Hou Yi and the Ten Suns · chapter 1 of 4
Ten Sun Brothers
十个太阳兄弟
Ten sun brothers take turns lighting the sky, one a day, until the youngest makes two friends down below and his bored big brother hatches a very different plan.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久很久以前，天上有十个太阳。他们是十个兄弟。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, tiānshàng yǒu shí gè tàiyáng. Tāmen shì shí gè xiōngdì.
Long, long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. They were ten brothers.
- Narrator 他们住在东海边的大树上。一天，只出来一个。
Tāmen zhù zài Dōng Hǎi biān de dà shù shàng. Yì tiān, zhǐ chūlái yí gè.
They lived in a great tree beside the Eastern Sea, and each day, only one of them came out.
- Hou Yi 早上好，太阳！今天是哪个兄弟出来了？
Zǎoshang hǎo, tàiyáng! Jīntiān shì nǎge xiōngdì chūlái le?
Good morning, Sun! Which brother is out today?
- Little Ten 早上好，后羿！是我，小十，最小的弟弟！
Zǎoshang hǎo, Hòu Yì! Shì wǒ, Xiǎo Shí, zuì xiǎo de dìdi!
Good morning, Hou Yi! It's me, Little Ten, the youngest brother!
- Miaomiao 后羿叔叔，太阳会说话？
Hòu Yì shūshu, tàiyáng huì shuōhuà?
Uncle Hou Yi, the sun can talk?
- Hou Yi 会啊，苗苗。你看，今年的太阳多好，小苗都长高了。
Huì a, Miáomiao. Nǐ kàn, jīnnián de tàiyáng duō hǎo, xiǎomiáo dōu zhǎng gāo le.
Of course he can, Miaomiao. Look how good the sun has been this year. The seedlings have all grown tall.
- Miaomiao 我的小苗最高！秋天，我们家有很多很多饭吃！
Wǒ de xiǎomiáo zuì gāo! Qiūtiān, wǒmen jiā yǒu hěn duō hěn duō fàn chī!
My seedlings are the tallest! In the fall, my family will have lots and lots to eat!
- Little Ten 苗苗，你的小苗真好看！我给它们多一点儿太阳吧！
Miáomiao, nǐ de xiǎomiáo zhēn hǎokàn! Wǒ gěi tāmen duō yìdiǎnr tàiyáng ba!
Miaomiao, your seedlings are lovely! Let me give them a little extra sunshine!
- Miaomiao 后羿叔叔，树上那个大水果，我拿不到……
Hòu Yì shūshu, shù shàng nàge dà shuǐguǒ, wǒ ná bú dào…
Uncle Hou Yi, that big fruit up in the tree… I can't reach it…
- Hou Yi 你太小了！看我的！
Nǐ tài xiǎo le! Kàn wǒ de!
You're too little! Watch this!
- Miaomiao 我不小！我八岁了！
Wǒ bù xiǎo! Wǒ bā suì le!
I'm not little! I'm eight!
- Narrator 后羿拉开红色的大弓。箭飞上了树，水果正好掉在苗苗手里。
Hòu Yì lākāi hóngsè de dà gōng. Jiàn fēi shàng le shù, shuǐguǒ zhènghǎo diào zài Miáomiao shǒu lǐ.
Hou Yi drew his great red bow. The arrow flew up into the tree, and the fruit dropped right into Miaomiao's hands.
- Miaomiao 拿到了！叔叔，你的箭，天下第一！
Ná dào le! Shūshu, nǐ de jiàn, tiānxià dì yī!
Got it! Uncle, nobody under heaven shoots like you!
- Little Ten 后羿，你的箭飞得真高啊！
Hòu Yì, nǐ de jiàn fēi de zhēn gāo a!
Hou Yi, your arrow flew so high!
- Miaomiao 那……你的箭能飞到太阳那里吗？
Nà… nǐ de jiàn néng fēi dào tàiyáng nàlǐ ma?
