Chinese Idiom Stories 3 · chapter 4 of 6
The Snake in the Cup
杯弓蛇影
Old Xu sees a little snake swimming in his wine and drinks it anyway. Now he is sick, and only his friend can work out where the snake came from.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 这个故事叫“杯弓蛇影”。乐广请好朋友来家里喝酒。
Zhège gùshi jiào “bēi gōng shé yǐng”. Yuè Guǎng qǐng hǎo péngyou lái jiālǐ hē jiǔ.
This story is called “A Bow in the Cup, a Snake in the Shadow.” Yue Guang invited a good friend to his home for wine.
- Yue Guang 老许，好久不见！快请坐！
Lǎo Xǔ, hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn! Kuài qǐng zuò!
Old Xu, it's been so long! Please, sit down!
- Old Xu 乐广，你家真漂亮。我坐这儿吗？
Yuè Guǎng, nǐ jiā zhēn piàoliang. Wǒ zuò zhèr ma?
Yue Guang, your home is lovely. Shall I sit here?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Chinese Idiom Stories 3 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.
- Yue Guang 对，坐那儿。那儿最好，我的好朋友都坐那儿。
Duì, zuò nàr. Nàr zuì hǎo, wǒ de hǎo péngyou dōu zuò nàr.
Yes, sit there. That's the best seat, where all my good friends sit.
- Old Xu 墙上那是什么？
Qiáng shang nà shì shénme?
What's that on the wall?
- Yue Guang 那是我的弓。我很喜欢它，天天看它。
Nà shì wǒ de gōng. Wǒ hěn xǐhuan tā, tiāntiān kàn tā.
That's my bow. I'm very fond of it, and I look at it every day.
- Yue Guang 来，喝酒！
Lái, hē jiǔ!
Come, have some wine!
- Old Xu 谢谢！啊？
Xièxie! À?
Thank you! Huh?
- Old Xu 杯子里有一条小蛇！它在动！怎么办？
Bēizi lǐ yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo shé! Tā zài dòng! Zěnme bàn?
There's a little snake in my cup! It's moving! What do I do?
- Old Xu 不喝，乐广会不高兴。我喝吧……
Bù hē, Yuè Guǎng huì bù gāoxìng. Wǒ hē ba…
If I don't drink, Yue Guang will be upset. I'll drink it…
- Yue Guang 老许，你怎么了？你的脸好白！
Lǎo Xǔ, nǐ zěnme le? Nǐ de liǎn hǎo bái!
Old Xu, what's wrong? Your face is so white!
- Old Xu 没……没什么。酒很好喝。真的很好喝。
Méi… méi shénme. Jiǔ hěn hǎohē. Zhēn de hěn hǎohē.
N-nothing. The wine is very good. Really very good.
- Yue Guang 老许，我来看你了。
Lǎo Xǔ, wǒ lái kàn nǐ le.
Old Xu, I've come to see you.
- Old Xu 乐广……我病了。我吃了一条蛇！
Yuè Guǎng… wǒ bìng le. Wǒ chī le yì tiáo shé!
Yue Guang… I'm sick. I ate a snake!
- Yue Guang 蛇？什么蛇？
Shé? Shénme shé?
A snake? What snake?
- Old Xu 那天，你的酒里有一条蛇。我不敢说，我喝了它。
Nà tiān, nǐ de jiǔ lǐ yǒu yì tiáo shé. Wǒ bù gǎn shuō, wǒ hē le tā.
That day, there was a snake in your wine. I didn't dare say so, and I drank it.
- Yue Guang 医生怎么说？
Yīshēng zěnme shuō?
What does the doctor say?
- Old Xu 医生说，我没有病。可是我有病！
Yīshēng shuō, wǒ méiyǒu bìng. Kěshì wǒ yǒu bìng!
The doctor says I'm not sick. But I am sick!
- Yue Guang 酒里有蛇？我想一想。
Jiǔ lǐ yǒu shé? Wǒ xiǎng yi xiǎng.
A snake in the wine? Let me think.
- Yue Guang 那天他坐在墙下。墙上有弓……是影子吗？
Nà tiān tā zuò zài qiáng xià. Qiáng shang yǒu gōng… shì yǐngzi ma?
That day he sat under the wall. There's a bow on the wall… could it be a shadow?
- Yue Guang 老许，你明天再来。还坐那儿！
Lǎo Xǔ, nǐ míngtiān zài lái. Hái zuò nàr!
Old Xu, come again tomorrow. Sit in the same place!
- Old Xu 还去？好吧，我来。
Hái qù? Hǎo ba, wǒ lái.
Go again? All right, I'll come.
- Yue Guang 老许，坐好。喝酒！
Lǎo Xǔ, zuò hǎo. Hē jiǔ!
Old Xu, sit down. Have some wine!
- Old Xu 啊！蛇！又有蛇！
À! Shé! Yòu yǒu shé!
Ah! A snake! The snake again!
- Yue Guang 别怕！你看墙上。
Bié pà! Nǐ kàn qiáng shang.
Don't be afraid! Look at the wall.
- Old Xu 墙上有弓……啊？
Qiáng shang yǒu gōng… à?
There's a bow on the wall… huh?
- Yue Guang 对！杯子里的蛇，是弓的影子！
Duì! Bēizi lǐ de shé, shì gōng de yǐngzi!
Yes! The snake in the cup is the shadow of the bow!
- Old Xu 原来是影子！是我自己在怕！
Yuánlái shì yǐngzi! Shì wǒ zìjǐ zài pà!
So it was a shadow! I was scaring myself!
- Old Xu 我的病好了！乐广，我饿了！
Wǒ de bìng hǎo le! Yuè Guǎng, wǒ è le!
I'm well again! Yue Guang, I'm hungry!
- Yue Guang 先吃饭！吃完，我们去看一个人。他天天看竹子，不画画！
Xiān chī fàn! Chī wán, wǒmen qù kàn yí gè rén. Tā tiāntiān kàn zhúzi, bù huà huà!
Eat first! After that, let's go see someone. He stares at bamboo every day and never paints!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Old Xu see in his cup?
“杯子里有一条小蛇！”
- Why does Old Xu drink the wine anyway?
“不喝，乐广会不高兴。”
- What does Old Xu believe when he is sick in bed?
“我吃了一条蛇！”
- What does Yue Guang think of when he sits and thinks?
“那天他坐在墙下。墙上有弓……”
- What was the “snake” in the cup?
“杯子里的蛇，是弓的影子！”