Creation of the Gods · chapter 4 of 10
The Straight Hook
直直的鱼钩
A king walks to the river to find a helper and meets an old man fishing with a hook that can't catch anything. Then the old man reads the stars.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 渭河边，清早。一位老人坐在石头上钓鱼，他的鱼钩是直的。
Wèihé biān, qīngzǎo. Yí wèi lǎorén zuò zài shítou shàng diàoyú, tā de yúgōu shì zhí de.
By the Wei River, early in the morning. An old man sat on a rock fishing, and his hook was straight.
- King Wen 老人家，您好。我是周国的文王。我做了一个梦，所以来找您。
Lǎorénjia, nín hǎo. Wǒ shì Zhōuguó de Wénwáng. Wǒ zuò le yí gè mèng, suǒyǐ lái zhǎo nín.
Elder, hello. I am King Wen of Zhou. I had a dream, so I came to find you.
- Jiang Ziya 大王好。您的鞋上都是土，您走了很远的路吧？
Dàwáng hǎo. Nín de xié shàng dōu shì tǔ, nín zǒu le hěn yuǎn de lù ba?
Hello, Your Majesty. Your shoes are covered in dust. You walked a long way, didn't you?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Creation of the Gods 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 and Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing from start to finish.
- King Wen 是的。老人家，您的钩是直的，鱼怎么会上来呢？
Shì de. Lǎorénjia, nín de gōu shì zhí de, yú zěnme huì shànglái ne?
Yes. Elder, your hook is straight. How will the fish come up?
- Jiang Ziya 我不是在钓鱼，我是在等人。等一个愿意来的人。
Wǒ bú shì zài diàoyú, wǒ shì zài děng rén. Děng yí gè yuànyì lái de rén.
I'm not fishing. I'm waiting for someone. Someone who is willing to come.
- King Wen 我愿意来！我想请您帮帮我，让人们有饭吃，有房子住。
Wǒ yuànyì lái! Wǒ xiǎng qǐng nín bāngbang wǒ, ràng rénmen yǒu fàn chī, yǒu fángzi zhù.
I am willing! I want to ask you to help me, so that people have food to eat and houses to live in.
- Jiang Ziya 愿者上钩。好，可是您来一次，就想把我带走吗？
Yuànzhě shànggōu. Hǎo, kěshì nín lái yí cì, jiù xiǎng bǎ wǒ dài zǒu ma?
The willing one takes the hook. Good, but you come once and already want to carry me off?
- Jiang Ziya 回去吧。洗手，洗脸，三天不吃肉。三天以后，您再来。
Huíqù ba. Xǐ shǒu, xǐ liǎn, sān tiān bù chī ròu. Sān tiān yǐhòu, nín zài lái.
Go home. Wash your hands and face, and eat no meat for three days. Come again after three days.
- King Wen 好。这三天，我会好好想一想我的国家。三天以后，我一定再来。
Hǎo. Zhè sān tiān, wǒ huì hǎohǎo xiǎng yi xiǎng wǒ de guójiā. Sān tiān yǐhòu, wǒ yídìng zài lái.
All right. In these three days I will think carefully about my country. After three days, I will surely come again.
- San Yisheng 大王，他只是一个钓鱼的老人，您可是大王啊！
Dàwáng, tā zhǐshì yí gè diàoyú de lǎorén, nín kěshì dàwáng a!
Your Majesty, he's only an old man who fishes. You are a king!
- King Wen 他不是一个普通的老人。他就是我梦里的飞熊。
Tā bú shì yí gè pǔtōng de lǎorén. Tā jiùshì wǒ mèng lǐ de fēixióng.
He is no ordinary old man. He is the flying bear from my dream.
- San Yisheng 那……三天以后，我们带一条大鱼去送给他，好不好？
Nà… sān tiān yǐhòu, wǒmen dài yì tiáo dà yú qù sòng gěi tā, hǎo bu hǎo?
Then... after three days, shall we bring him a big fish as a gift?
- King Wen 不好！他等的是人，不是鱼。你没听懂他的话吗？
Bù hǎo! Tā děng de shì rén, bú shì yú. Nǐ méi tīngdǒng tā de huà ma?
No! He's waiting for a person, not a fish. Didn't you understand what he said?
- Narrator 三天以后，文王又来了。这一次，他还带来了一辆大车。
Sān tiān yǐhòu, Wénwáng yòu lái le. Zhè yí cì, tā hái dài lái le yí liàng dà chē.
Three days later, King Wen came again. This time he also brought a big cart.
- Jiang Ziya 大王，我已经七十岁了。您不怕我太老吗？
Dàwáng, wǒ yǐjīng qīshí suì le. Nín bú pà wǒ tài lǎo ma?