So… could your arrows fly all the way up to the sun?
- Hou Yi 射太阳？不行，不行！小十是我们的好朋友！
Shè tàiyáng? Bù xíng, bù xíng! Xiǎo Shí shì wǒmen de hǎo péngyou!
Shoot the sun? No, no! Little Ten is our good friend!
- Little Ten 对！我们是好朋友！
Duì! Wǒmen shì hǎo péngyou!
That's right! We're good friends!
- Narrator 晚上，小十回家了。九个哥哥都在等他。
Wǎnshang, Xiǎo Shí huí jiā le. Jiǔ gè gēge dōu zài děng tā.
That evening, Little Ten went home. His nine older brothers were all waiting for him.
- Big Brother Sun 小十回来了？十天才出去一次，真没意思！
Xiǎo Shí huílái le? Shí tiān cái chūqù yí cì, zhēn méi yìsi!
Little Ten's back? One day out in ten. How boring!
- Little Ten 大哥，地上很好玩！我有了两个朋友，一个大的，一个小的！
Dàgē, dì shàng hěn hǎowán! Wǒ yǒu le liǎng gè péngyou, yí gè dà de, yí gè xiǎo de!
Big Brother, it's so much fun down there! I made two friends, a big one and a little one!
- Big Brother Sun 朋友？地上的人那么小，我都看不见！
Péngyou? Dì shàng de rén nàme xiǎo, wǒ dōu kàn bú jiàn!
Friends? People down there are so tiny, I can't even see them!
- Big Brother Sun 听我说！明天早上，我们十个一起出去！
Tīng wǒ shuō! Míngtiān zǎoshang, wǒmen shí gè yìqǐ chūqù!
Listen to me! Tomorrow morning, all ten of us go out together!
- Little Ten 一起出去？不行！妈妈说，一天只能出去一个！
Yìqǐ chūqù? Bù xíng! Māma shuō, yì tiān zhǐ néng chūqù yí gè!
All together? No! Mother says only one of us can go out each day!
- Big Brother Sun 我是老大，听我的！弟弟们，好不好？
Wǒ shì lǎodà, tīng wǒ de! Dìdimen, hǎo bù hǎo?
I'm the eldest, so you listen to me! Brothers, what do you say?
- Narrator 八个弟弟都大声说：“好！”
Bā gè dìdi dōu dàshēng shuō: “Hǎo!”
His eight younger brothers all shouted, “Yes!”
- Little Ten 十个太阳一起出去……地上的朋友们，会怎么样？
Shí gè tàiyáng yìqǐ chūqù… dì shàng de péngyoumen, huì zěnmeyàng?
Ten suns out at once… What will happen to my friends down there?
- Narrator 第二天早上，天特别亮，也特别热。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, tiān tèbié liàng, yě tèbié rè.
The next morning, the sky was strangely bright, and strangely hot.
- Miaomiao 后羿叔叔，快看天上！一个，两个，三个……十个！
Hòu Yì shūshu, kuài kàn tiānshàng! Yí gè, liǎng gè, sān gè… shí gè!
Uncle Hou Yi, look at the sky! One, two, three… ten!
- Hou Yi 十个太阳？！怎么会这样？
Shí gè tàiyáng?! Zěnme huì zhèyàng?
Ten suns?! How can this be?
What changed in the story?
- How many suns go out into the sky each day at the start of the story?
“一天，只出来一个。”
- Which sun is in the sky on the morning Hou Yi says hello?
“是我，小十，最小的弟弟！”
- How does Miaomiao get the fruit from the tree?
“箭飞上了树，水果正好掉在苗苗手里。”
- Why does Big Brother Sun want all ten suns to go out together?
“十天才出去一次，真没意思！……明天早上，我们十个一起出去！”
- What does Miaomiao see in the sky the next morning?
“一个，两个，三个……十个！”