Hou Yi and the Ten Suns · chapter 4 of 4
The Last Sun
最后一个太阳
Arrow after arrow flies into the sky until one frightened sun is left hiding behind a mountain, and Hou Yi must decide how many suns the world needs.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 箭飞得又高又快。大哥大叫一声，掉进了东海。
Jiàn fēi de yòu gāo yòu kuài. Dàgē dà jiào yì shēng, diào jìn le Dōng Hǎi.
The arrow flew high and fast. Big Brother gave a great cry and fell into the Eastern Sea.
- Little Ten 大哥！
Dàgē!
Big Brother!
- Miaomiao 一个！
Yí gè!
One!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Hou Yi and the Ten Suns 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.
- Little Ten 哥哥们，快回家！快跑！
Gēgemen, kuài huí jiā! Kuài pǎo!
Brothers, go home! Run!
- Narrator 后羿的箭，一支一支飞上了天。太阳一个一个掉进了大海。
Hòu Yì de jiàn, yì zhī yì zhī fēi shàng le tiān. Tàiyáng yí gè yí gè diào jìn le dàhǎi.
One by one, Hou Yi's arrows flew up into the sky, and one by one, the suns fell into the sea.
- Miaomiao 两个！三个！四个！五个！
Liǎng gè! Sān gè! Sì gè! Wǔ gè!
Two! Three! Four! Five!
- Miaomiao 叔叔，风是凉的！天没有那么热了！
Shūshu, fēng shì liáng de! Tiān méiyǒu nàme rè le!
Uncle, the wind is cool! It's not so hot anymore!
- Miaomiao 六个！七个！八个！九个！
Liù gè! Qī gè! Bā gè! Jiǔ gè!
Six! Seven! Eight! Nine!
- Narrator 天上只有一个太阳了。他在一座山的后边，不敢出来。
Tiānshàng zhǐ yǒu yí gè tàiyáng le. Tā zài yí zuò shān de hòubian, bù gǎn chūlái.
Only one sun was left in the sky. He was hiding behind a mountain, too frightened to come out.
- Little Ten 别射我……后羿，别射我……
Bié shè wǒ… Hòu Yì, bié shè wǒ…
Don't shoot me… Hou Yi, please don't shoot me…
- Hou Yi 还有最后一个……最后一支箭。
Hái yǒu zuìhòu yí gè… zuìhòu yì zhī jiàn.
One sun left… and one last arrow.
- Miaomiao 叔叔，等一下！他是小十！他是我们的朋友！
Shūshu, děng yíxià! Tā shì Xiǎo Shí! Tā shì wǒmen de péngyou!
Uncle, wait! That's Little Ten! He's our friend!
- Hou Yi 没有太阳，天会很黑，很冷。小苗也不能长大……
Méiyǒu tàiyáng, tiān huì hěn hēi, hěn lěng. Xiǎomiáo yě bù néng zhǎngdà…
With no sun at all, the world would be dark and cold, and the seedlings could never grow…
- Hou Yi 小十，出来吧。我不射你。
Xiǎo Shí, chūlái ba. Wǒ bú shè nǐ.
Little Ten, come out. I won't shoot you.
- Little Ten 哥哥们……对不起，后羿。我没有让他们回家。
Gēgemen… duìbuqǐ, Hòu Yì. Wǒ méiyǒu ràng tāmen huí jiā.
My brothers… I'm sorry, Hou Yi. I couldn't get them to go home.
- Hou Yi 你能答应我吗？天天早上出来，晚上回家。
Nǐ néng dāying wǒ ma? Tiāntiān zǎoshang chūlái, wǎnshang huí jiā.
Will you make me a promise? Come out every morning, and go home every evening.
- Little Ten 我答应你！一天一次，我天天出来，一天也不忘！
Wǒ dāying nǐ! Yì tiān yí cì, wǒ tiāntiān chūlái, yì tiān yě bú wàng!
I promise! Once a day, every day, and I won't forget a single one!
- Miaomiao 还有，你要对我的小苗好一点儿！
Hái yǒu, nǐ yào duì wǒ de xiǎomiáo hǎo yìdiǎnr!
And you have to be nice to my seedlings!
- Little Ten 好！不太热，也不太冷！
Hǎo! Bú tài rè, yě bú tài lěng!
I will! Not too hot, and not too cold!
- Narrator 那天晚上，下雨了。河里又有了水。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, xià yǔ le. Hé lǐ yòu yǒu le shuǐ.
That night, the rain came, and there was water in the river again.
- Chang'e 后羿，你回来了！饭做好了，快来吃！
Hòu Yì, nǐ huílái le! Fàn zuò hǎo le, kuài lái chī!
Hou Yi, you're home! Dinner's ready. Come and eat!
- Hou Yi 我说过，你做的饭，我一定回来吃！
Wǒ shuō guo, nǐ zuò de fàn, wǒ yídìng huílái chī!
I told you I'd never miss your cooking!
- Narrator 一个月以后，地上又绿了。
Yí gè yuè yǐhòu, dì shàng yòu lǜ le.
A month later, the land was green again.
- Miaomiao 叔叔，你看！我的小苗又长高了！
Shūshu, nǐ kàn! Wǒ de xiǎomiáo yòu zhǎng gāo le!
Uncle, look! My seedlings are growing tall again!
- Little Ten 早上好，苗苗！今天的太阳，好不好？
Zǎoshang hǎo, Miáomiao! Jīntiān de tàiyáng, hǎo bù hǎo?
Good morning, Miaomiao! How's the sunshine today?
- Miaomiao 不大也不小，不冷也不热，刚刚好！
Bú dà yě bù xiǎo, bù lěng yě bú rè, gānggāng hǎo!
Not too strong, not too weak, not too cold, not too hot. Just right!
- Narrator 晚上，太阳回家了，月亮出来了。
Wǎnshang, tàiyáng huí jiā le, yuèliang chūlái le.
That evening, the sun went home, and the moon came out.
- Chang'e 后羿，你看，今天的月亮多好看。我真想去月亮上看看。
Hòu Yì, nǐ kàn, jīntiān de yuèliang duō hǎokàn. Wǒ zhēn xiǎng qù yuèliang shàng kànkan.
Hou Yi, look how lovely the moon is tonight. I'd love to go up there and see it.
- Hou Yi 月亮那么远，你去了，我怎么办？
Yuèliang nàme yuǎn, nǐ qù le, wǒ zěnme bàn?
The moon is so far away. If you went, what would I do?
- Narrator 那时候，他们还不知道：后羿的故事，还没有完……
Nà shíhou, tāmen hái bù zhīdào: Hòu Yì de gùshi, hái méiyǒu wán…
They didn't know it then, but Hou Yi's story wasn't over yet…
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What happens to Big Brother when the first arrow reaches him?
“大哥大叫一声，掉进了东海。”
- What does Miaomiao notice after five suns have fallen?
“叔叔，风是凉的！天没有那么热了！”
- Why does Hou Yi decide not to shoot the last sun?
“没有太阳，天会很黑，很冷。小苗也不能长大……”
- What does Little Ten promise Hou Yi?
“天天早上出来，晚上回家。……我答应你！”
- What does Chang'e say she would love to do?
“我真想去月亮上看看。”