Erlang Shen, the God with Three Eyes · chapter 2 of 4
The Fisherman with No Hook
钓鱼的老人
Erlang meets Jiang Taigong, who fishes with a bare hook, and faces the first monster: a pig who is very brave until he sees a tiger.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 三天以后，杨戬到了河边的军营，河边坐着一个钓鱼的老人。
Sān tiān yǐhòu, Yáng Jiǎn dào le hébiān de jūnyíng, hébiān zuò zhe yí gè diàoyú de lǎorén.
Three days later, Yang Jian reached the army camp by the river. An old man sat on the bank, fishing.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 老人家，请问，您是姜太公吗？我是杨戬，我师父叫我来的。
Lǎorénjiā, qǐngwèn, nín shì Jiāng Tàigōng ma? Wǒ shì Yáng Jiǎn, wǒ shīfù jiào wǒ lái de.
Excuse me, sir, are you Jiang Taigong? I'm Yang Jian, and my master sent me.
- Jiang Ziya 嘘，小声点，鱼快要来了。
Xū, xiǎoshēngdiǎn, yú kuàiyào lái le.
Shh, quiet down. The fish is about to come.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Erlang Shen, the God with Three Eyes 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.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 可是，您的鱼钩是直的，鱼怎么会来呢？
Kěshì, nín de yúgōu shì zhí de, yú zěnme huìlái ne?
But your hook is straight. How will a fish ever come?
- Jiang Ziya 想来的鱼，自己就会来，你不着急，它也不着急。
Xiǎnglái de yú, zìjǐ jiù huì lái, nǐ bù zháojí, tā yě bù zháojí.
A fish that wants to come will come by itself. If you're not in a hurry, neither is it.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 哈哈，我喜欢您！可是，为什么这里的军营这么安静？
Hāhā, wǒ xǐhuān nín! Kěshì, wèishénme zhèlǐ de jūnyíng zhème ānjìng?
Ha ha, I like you! But why is the camp so quiet?
- Jiang Ziya 梅山七怪已经赢了我们两次，兵都很累了，谁也不想说话。
Méishān Qī Guài yǐjīng yíng le wǒmen liǎng cì, bīng dōu hěn lèi le, shuí yě bù xiǎng shuōhuà.
The Seven Monsters of Plum Mountain have beaten us twice. The soldiers are worn out, and nobody wants to talk.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 太公别怕，我来帮您，我师父说，我有七十二种变化！
Tàigōng biépà, wǒ lái bāng nín, wǒ shīfù shuō, wǒ yǒu qīshí'èr zhǒng biànhuà!
Don't worry, Taigong, I'm here to help. My master says I have seventy-two changes!
- Jiang Ziya 七十二种？这么多？那你都会吗？
Qīshí'èr zhǒng? Zhème duō? Nà nǐ dōu huì ma?
Seventy-two? That many? Do you know them all?
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 我会……一些，还有一些，我在路上练。哮天犬，你说是不是？
Wǒ huì…… Yìxiē, háiyǒu yìxiē, wǒ zài lùshàng liàn. Xiàotiānquǎn, nǐ shuō shì bu shì?
I know... some. The rest I'll practice on the road. Xiaotian, isn't that right?
- Jiang Ziya 听着，孩子，你不用变得最大，你要变得最对。
Tīng zhe, háizi, nǐ bú yòng biàn de zuìdà, nǐ yào biàn de zuì duì.
Listen, child. You don't need to change into the biggest thing. You need to change into the right thing.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 最对？我明白了……一点点，我再想一想。
Zuì duì? Wǒ míngbái le…… Yìdiǎndiǎn, wǒ zài xiǎng yi xiǎng.
The right thing? I understand... a little. Let me think some more.
- Jiang Ziya 好了，先吃饭，明天再打，你的狗也饿了吧？
Hǎo le, xiān chīfàn, míngtiān zài dǎ, nǐ de gǒu yě è le ba?
Enough. Let's eat first and fight tomorrow. Your dog must be hungry too?
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 它每天都饿，太公，它一天要吃三次饭！
Tā měitiān dōu è, tàigōng, tā yì tiān yào chī sān cì fàn!
