Frankenstein · chapter 3 of 6
Alone in the Woods
森林里的朋友
Left alone in the world, the creature hides beside a cottage, learns to speak by listening, and dreams of one kind word from a friend.
Read what you hear
- Victor Frankenstein 不！别过来！你……你根本不是人！
Bù! Bié guòlái! Nǐ… nǐ gēnběn bú shì rén!
No! Stay back! You... you're not even a person!
- The Creature 啊……啊……
A… a…
Ah... ah...
- Victor Frankenstein 我做了什么？我花了那么久，就是为了做出这个吗？
Wǒ zuò le shénme? Wǒ huā le nàme jiǔ, jiùshì wèile zuò chū zhè ge ma?
What have I done? Did I work all that time just to make this?
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Frankenstein 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 and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Victor Frankenstein 别看我！你的眼睛……那黄色的眼睛！
Bié kàn wǒ! Nǐ de yǎnjing… nà huángsè de yǎnjing!
Don't look at me! Your eyes... those yellow eyes!
- Victor Frankenstein 快跑，跑得越远越好！我不能留在这里！
Kuài pǎo, pǎo de yuè yuǎn yuè hǎo! Wǒ bù néng liú zài zhèlǐ!
Run, as far as you can! I can't stay here!
- Narrator 维克多跑进了雨夜，再也没有回来。屋子里，只剩下那个高高的、睁着眼睛的人。
Wéikèduō pǎo jìn le yǔ yè, zàiyě méiyǒu huílái. Wūzi lǐ, zhǐ shèngxià nà ge gāo gāo de, zhēng zhuó yǎnjing de rén.
Victor ran into the rainy night and did not come back. In the room there was only the tall one, with his eyes open.
- The Creature 冷……好冷……我好饿。我不知道我是谁，也不知道该去哪里。
Lěng… hǎo lěng… wǒ hǎo è. Wǒ bù zhīdào wǒ shì shuí, yě bù zhīdào gāi qù nǎlǐ.
Cold... so cold... I'm so hungry. I don't know who I am, or where to go.
- The Creature 那边有光……是火！火，好暖……啊！好疼！
Nàbiān yǒu guāng… shì huǒ! Huǒ, hǎo nuǎn… a! Hǎo téng!
There's a light over there... it's fire! Fire, so warm... ah! It hurts!
- The Creature 火很暖，可是太近了会疼。我要离远一点。
Huǒ hěn nuǎn, kěshì tài jìn le huì téng. Wǒ yào lí yuǎn yìdiǎn.
Fire is warm, but too close it hurts. I must stay a little farther away.
- The Creature 水里有一个人……他那么高，脸是黄色的，眼睛也是。原来，那是我。
Shuǐ lǐ yǒu yí gè rén… tā nàme gāo, liǎn shì huángsè de, yǎnjing yě shì. Yuánlái, nà shì wǒ.
There's a person in the water... so tall, with a yellow face and yellow eyes. Oh. That is me.
- The Creature 我和别人不一样。别人看见我，就会怕我，就像刚才那个人一样。
Wǒ hé biérén bù yíyàng. Biérén kànjiàn wǒ, jiù huì pà wǒ, jiù xiàng gāngcái nà ge rén yíyàng.
I am not like other people. When they see me, they will fear me, just like that man a moment ago.
- Narrator 他走了很久，很久。在一个小房子后面，他找到了一个又小又破的地方。
Tā zǒu le hěn jiǔ, hěn jiǔ. Zài yí gè xiǎo fángzi hòumiàn, tā zhǎodào le yí gè yòu xiǎo yòu pò de dìfang.
He walked for a long, long time. Behind a small cottage, he found a tiny, broken-down shed.
- The Creature 这里没有风，也没有雨。我住在这里吧。
Zhèlǐ méiyǒu fēng, yě méiyǒu yǔ. Wǒ zhù zài zhèlǐ ba.
No wind here, and no rain. I will stay here.
- The Creature 房子里有人！有灯，有火，还有笑声。我从来没有听过这样好听的声音。
Fángzi lǐ yǒurén! Yǒu dēng, yǒu huǒ, háiyǒu xiàoshēng. Wǒ cónglái méiyǒu tīng guò zhèyàng hǎotīng de shēngyīn.
There are people in the house! Light, fire, and laughter. I have never heard such a lovely sound.
- The Creature 一个老人坐在火旁边。他的眼睛是白的，他好像看不见东西。
Yī gè lǎorén zuò zài huǒ pángbiān. Tā de yǎnjing shì bái de, tā hǎoxiàng kàn bú jiàn dōngxi.
An old man sits by the fire. His eyes are white; he seems unable to see.
