Liaozhai: Fox and Ghost Loves · chapter 24 of 25
Yan'er
燕儿
Lianxiang nurses Sang Xiao back to health, but Li grows lighter and lighter. Then the neighbor drops over the wall with strange news from the rich Zhang family.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 三个月里，莲香照顾桑晓，李姑娘像妹妹一样帮她。
Sān gè yuè li, Liánxiāng zhàogù Sāng Xiǎo, Lǐ gūniang xiàng mèimei yíyàng bāng tā.
For three months, Lianxiang nursed Sang Xiao, and Miss Li helped her like a little sister.
- Li 莲姐姐，你去睡吧。我来给他做粥。
Lián jiějie, nǐ qù shuì ba. Wǒ lái gěi tā zuò zhōu.
Sister Lian, go and get some sleep. I'll make his porridge.
- Lianxiang 好妹妹。桑晓，你的肚子今天还打雷吗？
Hǎo mèimei. Sāng Xiǎo, nǐ de dùzi jīntiān hái dǎléi ma?
That's my good little sister. Sang Xiao, is your belly still thundering today?
Chapter 24 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Liaozhai: Fox and Ghost Loves (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Sang Xiao 不打雷了！我的身体，比以前还好！
Bù dǎléi le! Wǒ de shēntǐ, bǐ yǐqián hái hǎo!
No more thunder! I'm even healthier than before!
- Lianxiang 妹妹这几天怎么了？来得越来越少。
Mèimei zhè jǐ tiān zěnme le? Lái de yuè lái yuè shǎo.
Little sister, what's wrong with you these days? You come less and less.
- Li 莲姐姐……我该走了。
Lián jiějie… wǒ gāi zǒu le.
Sister Lian... I should go.
- Sang Xiao 别走！……你怎么这么轻？像一个草做的小人！
Bié zǒu!… Nǐ zěnme zhème qīng? Xiàng yí gè cǎo zuò de xiǎo rén!
Don't go!... Why are you so light? Like a little doll made of straw!
- Narrator 第二天早上，李姑娘不在了。以后，她再也没有来过。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, Lǐ gūniang bú zài le. Yǐhòu, tā zàiyě méiyǒu láiguo.
The next morning, Miss Li was gone. After that, she never came again.
- Sang Xiao 我天天拿出绣鞋，她也不来了……
Wǒ tiāntiān ná chū xiùxié, tā yě bù lái le…
Every day I take out the embroidered shoe, and still she doesn't come...
- Lianxiang 这么好的姑娘，我看了也喜欢。
Zhème hǎo de gūniang, wǒ kàn le yě xǐhuan.
Such a lovely girl. Even I was fond of her.
- The Neighbor 桑晓！刚才那个美人呢？我在墙上都看见了！
Sāng Xiǎo! Gāngcái nàge měirén ne? Wǒ zài qiáng shang dōu kànjiàn le!
Sang Xiao! Where's that beauty from just now? I saw her from up on the wall!
- Sang Xiao 我不是早就说过吗？女鬼来了，我就开门让她进来！
Wǒ bú shì zǎo jiù shuōguo ma? Nǚ guǐ lái le, wǒ jiù kāi mén ràng tā jìnlai!
Didn't I tell you long ago? If a ghost girl came, I'd open the door and let her in!
- The Neighbor 别开玩笑了！张家十五岁的燕儿病死了，第二天又醒了！
Bié kāi wánxiào le! Zhāng jiā shíwǔ suì de Yàn'er bìng sǐ le, dì èr tiān yòu xǐng le!
Stop joking! The Zhangs' Yan'er, fifteen years old, died of an illness, and the next day she woke up again!
- Sang Xiao 那个很有钱的张家？她又活了？
Nàge hěn yǒu qián de Zhāng jiā? Tā yòu huó le?
The rich Zhangs? She came back to life?
- The Neighbor 对！她说她是李姑娘的魂，她的绣鞋在桑公子家！
Duì! Tā shuō tā shì Lǐ gūniang de hún, tā de xiùxié zài Sāng gōngzǐ jiā!
Yes! She says she's Miss Li's soul, and her embroidered shoe is at Mr. Sang's house!
- Mrs. Zhang 燕儿，绣鞋从桑公子家拿来了。你穿穿看！
Yàn'er, xiùxié cóng Sāng gōngzǐ jiā nálai le. Nǐ chuānchuan kàn!
