Ma Liang's Magic Paintbrush · chapter 2 of 5
The Plow and the Water Wheel
犁和水车
With his magic brush, Ma Liang sets out to help Granny Li and her dry, thirsty fields, until someone greedy hears about the brush.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 小鸟飞走了。李奶奶跑进了马良的家。
Xiǎo niǎo fēi zǒu le. Lǐ nǎinai pǎo jìn le Mǎ Liáng de jiā.
The little bird flew away, and Granny Li hurried into Ma Liang's house.
- Granny Li 马良，画的鸟会飞？这……这是梦吗？
Mǎ Liáng, huà de niǎo huì fēi? Zhè… zhè shì mèng ma?
Ma Liang, a painted bird that flies? Is this… is this a dream?
- Ma Liang 不是梦！奶奶，这是一支神笔！我画什么，就有什么！
Bú shì mèng! Nǎinai, zhè shì yì zhī shén bǐ! Wǒ huà shénme, jiù yǒu shénme!
It's not a dream! Granny, this is a magic brush! Whatever I paint becomes real!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Ma Liang's Magic Paintbrush 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.
- Granny Li 真的吗？那你给奶奶画一个，看看！
Zhēnde ma? Nà nǐ gěi nǎinai huà yí gè, kànkan!
Really? Then paint something for Granny, and let's see!
- Ma Liang 好！奶奶，你要什么？
Hǎo! Nǎinai, nǐ yào shénme?
All right! Granny, what do you need?
- Granny Li 奶奶要水。天很久没有下雨了，地里一点儿水也没有。
Nǎinai yào shuǐ. Tiān hěn jiǔ méiyǒu xià yǔ le, dì lǐ yìdiǎnr shuǐ yě méiyǒu.
Granny needs water. It hasn't rained for ages, and there isn't a drop of water in the fields.
- Granny Li 我天天去河边拿水，一天走十次。哎哟，我的老腰！
Wǒ tiāntiān qù hé biān ná shuǐ, yì tiān zǒu shí cì. Āiyō, wǒ de lǎo yāo!
Every day I carry water up from the river, ten trips a day. Oh, my poor old back!
- Ma Liang 地里要水……有了！我给你画一个大水车！
Dì lǐ yào shuