The Lantern That Knew the Way · chapter 2 of 3
The Pattern Box
装着图样的盒子
Beyond the brick wall, Bai Lu finds a clue her mother left behind. The lantern’s light changes when she hesitates.
Read what you hear
- Bai Lu 第二天早上，我沿着墙走了很久。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, wǒ yán zhe qiáng zǒu le hěn jiǔ.
The next morning, I walk along the wall for a long time.
- Bai Lu 在街尾，我终于走到另一边。
Zài jiēwěi, wǒ zhōngyú zǒu dào lìng yì biān.
At the end of the street, I finally reach the other side.
- Bai Lu 妈妈的旧屋已经不在了，原来的地方成了一条新路。
Māma de jiù wū yǐjīng bú zài le, yuánlái de dìfang chéng le yì tiáo xīn lù.
My mother’s old workshop is gone. A new road runs where it stood.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Lantern That Knew the Way 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.
- Bai Lu 陈伯站在路边一间小屋的门口，好像在等我。
Chén Bó zhàn zài lù biān yì jiān xiǎo wū de ménkǒu, hǎoxiàng zài děng wǒ.
Chen Bo is standing in the doorway of a small house by the road, as if he's been waiting for me.
- Chen Bo 两年前，那间屋子被拆了。
Liǎng nián qián, nà jiān wūzi bèi chāi le.
It was torn down two years ago.
- Bai Lu 你早就知道？为什么不告诉我？
Nǐ zǎo jiù zhīdào? Wèishénme bú gàosu wǒ?
You knew all along? Why didn't you tell me?
- Chen Bo 我怕我说了，你就不回来了。
Wǒ pà wǒ shuō le, nǐ jiù bù huílái le.
I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn't come back.
- Chen Bo 屋子没了，可是里面的东西，不一定都没了。
Wūzi méi le, kěshì lǐmiàn de dōngxi, bù yídìng dōu méi le.
The building is gone. But that doesn't mean everything inside it is gone.
- Bai Lu 他从屋里搬出一个旧木盒。
Tā cóng wū li bān chū yí ge jiù mùhé.
He brings an old wooden box out of his room.
- Bai Lu 盒里是妈妈画的灯笼图样。
Hé lǐ shì māma huà de dēnglong túyàng.
Inside are lantern patterns my mother drew.
- Bai Lu 每张纸上都有她写的小字。
Měi zhāng zhǐ shang dōu yǒu tā xiě de xiǎo zì.
Each sheet has little notes in her handwriting.
- Bai Lu 我看到一句：先折，再剪。
Wǒ kàn dào yí jù: xiān zhé, zài jiǎn.
I see one line: fold first, then cut.
- Bai Lu 这是她以前常对我说的话。
Zhè shì tā yǐqián cháng duì wǒ shuō de huà.
She used to say that to me all the time.
- Bai Lu 我眼眶一热。
Wǒ yǎnkuàng yí rè.
My eyes suddenly sting with tears.
- Chen Bo 她走以前说，希望有人把这些灯继续做下去。
Tā zǒu yǐqián shuō, xīwàng yǒu rén bǎ zhèxiē dēng jìxù zuò xiàqù.
Before she passed, she said she hoped someone would keep making these lanterns.
- Bai Lu 我拿起图样，手却停在半空。
Wǒ ná qǐ túyàng, shǒu què tíng zài bànkōng.
I pick up a pattern, but my hand stops halfway.
- Bai Lu 我怕自己已经忘了怎么做。
Wǒ pà zìjǐ yǐjīng wàng le zěnme zuò.
I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to make them.
- Bai Lu 我把图样放回盒里。就在这时，手里的旧灯暗了。
Wǒ bǎ túyàng fàng huí hé lǐ. Jiù zài zhè shí, shǒu lǐ de jiù dēng àn le.
I put the pattern back in the box. At that very moment, the old lantern in my hand goes dark.
- Chen Bo 它没坏。你把图样收起来，它就看不到下一步了。
Tā méi huài. Nǐ bǎ túyàng shōu qǐlái, tā jiù kàn bú dào xià yí bù le.
It isn't broken. When you put the pattern away, it can't see your next step.
- Bai Lu 这时，一个年轻女人走进小屋。
Zhè shí, yí ge niánqīng nǚrén zǒu jìn xiǎo wū.
Just then, a young woman comes into the room.
- Chen Bo 这是我女儿阿晴。
Zhè shì wǒ nǚ'ér Ā Qíng.
This is my daughter, A Qing.
- Chen Qing 我小时候，常常站在你妈妈的窗外，看她做灯。
Wǒ xiǎoshíhou, chángcháng zhàn zài nǐ māma de chuāng wài, kàn tā zuò dēng.
When I was little, I used to stand outside your mother's window and watch her make lanterns.
- Chen Qing 白露姐，你愿意教我做灯吗？
Bái Lù jiě, nǐ yuànyì jiāo wǒ zuò dēng ma?
Bai Lu, would you teach me to make lanterns?
- Bai Lu 我看着暗下来的灯，不知道该怎么回答。
Wǒ kàn zhe àn xiàlái de dēng, bù zhīdào gāi zěnme huídá.
I look at the dark lantern, unsure how to answer.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is where Bai Lu’s mother’s workshop used to be?
Bai Lu finds a new road where the workshop stood.
- What did Chen Bo save?
He brings out a wooden box holding the patterns Bai Lu’s mother drew.
- What happens after Bai Lu picks up a pattern?
Bai Lu hesitates, worries she has forgotten, and then the lantern darkens.
- Why didn't Chen Bo tell Bai Lu the workshop was gone?
He admits, “我怕我说了，你就不回来了.”
- How does Bai Lu feel when Chen Qing asks to learn?
She looks at the dark lantern and does not know how to answer.