Frankenstein · chapter 4 of 6
The Cottage Door
小屋的门
The creature finds the courage to knock, and for a few minutes a kind old man gives him everything he has ever wanted. Then the door opens.
Read what you hear
- The Creature 请问……我可以进来吗？我走了很远的路。
Qǐngwèn… wǒ kěyǐ jìnlái ma? Wǒ zǒu le hěn yuǎn de lù.
Excuse me... may I come in? I have walked a long way.
- Old De Lacey 请进，请进！我的眼睛看不见，请你别见怪。你是哪一位？
Qǐng jìn, qǐng jìn! Wǒ de yǎnjing kàn bú jiàn, qǐng nǐ bié jiàn guài. Nǐ shì nǎ yí wèi?
Come in, come in! My eyes cannot see, so please forgive me. And who are you?
- The Creature 我是一个又累又冷的人。我想在您的火旁边坐一会儿。
Wǒ shì yí gè yòu lèi yòu lěng de rén. Wǒ xiǎng zài nín de huǒ pángbiān zuò yíhuì'er.
I am someone tired and cold. I would like to sit by your fire for a little while.
Chapter 4 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.
- Old De Lacey 当然可以。坐吧，朋友。你的声音听起来很累。
Dāngrán kěyǐ. Zuò ba, péngyou. Nǐ de shēngyīn tīng qǐlái hěn lèi.
Of course. Sit down, friend. Your voice sounds so tired.
- The Creature 您叫我朋友……很久很久，没有人这样叫我了。
Nín jiào wǒ péngyou… hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ, méiyǒu rén zhèyàng jiào wǒ le.
You called me friend... For a very long time, no one has called me that.
- Old De Lacey 你是从哪个国家来的？你的家人呢？
Nǐ shì cóng nǎ ge guójiā lái de? Nǐ de jiārén ne?
Which country are you from? Where is your family?
- The Creature 我没有国家，也没有家人。是一个人做了我，可是他不要我。
Wǒ méiyǒu guójiā, yě méiyǒu jiārén. Shì yí gè rén zuò le wǒ, kěshì tā búyào wǒ.
I have no country and no family. A man made me, but he did not want me.
- Old De Lacey 孩子，你一定很孤单。可是你要记住，好人很多，你还会遇到他们。
Háizi, nǐ yídìng hěn gū dān. Kěshì nǐ yào jìzhù, hǎorén hěn duō, nǐ hái huì yùdào tāmen.
My child, you must be so lonely. But remember, there are many good people, and you will meet them.
- The Creature 我看见您的孩子们，每天都很快乐。我可以做你们的朋友吗？
Wǒ kànjiàn nín de háizi men, měi tiān dōu hěn kuàilè. Wǒ kěyǐ zuò nǐmen de péngyou ma?
I have seen your children, and they are happy every day. May I be a friend to your family?
- Old De Lacey 我听得出来，你有一颗好心。我的孩子们也会喜欢你的。
Wǒ tīng dechū lái, nǐ yǒu yì kē hǎo xīn. Wǒ de háizi men yě huì xǐhuan nǐ de.
I can hear that you have a good heart. My children will like you too.
- The Creature 真的吗？您一点都不怕我？
Zhēnde ma? Nín yìdiǎn dōu bú pà wǒ?
Really? You are not afraid of me at all?
- Old De Lacey 我为什么要怕？我只听见一颗善良的心。
Wǒ wèishénme yào pà? Wǒ zhǐ tīngjiàn yì kē shànliáng de xīn.
Why should I be? All I hear is a kind heart.
- The Creature 谢谢您！我等这一天，等了很久很久！
Xièxie nín! Wǒ děng zhè yì tiān, děng le hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ!
Thank you! I have waited for this day for so, so long!
- Felix 爸爸，我们回来了！咦，这个人是谁？
Bàba, wǒmen huílái le! Yí, zhè ge rén shì shuí?
Father, we're home! Huh, who is this?
- Agatha 啊！怪物！爸爸，快走开！
A! Guàiwu! Bàba, kuài zǒukāi!
Ah! A monster! Father, get away!
- The Creature 请等一等！我不会伤害你们，我只是想说说话……
Qǐng děng yì děng! Wǒ bú huì shānghài nǐmen, wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng shuō shuohuà…
Please wait! I won't hurt you, I only wanted to talk...