Your Majesty, I am already seventy. Aren't you afraid I'm too old?
- King Wen 不怕。我只怕人们没有饭吃。姜太公，请您坐上我的车吧。
Bú pà. Wǒ zhǐ pà rénmen méiyǒu fàn chī. Jiāng Tàigōng, qǐng nín zuò shàng wǒ de chē ba.
No. I only fear that people have no food. Master Jiang, please sit on my cart.
- Jiang Ziya 好。可是拉车的马呢？我怎么没看见马？
Hǎo. Kěshì lā chē de mǎ ne? Wǒ zěnme méi kànjiàn mǎ?
All right. But where is the horse to pull the cart? I don't see a horse.
- King Wen 今天不用马。今天，我自己来拉车！
Jīntiān bú yòng mǎ. Jīntiān, wǒ zìjǐ lái lā chē!
No horse today. Today I will pull the cart myself!
- San Yisheng 大王自己拉车？！大王，请您慢一点儿，我来数步子。
Dàwáng zìjǐ lā chē?! Dàwáng, qǐng nín màn yìdiǎnr, wǒ lái shǔ bùzi.
The king pulls the cart himself?! Your Majesty, slow down. I'll count the steps.
- San Yisheng 一百步……三百步……大王，您是不是很累了？
Yì bǎi bù… sān bǎi bù… Dàwáng, nín shì bu shì hěn lèi le?
One hundred steps... three hundred steps... Your Majesty, aren't you very tired?
- King Wen 我不累。姜太公，您坐好。我们再走一走。
Wǒ bú lèi. Jiāng Tàigōng, nín zuò hǎo. Wǒmen zài zǒu yi zǒu.
I'm not tired. Master Jiang, sit tight. Let's go a bit farther.
- San Yisheng 七百步……八百步！大王，您拉了八百步啊！
Qī bǎi bù… bā bǎi bù! Dàwáng, nín lā le bā bǎi bù a!
Seven hundred steps... eight hundred steps! Your Majesty, you pulled the cart eight hundred steps!
- King Wen 我……我走不动了。对不起，姜太公。
Wǒ… wǒ zǒu bu dòng le. Duìbuqǐ, Jiāng Tàigōng.
I... I can't go on. I'm sorry, Master Jiang.
- Jiang Ziya 不要说对不起。您拉了八百步，周国就会有八百年。
Bú yào shuō duìbuqǐ. Nín lā le bā bǎi bù, Zhōuguó jiù huì yǒu bā bǎi nián.
Don't say sorry. You pulled eight hundred steps, and Zhou will last eight hundred years.
- King Wen 八百年？！姜太公，谢谢您！我们回家吧！
Bā bǎi nián?! Jiāng Tàigōng, xièxie nín! Wǒmen huí jiā ba!
Eight hundred years?! Master Jiang, thank you! Let's go home!
- Jiang Ziya 大王，商王的身边，有一只很美的狐狸。她会让商王变坏。
Dàwáng, Shāngwáng de shēnbiān, yǒu yì zhī hěn měi de húli. Tā huì ràng Shāngwáng biàn huài.
Your Majesty, beside the Shang king there is a very beautiful fox. She will make him wicked.
- King Wen 狐狸？您是说……那位新王后，妲己？
Húli? Nín shì shuō… nà wèi xīn wánghòu, Dájǐ?
A fox? You mean... the new queen, Daji?
- Jiang Ziya 我没有说是谁。可是您要记住，她的笑不是人的笑。
Wǒ méiyǒu shuō shì shéi. Kěshì nín yào jìzhù, tā de xiào bú shì rén de xiào.
I didn't say who. But remember this: her smile is not a human smile.
- San Yisheng 姜太公，您怎么什么都知道？
Jiāng Tàigōng, nín zěnme shénme dōu zhīdào?
Master Jiang, how do you know everything?
- Jiang Ziya 我会看星星。你们看，东边有一颗红星，在动。
Wǒ huì kàn xīngxing. Nǐmen kàn, dōngbiān yǒu yì kē hóng xīng, zài dòng.
I can read the stars. Look, in the east there is a red star, and it is moving.
- Jiang Ziya 那里有一个孩子，很快就要惹出大麻烦了。
Nàlǐ yǒu yí gè háizi, hěn kuài jiù yào rě chū dà máfan le.
There is a child there, and he is about to cause big trouble.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Jiang Ziya doing by the river?
“等一个愿意来的人”
- What does Jiang Ziya ask the king to do before coming back?
“洗手，洗脸，三天不吃肉”
- How far does King Wen pull the cart?
“您拉了八百步”
- What does Jiang Ziya promise Zhou?
“周国就会有八百年”
- What does Jiang Ziya see in the stars?
“有一个孩子，很快就要惹出大麻烦了”