The Lantern That Knew the Way · chapter 1 of 3
Light Against the Wall
照着墙的光
A lantern from her mother leads Bai Lu through familiar streets toward a workshop she may no longer know.
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Read what you hear
- Bai Lu 妈妈去世三年了。
Māma qùshì sān nián le.
My mother died three years ago.
- Bai Lu 她以前在老街做灯笼。
Tā yǐqián zài lǎo jiē zuò dēnglong.
She used to make lanterns on the old street.
- Bai Lu 我搬走以后，就没有再回去过。
Wǒ bān zǒu yǐhòu, jiù méiyǒu zài huíqù guò.
After I moved away, I never went back.
- Bai Lu 今年，我想找到她教我做灯的那间屋子。
Jīnnián, wǒ xiǎng zhǎodào tā jiāo wǒ zuò dēng de nà jiān wūzi.
This year, I want to find the room where she taught me to make lanterns.
- Bai Lu 我把想法告诉陈伯，他递给我一盏旧灯。
Wǒ bǎ xiǎngfǎ gàosu Chén Bó, tā dì gěi wǒ yì zhǎn jiù dēng.
I tell Chen Bo what I have in mind, and he hands me an old lantern.
- Chen Bo 白露，这是你妈妈留给我的。
Bái Lù, zhè shì nǐ māma liú gěi wǒ de.
Bai Lu, your mother left this with me.
- Bai Lu 这盏灯有什么特别的？
Zhè zhǎn dēng yǒu shénme tèbié de?
What is special about this lantern?
- Chen Bo 它会带你去你该去的地方。
Tā huì dài nǐ qù nǐ gāi qù de dìfang.
It will take you where you need to go.
- Chen Bo 不过，它一次只照出下一步。
Búguò, tā yí cì zhǐ zhào chū xià yí bù.
But it only shows one next step at a time.
- Bai Lu 我想把妈妈的灯重新做起来。
Wǒ xiǎng bǎ māma de dēng chóngxīn zuò qǐlái.
I want to start making my mother’s lanterns again.
- Bai Lu 我刚拿起灯，里面就有了暖暖的光。
Wǒ gāng ná qǐ dēng, lǐmiàn jiù yǒu le nuǎnnuǎn de guāng.
As soon as I lift it, a warm light appears inside.
- Bai Lu 灯光落在脚前，慢慢向前移。
Dēngguāng luò zài jiǎo qián, mànmàn xiàng qián yí.
The light falls at my feet and slowly moves forward.
- Bai Lu 我跟着它过了桥，走进老街。
Wǒ gēn zhe tā guò le qiáo, zǒu jìn lǎo jiē.
I follow it across the bridge and into the old street.
- Bai Lu 路边的石头还是小时候的样子。
Lùbiān de shítou hái shi xiǎoshíhou de yàngzi.
The stones by the road look just as they did when I was a child.
- Bai Lu 风一吹，我想起妈妈握着我的手，教我折纸。
Fēng yì chuī, wǒ xiǎng qǐ māma wòzhe wǒ de shǒu, jiāo wǒ zhé zhǐ.
When the wind blows, I remember my mother holding my hand and teaching me to fold paper.
- Bai Lu 可是到了路口，我停住了。
Kěshì dào le lùkǒu, wǒ tíng zhù le.
But when I reach the corner, I stop.
- Bai Lu 那间屋子的门以前在这里；现在这里只有一堵砖墙。
Nà jiān wūzi de mén yǐqián zài zhèlǐ; xiànzài zhèlǐ zhǐ yǒu yì dǔ zhuānqiáng.
The workshop door used to be here. Now only a brick wall remains.
- Bai Lu 灯光直直地照在墙上。
Dēngguāng zhízhí de zhào zài qiáng shang.
The light shines straight onto the wall.
- Bai Lu 难道灯带错路了？
Nándào dēng dài cuò lù le?
Has the lantern led me the wrong way?
- Bai Lu 我摸了摸墙，砖又冷又硬。
Wǒ mō le mō qiáng, zhuān yòu lěng yòu yìng.
I touch the wall. The bricks are cold and hard.
- Bai Lu 我给陈伯打了电话。
Wǒ gěi Chén Bó dǎ le diànhuà.
I call Chen Bo.
- Chen Bo 白露，灯还亮着吗？
Bái Lù, dēng hái liàng zhe ma?
Bai Lu, is the lantern still lit?
- Bai Lu 亮着，可是前面没有路。
Liàng zhe, kěshì qiánmiàn méiyǒu lù.
Yes, but there is no path ahead.
- Chen Bo 那就去看看墙的另一边。
Nà jiù qù kànkan qiáng de lìng yì biān.
Then go and look on the other side of the wall.
What changed in the story?
- Who gave Bai Lu the old lantern?
Chen Bo hands the old lantern to Bai Lu after she tells him her plan.
- Where does Bai Lu hope to go?
She says she wants to find the room where her mother taught her the craft.
- What does Bai Lu do after the light appears?
First the lantern lights, then Bai Lu follows it across the bridge.
- Why does Bai Lu think the lantern may have led her astray?
The old door has been replaced by a wall, yet the lantern points at it.
- What does Bai Lu want to keep doing?
She explicitly says she wants to start making her mother’s lanterns again.