Liu Yi and the Dragon Princess · chapter 2 of 4
The Crystal Palace
水晶房子
Under the lake, a Dragon King weeps over a letter, and his fiery brother hears everything. A roar shakes the palace, and then he is gone.
Read what you hear
- Shrimp Soldier 大王！大王！有个人说，他带来了公主的信！
Dàwáng! Dàwáng! Yǒu gè rén shuō, tā dài lái le gōngzhǔ de xìn!
Your Majesty! Your Majesty! A man says he's brought a letter from the princess!
- Dragon King of Dongting 公主的信？快请他进来！
Gōngzhǔ de xìn? Kuài qǐng tā jìnlái!
A letter from the princess? Bring him in at once!
- Liu Yi 这是水下面吗？这里的房子都是水晶做的！我没见过这么漂亮的地方！
Zhè shì shuǐ xiàmiàn ma? Zhèlǐ de fángzi dōu shì shuǐjīng zuò de! Wǒ méi jiàn guo zhème piàoliang de dìfang!
Is this under the water? The houses are all made of crystal! I've never seen such a beautiful place!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Liu Yi and the Dragon Princess 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.
- Liu Yi 龙王，我叫柳毅。公主请我带信给您。
Lóngwáng, wǒ jiào Liǔ Yì. Gōngzhǔ qǐng wǒ dài xìn gěi nín.
Dragon King, I'm Liu Yi. The princess asked me to bring you this letter.
- Dragon King of Dongting 给我……我的女儿……
Gěi wǒ… wǒ de nǚ'ér…
Give it to me… my daughter…
- Narrator 龙王慢慢地看信。看着看着，他哭了。
Lóngwáng mànmàn de kàn xìn. Kàn zhe kàn zhe, tā kū le.
The Dragon King read the letter slowly. As he read, he began to cry.
- Dragon King of Dongting 信里说：“爸爸，我在这里很苦，我想回家。”我的孩子，我怎么不知道！
Xìn lǐ shuō: “Bàba, wǒ zài zhèlǐ hěn kǔ, wǒ xiǎng huíjiā.” Wǒ de háizi, wǒ zěnme bù zhīdào!
The letter says, “Father, I'm so unhappy here. I want to come home.” My child, how did I not know!
- Dragon King of Dongting 我让她去泾河，给龙王的儿子做妻子。他们这样欺负她！
Wǒ ràng tā qù Jīng Hé, gěi lóngwáng de érzi zuò qīzi. Tāmen zhèyàng qīfu tā!
I sent her to the Jing River to be a dragon prince's wife. And they bully her like this!
- Shrimp Soldier 公主那么好……我也想哭。
Gōngzhǔ nàme hǎo… wǒ yě xiǎng kū.
The princess is so kind… I want to cry too.
- Liu Yi 龙王，别太难过。公主还说，她每天都在想家，也每天都在想您。
Lóngwáng, bié tài nánguò. Gōngzhǔ hái shuō, tā měi tiān dōu zài xiǎng jiā, yě měi tiān dōu zài xiǎng nín.
Dragon King, don't be too sad. The princess also said she misses home, and misses you, every day.
- Dragon King of Dongting 小声一点。我弟弟钱塘君很容易生气。要是他知道了……
Xiǎoshēng yìdiǎn. Wǒ dìdi Qiántáng Jūn hěn róngyì shēngqì. Yàoshi tā zhīdào le…
Keep your voice down. My brother, Lord Qiantang, gets angry very easily. If he finds out…
- Shrimp Soldier 上次他生气，水晶房子摇了三天！
Shàng cì tā shēngqì, shuǐjīng fángzi yáo le sān tiān!
Last time he got angry, the crystal house shook for three days!
- Lord Qiantang 大哥！谁在哭？谁让你哭了？
Dàgē! Shéi zài kū? Shéi ràng nǐ kū le?
Big brother! Who's crying? Who made you cry?
- Dragon King of Dongting 没……没有人。快坐下，弟弟。
Méi… méiyǒu rén. Kuài zuò xià, dìdi.
N-no one. Sit down quickly, little brother.
- Lord Qiantang 我听见了！信！公主！是我的侄女吗？
Wǒ tīngjiàn le! Xìn! Gōngzhǔ! Shì wǒ de zhínǚ ma?
I heard it! A letter! The princess! Is it my niece?
- Dragon King of Dongting 是。她在泾河……被人欺负了。她的丈夫和他的家人。
Shì. Tā zài Jīng Hé… bèi rén qīfu le. Tā de zhàngfu hé tā de jiārén.
Yes. At the Jing River… she was bullied. By her husband and his family.
- Lord Qiantang 什么？！我的侄女？我现在就去！
Shénme?! Wǒ de zhínǚ? Wǒ xiànzài jiù qù!
What?! My niece? I'm going right now!
- Dragon King of Dongting 弟弟，等一等！先别急！
Dìdi, děng yi děng! Xiān bié jí!
Brother, wait! Don't rush!
- Lord Qiantang 等？我一天也不想等！
Děng? Wǒ yì tiān yě bù xiǎng děng!
Wait? I won't wait even one day!
- Liu Yi 龙……龙王，他要去哪儿？
Lóng… lóngwáng, tā yào qù nǎr?
D-Dragon King, where is he going?
- Dragon King of Dongting 去泾河，接我的女儿回家。
Qù Jīng Hé, jiē wǒ de nǚ'ér huíjiā.
To the Jing River, to bring my daughter home.
- Lord Qiantang 侄女，等着叔叔！
Zhínǚ, děng zhe shūshu!
Niece, wait for your uncle!
- Liu Yi 他一个人去，不会有事吗？
Tā yí gè rén qù, bú huì yǒu shì ma?
He's going alone. Will he be all right?
- Dragon King of Dongting 泾河的龙都怕他。可是我怕事情会越来越大。
Jīng Hé de lóng dōu pà tā. Kěshì wǒ pà shìqing huì yuè lái yuè dà.
The dragons of the Jing River are all afraid of him. But I worry this will only get bigger.
- Liu Yi 我可以做什么吗？我不想只站在这里。
Wǒ kěyǐ zuò shénme ma? Wǒ bù xiǎng zhǐ zhàn zài zhèlǐ.
Is there something I can do? I don't want to just stand here.
- Dragon King of Dongting 你留下来吧，柳毅。我们一起等他们回来。
Nǐ liú xiàlái ba, Liǔ Yì. Wǒmen yìqǐ děng tāmen huílái.
Stay here, Liu Yi. We'll wait for them together.
- Shrimp Soldier 大王！大王！钱塘君回来了！
Dàwáng! Dàwáng! Qiántáng Jūn huílái le!
Your Majesty! Lord Qiantang is back!
- Dragon King of Dongting 这么快？公主在哪儿？她怎么样了？
Zhème kuài? Gōngzhǔ zài nǎr? Tā zěnmeyàng le?
So fast? Where is the princess? How is she?
- Shrimp Soldier 他……他带着公主一起回来了！
Tā… tā dài zhe gōngzhǔ yìqǐ huílái le!
He… he's brought the princess back with him!
- Liu Yi 公主……真的回来了？
Gōngzhǔ… zhēn de huílái le?
The princess… is really back?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the Dragon King cry?
“龙王慢慢地看信。看着看着，他哭了。”
- Why must they keep their voices down?
“我弟弟钱塘君很容易生气。”
- What does Qiantang do when he hears the news?
“我现在就去！”……“去泾河，接我的女儿回家。”
- What happened last time Qiantang got angry?
“上次他生气，水晶房子摇了三天！”
- What surprising news comes at the end?
“他……他带着公主一起回来了！”