He's hungry every day, Taigong. He wants to eat three times a day!
- Zhu Zizhen 姜太公，出来！我是朱子真，我要吃光你们所有的饭！
Jiāng Tàigōng, chūlái! Wǒ shì Zhū Zǐzhēn, wǒ yào chīguāng nǐmen suǒyǒu de fàn!
Jiang Taigong, come out! I'm Zhu Zizhen, and I'm going to eat all your food!
- Jiang Ziya 又是他，朱子真的力气很大，我们的兵都怕他。
Yòu shì tā, Zhū Zǐzhēn de lìqì hěndà, wǒmen de bīng dōu pà tā.
Him again. Zhu Zizhen is very strong, and our soldiers are afraid of him.
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 太公，我去，您坐着看，我一会儿就回来。
Tàigōng, wǒ qù, nín zuò zhe kàn, wǒ yíhuìr jiù huílái.
Taigong, I'll go. You sit and watch, and I'll be back in a moment.
- Zhu Zizhen 哈哈，一个小孩子！你的爸爸妈妈呢，怎么让你来打架？
Hāhā, yí gè xiǎoháizi! Nǐ de bàbàmāmā ne, zěnme ràng nǐ lái dǎjià?
Ha ha, a little kid! Where are your mom and dad? Why did they let you come and fight?
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 我叫杨戬，你想打就来吧，我不怕你。
Wǒ jiào Yáng Jiǎn, nǐ xiǎng dǎ jiù lái ba, wǒ bú pà nǐ.
My name is Yang Jian. If you want to fight, come on. I'm not afraid of you.
- Zhu Zizhen 你看好了，我要变成一头大野猪，你怕不怕？
Nǐ kànhǎo le, wǒ yào biànchéng yì tóu dà yězhū, nǐ pà bu pà?
Watch closely! I'm going to turn into a giant wild boar. Are you scared?
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 大野猪？好，那我变成……老虎！
Dà yězhū? Hǎo, nà wǒ biànchéng…… Lǎohǔ!
A giant boar? Fine, then I'll turn into... a tiger!
- Zhu Zizhen 老……老虎？我最怕老虎了，我不想被老虎吃！
Lǎo…… Lǎohǔ? Wǒ zuìpà lǎohǔ le, wǒ bù xiǎng bèi lǎohǔ chī!
A-a tiger? I'm most afraid of tigers! I don't want a tiger to eat me!
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 你怕不怕？我今天还没有吃饭呢！
Nǐ pà bu pà? Wǒ jīntiān hái méiyǒu chīfàn ne!
Scared yet? I haven't eaten all day!
- Zhu Zizhen 妈妈呀，我不打了，我要回家，我要找妈妈！
Māmā ya, wǒ bù dǎ le, wǒ yào huíjiā, wǒ yào zhǎo māmā!
Mommy! I quit! I want to go home! I want my mommy!
- Jiang Ziya 哈哈，一个了，你看那头野猪跑得多快！
Hāhā, yí gè le, nǐ kàn nàtóu yězhū pǎo de duō kuài!
Ha ha, that's one! Look how fast he runs!
- Erlang Shen (Yang Jian) 一个了，太公，还有六个。
Yí gè le, tàigōng, háiyǒu liù gè.
One down, Taigong. Six to go.
- Yuan Hong 杨戬，你赢了一头猪，明天你会遇到我的兄弟们，他们一个比一个会变！
Yáng Jiǎn, nǐ yíng le yì tóu zhū, míngtiān nǐ huì yùdào wǒ de xiōngdìmen, tāmen yí gè bǐ yí gè huì biàn!
Yang Jian, you beat a pig. Tomorrow you'll meet my brothers, and each one is better at changing than the last!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is strange about Jiang Taigong's fishing?
“可是，您的鱼钩是直的，鱼怎么会来呢？”
- Why is the army camp so quiet?
“梅山七怪已经赢了我们两次，兵都很累了”
- What advice does Jiang Taigong give Erlang?
“你不用变得最大，你要变得最对。”
- What does Zhu Zizhen turn into?
“我要变成一头大野猪”
- Why does Zhu Zizhen run away?
“老……老虎？我最怕老虎了”…“我不打了，我要回家”