Ma Liang's Magic Paintbrush · chapter 1 of 5
A Brush in a Dream
梦里的笔
Ma Liang loves to draw but has no brush, and the rich man only laughs at him. Then, one night, an old man with a long white beard visits him in a dream.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久很久以前，有一个没有钱的孩子，叫马良。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yí gè méiyǒu qián de háizi, jiào Mǎ Liáng.
Long, long ago, there lived a poor boy named Ma Liang.
- Ma Liang 小鸟，小鱼，小猫……好了！奶奶，你看！
Xiǎo niǎo, xiǎo yú, xiǎo māo… hǎo le! Nǎinai, nǐ kàn!
A little bird, a little fish, a little cat… done! Granny, look!
- Granny Li 马良，你天天在地上画画！画得真好！
Mǎ Liáng, nǐ tiāntiān zài dì shang huà huà! Huà de zhēn hǎo!
Ma Liang, you draw in the dirt every day! And you're so good at it!
- Ma Liang 奶奶，我想要一支笔。我想在纸上画画！
Nǎinai, wǒ xiǎng yào yì zhī bǐ. Wǒ xiǎng zài zhǐ shang huà huà!
Granny, I want a brush. I want to paint on paper!
- Granny Li 孩子，笔很贵。我们都没有钱。
Háizi, bǐ hěn guì. Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu qián.
Brushes cost a lot, child. None of us has any money.
- Ma Liang 没关系！没有笔，我就在地上画。你看，我再画一条鱼！
Méi guānxi! Méiyǒu bǐ, wǒ jiù zài dì shang huà. Nǐ kàn, wǒ zài huà yì tiáo yú!
That's all right! No brush? Then I'll draw on the ground. Look, I'll draw another fish!
- Narrator 这个时候，奶奶的猫跑来了，看着地上的鱼。
Zhège shíhou, nǎinai de māo pǎo lái le, kànzhe dì shang de yú.
Just then, Granny's cat came running and stared at the fish on the ground.
- Granny Li 哈哈！你看我的猫！它想吃你画的鱼！
Hāhā! Nǐ kàn wǒ de māo! Tā xiǎng chī nǐ huà de yú!
Ha ha! Look at my cat! He wants to eat your fish!
- Ma Liang 小猫，别吃！这条鱼是画的，不能吃！
Xiǎo māo, bié chī! Zhè tiáo yú shì huà de, bù néng chī!
Kitty, don't! That fish is only a drawing. You can't eat it!
- Granny Li 你看，我的猫也说好！
Nǐ kàn, wǒ de māo yě shuō hǎo!
See? Even my cat says it's good!
- Granny Li 马良，财主来了。
Mǎ Liáng, cáizhu lái le.
Ma Liang, here comes the rich man.
- Ma Liang 他有很多很多笔……我去问问！
Tā yǒu hěn duō hěn duō bǐ… wǒ qù wènwen!
He's got lots and lots of brushes… I'll go and ask him!
- Ma Liang 老爷，您家里有很多笔，能给我一支吗？
Lǎoye, nín jiā lǐ yǒu hěn duō bǐ, néng gěi wǒ yì zhī ma?
Sir, you have so many brushes at home. Could you give me just one?
- The Rich Man 给你？哈哈哈！一个没有钱的孩子，也想画画？快走！
Gěi nǐ? Hāhāhā! Yí gè méiyǒu qián de háizi, yě xiǎng huà huà? Kuài zǒu!
Give you one? Ha ha ha! A boy with no money wants to paint? Off with you!
- Ma Liang 没有笔，我还有手！我天天画，天天画！
Méiyǒu bǐ, wǒ hái yǒu shǒu! Wǒ tiāntiān huà, tiāntiān huà!
No brush? I still have my hands! I'll draw every day, every single day!
- Narrator 从那天起，马良天天画画。山上的鸟，水里的鱼，他都画。
Cóng nà tiān qǐ, Mǎ Liáng tiāntiān huà huà. Shān shang de niǎo, shuǐ lǐ de yú, tā dōu huà.
