Greek Myths · chapter 4 of 6
The Best Weaver
织布比赛
Arachne brags that she weaves better than the goddess Athena. Then Athena walks in the door.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 阿拉克涅是一个女孩。她织布，织得最好。大家都爱看她织布。
Ālākèniè shì yí gè nǚhái. Tā zhī bù, zhī de zuì hǎo. Dàjiā dōu ài kàn tā zhī bù.
Arachne was a girl who wove cloth better than anyone. Everyone loved to watch her weave.
- Arachne 看！我织的鸟，好像真的鸟！
Kàn! Wǒ zhī de niǎo, hǎoxiàng zhēn de niǎo!
Look! My birds look like real birds!
- Neighbor 真漂亮！阿拉克涅，谁教你织布的？
Zhēn piàoliang! Ālākèniè, shéi jiāo nǐ zhī bù de?
So beautiful! Arachne, who taught you to weave?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of Greek Myths are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Arachne 没有人教我。我自己会！
Méiyǒu rén jiāo wǒ. Wǒ zìjǐ huì!
Nobody taught me. I just know how!
- Neighbor 别人说，是女神雅典娜教你的。她最会织布！
Biérén shuō, shì nǚshén Yǎdiǎnnà jiāo nǐ de. Tā zuì huì zhī bù!
People say the goddess Athena taught you. She weaves the best!
- Arachne 雅典娜？我比她织得好！
Yǎdiǎnnà? Wǒ bǐ tā zhī de hǎo!
Athena? I weave better than she does!
- Neighbor 小声点！女神会听见的！
Xiǎoshēng diǎn! Nǚshén huì tīngjiàn de!
Quiet! The goddess might hear you!
- Arachne 让她来！我不怕！
Ràng tā lái! Wǒ bú pà!
Let her come! I'm not afraid!
- Athena 阿拉克涅。你说，你织得比我好？真的吗？
Ālākèniè. Nǐ shuō, nǐ zhī de bǐ wǒ hǎo? Zhēn de ma?
Arachne. You say you weave better than I do? Is that so?
- Arachne 啊……你是……雅典娜？
Ā… nǐ shì… Yǎdiǎnnà?
Oh... you're... Athena?
- Athena 是我。我们比一比，好吗？
Shì wǒ. Wǒmen bǐ yi bǐ, hǎo ma?
It's me. Shall we have a contest?
- Arachne 好……好！我不怕！
Hǎo… hǎo! Wǒ bú pà!
Okay... okay! I'm not afraid!
- Narrator 她们坐下来，一起织布。
Tāmen zuò xiàlái, yìqǐ zhī bù.
They sat down and wove side by side.
- Athena 我织了大山，也织了大海，还有很多花。
Wǒ zhī le dà shān, yě zhī le dà hǎi, hái yǒu hěn duō huā.
I wove great mountains and the wide sea, and many flowers.
- Arachne 我织了神。神也会哭，也会不高兴，也会做错事。
Wǒ zhī le shén. Shén yě huì kū, yě huì bù gāoxìng, yě huì zuòcuò shì.
I wove the gods. Gods cry too, get upset, and make mistakes.
- Athena 你的布……真漂亮。比我的还漂亮。
Nǐ de bù… zhēn piàoliang. Bǐ wǒ de hái piàoliang.
Your cloth... is really beautiful. More beautiful than mine.
- Arachne 我说过！我织得最好！
Wǒ shuō guo! Wǒ zhī de zuì hǎo!
I told you! I weave the best!
- Athena 可是你不怕神，也不听别人说话！
Kěshì nǐ bú pà shén, yě bù tīng biérén shuōhuà!
But you don't respect the gods, and you don't listen to anyone!
- Athena 从今天起，你要一直织布！
Cóng jīntiān qǐ, nǐ yào yìzhí zhī bù!
From today, you will weave forever!
- Arachne 我的手！我的腿！我变小了！我的头呢？
Wǒ de shǒu! Wǒ de tuǐ! Wǒ biàn xiǎo le! Wǒ de tóu ne?
My hands! My legs! I'm getting small! Where is my head?
- Narrator 阿拉克涅变成了一只小蜘蛛。
Ālākèniè biànchéng le yì zhī xiǎo zhīzhū.
Arachne became a little spider.
- Arachne the Spider 我变成蜘蛛了？可是……我的手还会织！
Wǒ biànchéng zhīzhū le? Kěshì… wǒ de shǒu hái huì zhī!
I'm a spider? But... I can still weave!
- Arachne the Spider 看！我织了网！我的网好大！
Kàn! Wǒ zhī le wǎng! Wǒ de wǎng hǎo dà!
Look! I made a web! My web is so big!
- Athena 小蜘蛛，你的网很漂亮。你织吧，不要停。
Xiǎo zhīzhū, nǐ de wǎng hěn piàoliang. Nǐ zhī ba, bú yào tíng.
Little spider, your web is lovely. Keep weaving. Don't stop.
- Arachne the Spider 我会织！可是……我以后会听别人说话。
Wǒ huì zhī! Kěshì… wǒ yǐhòu huì tīng biérén shuōhuà.
I will! But... from now on, I'll listen to others.
- Hermes 好看的网！我得走了！有个爸爸做了翅膀，要飞过大海！
Hǎokàn de wǎng! Wǒ děi zǒu le! Yǒu gè bàba zuò le chìbǎng, yào fēi guò dàhǎi!
Lovely web! I have to run! A father has made wings, and he's going to fly across the sea!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Arachne say about Athena?
“我比她织得好！”
- How do Arachne and Athena decide who is better?
“我们比一比，好吗？”
- Why is Athena angry at the end of the contest?
“你不怕神，也不听别人说话！”
- What does Arachne become?
“阿拉克涅变成了一只小蜘蛛。”
- What does the spider promise?
“我以后会听别人说话。”