小声音。
Nǎinai… wǒ tīngjiàn wàibian yǒu xiǎo shēngyīn.
Grandma... I hear a little noise outside.
- Grandma 别怕。那不是鬼。那是小怪，它叫岁。
Bié pà. Nà bú shì guǐ. Nà shì xiǎo guài, tā jiào Suì.
Don't be afraid. That's not a ghost. It's a little monster called Sui.
- Xiaoyu 小怪？它来我们家，想做什么？
Xiǎo guài? Tā lái wǒmen jiā, xiǎng zuò shénme?
A little monster? What does it want at our house?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't the emperor sleep?
“什么声音？谁在外边？”……“是鬼！来人！我好怕！”
- Who guards the emperor's door?
“我是秦琼，我在这儿。”……“我是尉迟恭。”
- What happens once the generals are outside?
“没有声音了！我可以睡觉了！”
- Why does the emperor have the generals painted?
“画你们两个，贴在门上。你们回家睡觉！”
- What does Grandma say about the noise at the window?
“那不是鬼。那是小怪，它叫岁。”