From that day on, Ma Liang drew every day. The birds in the hills, the fish in the water: he drew them all.
- Narrator 一天晚上，马良睡了。他做了一个梦。
Yì tiān wǎnshang, Mǎ Liáng shuì le. Tā zuò le yí gè mèng.
One night, Ma Liang fell asleep, and he had a dream.
- The White-Bearded Old Man 马良，马良……
Mǎ Liáng, Mǎ Liáng…
Ma Liang… Ma Liang…
- Ma Liang 谁在叫我？老爷爷，您是谁？
Shéi zài jiào wǒ? Lǎoyéye, nín shì shéi?
Who's calling me? Grandpa, who are you?
- The White-Bearded Old Man 我知道，你很想要一支笔。这支笔，给你吧。
Wǒ zhīdào, nǐ hěn xiǎng yào yì zhī bǐ. Zhè zhī bǐ, gěi nǐ ba.
I know how much you want a brush. Here, this one is for you.
- Ma Liang 金色的笔！真好看！谢谢老爷爷！
Jīnsè de bǐ! Zhēn hǎokàn! Xièxie lǎoyéye!
A golden brush! It's beautiful! Thank you, Grandpa!
- The White-Bearded Old Man 这是一支神笔。马良，你要记住：给穷人画画。
Zhè shì yì zhī shén bǐ. Mǎ Liáng, nǐ yào jìzhù: gěi qióngrén huà huà.
This is a magic brush. Ma Liang, remember: paint for the poor.
- Ma Liang 我记住了！我只给穷人画！
Wǒ jìzhù le! Wǒ zhǐ gěi qióngrén huà!
I'll remember! I'll only paint for the poor!
- Narrator 第二天早上，马良的手上，真的有一支金色的笔！
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, Mǎ Liáng de shǒu shang, zhēnde yǒu yì zhī jīnsè de bǐ!
The next morning, there really was a golden brush in Ma Liang's hand!
- Ma Liang 这不是梦……我画一只小鸟，看看吧。
Zhè bú shì mèng… wǒ huà yì zhī xiǎo niǎo, kànkan ba.
It wasn't a dream… I'll paint a little bird and see.
- Narrator 马良在墙上画了一只小鸟，最后画上了眼睛。
Mǎ Liáng zài qiáng shang huà le yì zhī xiǎo niǎo, zuìhòu huà shang le yǎnjing.
Ma Liang painted a little bird on the wall, and last of all, he gave it eyes.
- Ma Liang 啊？它的眼睛动了！它……它在看我！
Á? Tā de yǎnjing dòng le! Tā… tā zài kàn wǒ!
Huh? Its eyes moved! It's… it's looking at me!
- Granny Li 马良！马良！你的窗户里，飞出来一只小鸟！
Mǎ Liáng! Mǎ Liáng! Nǐ de chuānghu lǐ, fēi chūlái yì zhī xiǎo niǎo!
Ma Liang! Ma Liang! A little bird just flew out of your window!
- Ma Liang 奶奶，那是我画的鸟！我画的鸟……活了！
Nǎinai, nà shì wǒ huà de niǎo! Wǒ huà de niǎo… huó le!
Granny, that's the bird I painted! My bird… came alive!
- Granny Li 马良，别大声说！要是财主知道了……
Mǎ Liáng, bié dàshēng shuō! Yàoshi cáizhu zhīdào le…
Ma Liang, not so loud! If the rich man finds out…
What changed in the story?
- What does Ma Liang want more than anything?
“奶奶，我想要一支笔。我想在纸上画画！”
- Why does Granny Li laugh at her cat?
“哈哈！你看我的猫！它想吃你画的鱼！”
- What does the rich man do when Ma Liang asks for a brush?
“哈哈哈！一个没有钱的孩子，也想画画？快走！”
- What does the old man in the dream ask Ma Liang to do?
“马良，你要记住：给穷人画画。”
- What happens to the bird Ma Liang paints on the wall?
“你的窗户里，飞出来一只小鸟！”