Jingwei and the Sea · chapter 3 of 3
The Sea Is Not Full Yet
大海还没有填平
Someone catches Jingwei before the waves do. One bird becomes many, and a father finally smiles.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 就在精卫快要掉进海里的时候，一只大海燕飞了过来，用翅膀接住了她。
Jiù zài Jīngwèi kuài yào diào jìn hǎi lǐ de shíhou, yì zhī dà hǎiyàn fēi le guòlái, yòng chìbǎng jiēzhù le tā.
Just as Jingwei was about to fall into the sea, a big petrel swooped in and caught her on its wings.
- The Flame Emperor 女娃！太好了……谢谢你，海燕！谢谢你救了我的女儿！
Nǚwá! Tài hǎo le… xièxie nǐ, hǎiyàn! Xièxie nǐ jiù le wǒ de nǚ'ér!
Nüwa! Thank goodness… Thank you, petrel! Thank you for saving my daughter!
- The Petrel 别怕，小鸟，你没事了。我们到那块大石头上休息一下吧。
Bié pà, xiǎo niǎo, nǐ méi shì le. Wǒmen dào nà kuài dà shítou shang xiūxi yíxià ba.
Don't be afraid, little bird. You're safe now. Let's rest on that big rock over there.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Jingwei and the Sea 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.
- The Petrel 我每天都看见你飞来飞去。风这么大，你为什么还要来？
Wǒ měi tiān dōu kànjiàn nǐ fēi lái fēi qù. Fēng zhème dà, nǐ wèishénme hái yào lái?
I see you flying back and forth every day. Why do you keep coming, even when the wind is this strong?
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 谢谢你，海燕。大海带走了我。我不想让它再带走别的孩子。
Xièxie nǐ, hǎiyàn. Dàhǎi dài zǒu le wǒ. Wǒ bù xiǎng ràng tā zài dài zǒu bié de háizi.
Thank you, petrel. The sea took me away. I don't want it to take any other child.
- The Petrel 你的翅膀这么小，可是你一点儿也不怕。好！明天，我跟你一起去叼石子和树枝！
Nǐ de chìbǎng zhème xiǎo, kěshì nǐ yìdiǎnr yě bú pà. Hǎo! Míngtiān, wǒ gēn nǐ yìqǐ qù diāo shízǐ hé shùzhī!
Your wings are so small, and yet you're not afraid at all. All right! Tomorrow I'll come with you and carry pebbles and twigs too!
- Narrator 从那以后，两只鸟一起飞，一起填海。后来，它们有了很多孩子。
Cóng nà yǐhòu, liǎng zhī niǎo yìqǐ fēi, yìqǐ tián hǎi. Hòulái, tāmen yǒu le hěn duō háizi.
From then on, the two birds flew together and filled the sea together. In time, they had many little ones.
- The Petrel 精卫，你看！女儿们像你，也叫“精卫”。儿子们像我，都是海燕！
Jīngwèi, nǐ kàn! Nǚ'érmen xiàng nǐ, yě jiào “Jīngwèi”. Érzimen xiàng wǒ, dōu shì hǎiyàn!
Jingwei, look! Our daughters take after you, and they cry “Jingwei” too. Our sons take after me. They're all petrels!
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 一只鸟，变成了一群鸟。一颗石子，变成了一片石子！
Yì zhī niǎo, biànchéng le yì qún niǎo. Yì kē shízǐ, biànchéng le yí piàn shízǐ!
One bird has become a flock. One pebble has become a whole shore of pebbles!
- The Sea 你们为什么还不停下来？你们永远也填不平我！
Nǐmen wèishénme hái bù tíng xiàlái? Nǐmen yǒngyuǎn yě tián bù píng wǒ!
Why won't you stop? You'll never fill me in!
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 也许不能。可是你看，海里是不是多了一个石头小岛？
Yěxǔ bù néng. Kěshì nǐ kàn, hǎi lǐ shì bu shì duō le yí gè shítou xiǎo dǎo?
Maybe not. But look: isn't there a new little island of stones in the sea?
- Narrator 大海没有说话。它的浪，慢慢地小了。
Dàhǎi méiyǒu shuōhuà. Tā de làng, mànmàn de xiǎo le.
The sea said nothing. Slowly, its waves grew smaller.
- The Flame Emperor 女娃，爸爸老了。以前，爸爸觉得你太小了，什么也做不了。
Nǚwá, bàba lǎo le. Yǐqián, bàba juéde nǐ tài xiǎo le, shénme yě zuò bù liǎo.
Nüwa, I've grown old. I used to think you were too small to do anything at all.
- The Flame Emperor 现在我知道了，小小的鸟，也能让大海害怕。
Xiànzài wǒ zhīdào le, xiǎoxiǎo de niǎo, yě néng ràng dàhǎi hàipà.
Now I know that even a tiny bird can make the sea afraid.
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 爸爸，我一直在您身边。
Bàba, wǒ yìzhí zài nín shēnbiān.
Father, I've been by your side all along.
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 爸爸，您笑了！这么多年，这是您第一次笑。
Bàba, nín xiào le! Zhème duō nián, zhè shì nín dì yī cì xiào.
Father, you're smiling! In all these years, this is the first time you've smiled.
- The Flame Emperor 是啊。因为我的女儿，是世界上最勇敢的小鸟。
Shì a. Yīnwèi wǒ de nǚ'ér, shì shìjiè shang zuì yǒnggǎn de xiǎo niǎo.
Yes. Because my daughter is the bravest little bird in the world.
- Narrator 直到今天，说一个人不怕难、不放弃，中国人还会说：“精卫填海”。
Zhídào jīntiān, shuō yí gè rén bú pà nán, bú fàngqì, Zhōngguórén hái huì shuō: “Jīngwèi tián hǎi”.
Even today, when someone won't give up, however hard things get, Chinese people say: “Jingwei fills the sea.”
- The Sea 小鸟，你到底还要填多久？
Xiǎo niǎo, nǐ dàodǐ hái yào tián duō jiǔ?
Little bird, just how much longer are you going to keep filling?
- Nüwa (Jingwei) 大海还没有填平，我就不会停！精卫！精卫！
Dàhǎi hái méiyǒu tiánpíng, wǒ jiù bú huì tíng! Jīngwèi! Jīngwèi!
The sea isn't full yet, so I won't stop! Jingwei! Jingwei!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who saves Jingwei from the storm?
“一只大海燕飞了过来，用翅膀接住了她。”
- Why does Jingwei keep flying to the sea?
“大海带走了我。我不想让它再带走别的孩子。”
- What does Jingwei point out to the sea?
“海里是不是多了一个石头小岛？”
- What has the Flame Emperor learned?
“小小的鸟，也能让大海害怕。”
- What do Chinese people mean today when they say “Jingwei fills the sea”?
“说一个人不怕难、不放弃……精卫填海”