- The Creature 男孩叫费利克斯，女孩叫阿加莎。他们每天吃得很少，可是他们总是笑。
Nán hái jiào Fèilìkèsī, nǚ hái jiào Ājiāshā. Tāmen měi tiān chī de hěn shǎo, kěshì tāmen zǒngshì xiào.
The boy is called Felix, the girl Agatha. They eat so little every day, and yet they are always smiling.
- The Creature 现在，柴也快没有了。今天晚上，我去给他们送柴。他们不会知道是我。
Xiànzài, chái yě kuài méiyǒu le. Jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ qù gěi tāmen sòng chái. Tāmen bú huì zhīdào shì wǒ.
And now their firewood is almost gone. Tonight I will bring them wood. They won't know it was me.
- Felix 阿加莎，你看！门口又有很多柴！这是第三天了！
Ājiāshā, nǐ kàn! Ménkǒu yòu yǒu hěn duō chái! Zhè shì dì sān tiān le!
Agatha, look! There's a pile of firewood by the door again! This is the third day!
- Agatha 是谁放的呢？我们每天早上起来，都有一堆新的。
Shì shuí fàng de ne? Wǒmen měi tiān zǎoshang qǐlái, dōu yǒu yì duī xīn de.
Who could be leaving it? Every morning we wake up and there's a new pile.
- Old De Lacey 也许是森林里的一位好朋友。谢谢你，不管你是谁！
Yěxǔ shì sēnlín lǐ de yí wèi hǎo péngyou. Xièxie nǐ, bù guǎn nǐ shì shuí!
Perhaps it's a good friend from the forest. Thank you, whoever you are!
- The Creature 好朋友……那个老人叫我好朋友。我的心，好像也变暖了。
Hǎo péngyou… nà ge lǎorén jiào wǒ hǎo péngyou. Wǒ de xīn, hǎoxiàng yě biàn nuǎn le.
A good friend... that old man called me a good friend. It feels as if my heart has grown warm.
- Felix 萨菲，你先说：“谢谢”。这是我们家里最好听的一个词。
Sàfēi, nǐ xiān shuō: “xièxie”. Zhè shì wǒmen jiālǐ zuìhǎo tīng de yí gè cí.
Safie, first say: “thank you.” It's the loveliest word in our house.
- Safie 谢……谢。费利克斯，我说得对吗？
Xiè… xiè. Fèilìkèsī, wǒ shuō de duì ma?
Thank... you. Felix, am I saying it right?
- Felix 对！很好！再说一个：“朋友”。
Duì! Hěn hǎo! Zàishuō yí gè: “péngyou”.
Yes! Very good! Now another: “friend.”
- Safie 朋友。朋友。我会说了！
Péngyou. Péngyou. Wǒ huì shuō le!
Friend. Friend. I can say it now!
- The Creature 谢谢，朋友。这些词，我也会说了！我要把它们都记住。
Xièxie, péngyou. Zhèxiē cí, wǒ yě huì shuō le! Wǒ yào bǎ tāmen dōu jìzhù.
Thank you, friend. I can say these words too! I will remember every one.
- Narrator 春天来了。他在暗处听了整整一个冬天，也慢慢学会了他们的话。
Chūntiān lái le. Tā zài àn chù tīng le zhěngzhěng yí gè dōngtiān, yě mànmàn xuéhuì le tāmen dehuà.
Spring came. He had listened in the dark for a whole winter, and had slowly learned their words.
- The Creature 老人看不见我的脸，所以他不会怕我。他一定愿意听我说话。
Lǎorén kàn bú jiàn wǒ de liǎn, suǒyǐ tā bú huì pà wǒ. Tā yídìng yuànyì tīng wǒ shuōhuà.
The old man cannot see my face, so he won't be afraid. Surely he will be willing to listen to me.
- The Creature 明天孩子们出去以后，我就进去。我要对老人说：你好。
Míngtiān háizi men chūqù yǐhòu, wǒ jiù jìnqù. Wǒ yào duì lǎorén shuō: nǐ hǎo.
Tomorrow, after the young ones go out, I will go in. I will say to the old man: hello.
- The Creature 我只想要一个朋友。明天，我就去敲那扇门。
Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng yào yí gè péngyou. Míngtiān, wǒ jiù qù qiāo nà shàn mén.
All I want is one friend. Tomorrow, I will knock on that door.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Victor run away?
“别看我！你的眼睛……那黄色的眼睛！”
- What does the creature see in the water?
“他那么高，脸是黄色的，眼睛也是。原来，那是我。”
- What does the creature secretly do for the family?
“今天晚上，我去给他们送柴。”
- How does the creature learn to speak?
“萨菲，你先说：‘谢谢’。”… “朋友。朋友。我会说了！”
- What does the creature plan to do tomorrow?
“我只想要一个朋友。明天，我就去敲那扇门。”