Yan'er, the embroidered shoe has been brought from Mr. Sang's house. Try it on!
- Li 我的绣鞋！……可是，它比我的脚小！
Wǒ de xiùxié!… Kěshì, tā bǐ wǒ de jiǎo xiǎo!
My embroidered shoe!... But it's smaller than my foot!
- Mrs. Zhang 你看，那不是你的鞋吧？
Nǐ kàn, nà bú shì nǐ de xié ba?
You see? It isn't your shoe, is it?
- Li 娘，给我镜子！……镜子里的人是谁？这不是我的脸！
Niáng, gěi wǒ jìngzi!… Jìngzi li de rén shì shéi? Zhè bú shì wǒ de liǎn!
Mother, give me a mirror!... Who's that in the mirror? That isn't my face!
- Mrs. Zhang 孩子，这就是你的脸啊！
Háizi, zhè jiù shì nǐ de liǎn a!
Child, that is your face!
- Li 以前，我见了莲姐姐还不好意思。现在，做人还没有做鬼好看！
Yǐqián, wǒ jiàn le Lián jiějie hái bù hǎoyìsi. Xiànzài, zuò rén hái méiyǒu zuò guǐ hǎokàn!
Before, I felt shy even next to Sister Lian. Now I'm plainer as a person than I was as a ghost!
- Narrator 燕儿七天不吃不喝。后来，她身上的旧皮掉了，长出了新皮。
Yàn'er qī tiān bù chī bù hē. Hòulái, tā shēn shang de jiù pí diào le, zhǎng chū le xīn pí.
For seven days Yan'er neither ate nor drank. Then her old skin peeled away, and new skin grew.
- Li 娘，你看！绣鞋正好！镜子里，是我以前的脸！
Niáng, nǐ kàn! Xiùxié zhènghǎo! Jìngzi li, shì wǒ yǐqián de liǎn!
Mother, look! The embroidered shoe fits! In the mirror, it's my old face!
- Mrs. Zhang 天哪……我的燕儿，变成了别人！
Tiān na… wǒ de Yàn'er, biànchéng le biérén!
Heavens... my Yan'er has turned into someone else!
- Lianxiang 桑晓，快去张家，求他们让燕儿做你的妻子！
Sāng Xiǎo, kuài qù Zhāng jiā, qiú tāmen ràng Yàn'er zuò nǐ de qīzi!
Sang Xiao, hurry to the Zhangs and ask them to let Yan'er be your wife!
- Narrator 张夫人过生日那天，桑晓最后一个到。
Zhāng fūrén guò shēngrì nà tiān, Sāng Xiǎo zuìhòu yí gè dào.
On the day of Mrs. Zhang's birthday, Sang Xiao was the last guest to arrive.
- Sang Xiao 伯母，桑晓来晚了。
Bómǔ, Sāng Xiǎo lái wǎn le.
Madam, forgive me for coming late.
- Li 桑公子！你来了！带我回家吧！
Sāng gōngzǐ! Nǐ lái le! Dài wǒ huí jiā ba!
Mr. Sang! You've come! Take me home!
- Mrs. Zhang 燕儿，快放手！……这孩子，心里只有你。好吧，我答应。
Yàn'er, kuài fàngshǒu!… Zhè háizi, xīn li zhǐyǒu nǐ. Hǎo ba, wǒ dāying.
Yan'er, let go!... This child has no one in her heart but you. Very well, I agree.
- Sang Xiao 伯母答应了……可是我一个没钱的书生，她爹会答应吗？莲香又怎么办呢？
Bómǔ dāying le… kěshì wǒ yí gè méi qián de shūshēng, tā diē huì dāying ma? Liánxiāng yòu zěnme bàn ne?
Madam has agreed... but I'm a scholar with no money. Will her father agree? And what about Lianxiang?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Sang Xiao say Li feels like when he catches her?
“你怎么这么轻？像一个草做的小人”
- What news does the neighbor bring about Yan'er?
“张家十五岁的燕儿病死了，第二天又醒了”
- What happens when Yan'er first tries on the shoe?
“它比我的脚小”
- What does Yan'er see in the mirror at first?
“镜子里的人是谁？这不是我的脸”
- What does Mrs. Zhang do when Yan'er runs to Sang Xiao?
“好吧，我答应”