- Felix 出去！离我父亲远一点！你这个怪物！
Chūqù! Lí wǒ fùqīn yuǎn yìdiǎn! Nǐ zhè ge guàiwu!
Get out! Stay away from my father! You monster!
- Old De Lacey 费利克斯，等一等！他是我的客人，他没有做错什么！
Fèilìkèsī, děng yì děng! Tā shì wǒ de kèrén, tā méiyǒu zuò cuò shénme!
Felix, wait! He is my guest, and he has done nothing wrong!
- Felix 爸爸，您看不见他！他那么高，那张脸……太可怕了！
Bàba, nín kàn bú jiàn tā! Tā nàme gāo, nà zhāng liǎn… tài kěpà le!
Father, you can't see him! He's so tall, and that face... it's terrible!
- The Creature 我比你们都强，可是我不想伤害你们。我是来做朋友的。
Wǒ bǐ nǐmen dōu qiáng, kěshì wǒ bù xiǎng shānghài nǐmen. Wǒ shì lái zuò péngyou de.
I am stronger than all of you, but I don't want to hurt you. I came to be a friend.
- Felix 出去！不然我就用这根棍子……
Chūqù! Bùrán wǒ jiù yòng zhè gēn gùn zi…
Get out! Or I'll use this stick...
- Agatha 求你走吧！求你了！
Qiú nǐ zǒu ba! Qiú nǐ le!
Please go! I'm begging you!
- The Creature 好……我走。我走了。
Hǎo… wǒ zǒu. Wǒ zǒu le.
All right... I'll go. I'm going.
- Narrator 他走出门，走进了冷雨里。他没有回头，因为他怕自己会哭。
Tā zǒu chū mén, zǒujìn le lěng yǔ lǐ. Tā méiyǒu huítóu, yīnwèi tā pà zìjǐ huì kū.
He walked out of the door into the cold rain. He did not look back, because he was afraid he would cry.
- The Creature 我那么爱他们……可是他们只看见我的脸。
Wǒ nàme ài tāmen… kěshì tāmen zhǐ kànjiàn wǒ de liǎn.
I loved them so much... but all they saw was my face.
- The Creature 是谁让我变成这个样子？是谁把我带到这个世界，又不管我了？
Shì shuí ràng wǒ biànchéng zhè ge yàngzi? Shì shuí bǎ wǒ dài dào zhè ge shìjiè, yòu bù guǎn wǒ le?
Who made me like this? Who brought me into this world and then left me alone?
- The Creature 我的口袋里有几张纸。上面有一个名字：弗兰肯斯坦，还有一个地方：日内瓦。
Wǒ de kǒudài lǐ yǒu jǐ zhāng zhǐ. Shàngmiàn yǒu yí gè míngzi: Fúlánkěnsītǎn, háiyǒu yí gè dìfang: Rìnèiwǎ.
There are some papers in my pocket. On them is a name, Frankenstein, and a place, Geneva.
- The Creature 是他。他没有给我一个朋友，也没有给我一个名字。他连一句话都没有留下。
Shì tā. Tā méiyǒu gěi wǒ yí gè péngyou, yě méiyǒu gěi wǒ yí gè míngzi. Tā lián yí jù huà dōu méiyǒu liúxià.
It was him. He gave me no friend and no name. He did not even leave me one word.
- The Creature 我要去日内瓦。我要找到他，让他看着我的眼睛。
Wǒ yào qù Rìnèiwǎ. Wǒ yào zhǎodào tā, ràng tā kàn zhe wǒ de yǎnjing.
I will go to Geneva. I will find him and make him look me in the eyes.
- The Creature 弗兰肯斯坦！这一次，你不能再跑了！
Fúlánkěnsītǎn! Zhè yí cì, nǐ bù néng zài pǎo le!
Frankenstein! This time, you will not run away!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How does the old man treat the creature?
“坐吧，朋友。”
- Why isn't the old man afraid of the creature?
“我为什么要怕？我只听见一颗善良的心。”
- What happens when Felix and Agatha come home?
“啊！怪物！爸爸，快走开！”… “出去！离我父亲远一点！”
- What does the creature find in his pocket?
“上面有一个名字：弗兰肯斯坦，还有一个地方：日内瓦。”
- What does the creature decide to do?
“我要去日内瓦。我要找到他，让他看着我的眼睛。”