Hercules · chapter 2 of 5
The Lion and the Hydra
狮子和九头蛇
Hercules meets a lion that arrows cannot hurt and a snake that grows two heads for one. Then the king finds a way to say it all does not count.
Read what you hear
- Hercules 这里真安静……狮子，你在哪儿？
Zhèlǐ zhēn ānjìng… Shīzi, nǐ zài nǎr?
It's so quiet here… Lion, where are you?
- Hercules 你看，那边有一个很大的山，山上有大狮子的家！
Nǐ kàn, nàbiān yǒu yí gè hěn dà de shān, shān shàng yǒu dà shīzi de jiā!
Look, there's a big hill over there, and the lion's home is on it!
- Hercules 狮子！你出来！我是赫拉克勒斯！
Shīzi! Nǐ chūlái! Wǒ shì Hèlākèlèsī!
Lion! Come out! I am Hercules!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Hercules 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, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Hercules 好大的声音！可是我不怕你！
Hǎo dà de shēngyīn! Kěshì wǒ bú pà nǐ!
What a loud voice! But I'm not afraid of you!
- Hercules 不行！我用手打它，它一点也不怕！
Bù xíng! Wǒ yòng shǒu dǎ tā, tā yìdiǎn yě bú pà!
Not working! I hit it with my hand and it isn't afraid at all!
- Hercules 好，那我就不打了，我们来玩玩！
Hǎo, nà wǒ jiù bù dǎ le, wǒmen lái wánwan!
Fine, then I won't hit you. Let's wrestle!
- Hercules 别跑，狮子！我们来玩一玩！
Bié pǎo, shīzi! Wǒmen lái wán yi wán!
Don't run, lion! Let's play a bit!
- Hercules 你的力气也很大，可是我的力气更大！
Nǐ de lìqi yě hěn dà, kěshì wǒ de lìqi gèng dà!
You are strong too, but I am stronger!
- Hercules 好了，你累了，睡一睡吧。
Hǎo le, nǐ lèi le, shuì yi shuì ba.
There, you're tired. Have a sleep.
- Hercules 我穿上狮子的衣服，你看，我像不像一只大狮子？
Wǒ chuān shàng shīzi de yīfu, nǐ kàn, wǒ xiàng bu xiàng yì zhī dà shīzi?
I'll wear the lion's cloak. Look, do I look like a big lion?
- Iolaus 大力士！你快来！这里有一条大蛇！
Dàlìshì! Nǐ kuài lái! Zhèlǐ yǒu yì tiáo dà shé!
Strongman! Come quick! There is a giant snake here!
- Iolaus 我叫伊俄拉俄斯，我是你的朋友！
Wǒ jiào Yī'élā'ésī, wǒ shì nǐ de péngyou!
My name is Iolaus, and I'm your friend!
- Hercules 伊俄拉俄斯！你好！这条蛇有几个头？
Yī'élā'ésī! Nǐ hǎo! Zhè tiáo shé yǒu jǐ gè tóu?
Iolaus! Hello! How many heads does this snake have?
- Iolaus 九个头！它叫九头蛇！
Jiǔ gè tóu! Tā jiào Jiǔtóushé!
Nine heads! It's called the Hydra!
- Hercules 九个头？好，我来打！
Jiǔ gè tóu? Hǎo, wǒ lái dǎ!
Nine heads? Fine, I'll fight it!
- Hercules 我打了一个头！啊……怎么有两个头了？
Wǒ dǎ le yí gè tóu! A… Zěnme yǒu liǎng gè tóu le?
I hit off one head! Whoa… Why are there two heads now?
- Iolaus 一个头没了，又有两个头长出来了！
Yí gè tóu méi le, yòu yǒu liǎng gè tóu zhǎng chūlái le!
One head is gone and two grow back!
- Hercules 这怎么办？我的手也累了！
Zhè zěnme bàn? Wǒ de shǒu yě lèi le!
What do we do? My hands are getting tired!
- Iolaus 我有火！火一到，头就不长了！
Wǒ yǒu huǒ! Huǒ yí dào, tóu jiù bù zhǎng le!
I have fire! Once fire touches it, the head won't grow back!
- Hercules 这个办法真好！你用火，我用手！
Zhège bànfǎ zhēn hǎo! Nǐ yòng huǒ, wǒ yòng shǒu!
What a good idea! You use fire, I use my hands!
- Iolaus 一个！两个！三个！
Yí gè! Liǎng gè! Sān gè!
One! Two! Three!
- Hercules 再来一个！还有一个！
Zài lái yí gè! Hái yǒu yí gè!
One more! There's one more!
- Iolaus 大力士，你看，蛇不动了！
Dàlìshì, nǐ kàn, shé bú dòng le!
Strongman, look, the snake has stopped moving!
- Hercules 我们做到了，你是我的好朋友！
Wǒmen zuò dào le, nǐ shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou!
We did it! You are my good friend!
- Messenger 赫拉克勒斯！国王说话了！
Hèlākèlèsī! Guówáng shuōhuà le!
Hercules! The king has spoken!
- Messenger 九头蛇不能算，因为有人帮你！
Jiǔtóushé bù néng suàn, yīnwèi yǒu rén bāng nǐ!
The Hydra doesn't count, because someone helped you!
- Messenger 下一件事，你要一天洗干净三千头牛的家！
Xià yí jiàn shì, nǐ yào yì tiān xǐ gānjìng sānqiān tóu niú de jiā!
Next task: clean the home of three thousand cows in one day!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What happens when Hercules hits the lion?
“不行！我用手打它，它一点也不怕！”
- What does Hercules wear after the lion falls asleep?
“我穿上狮子的衣服，你看，我像不像一只大狮子？”
- What happens when Hercules knocks off one of the snake's heads?
“一个头没了，又有两个头长出来了！”
- What does Iolaus use to stop the heads growing?
“我有火！火一到，头就不长了！”
- Why does the king say the Hydra does not count?
“九头蛇不能算，因为有人帮你！”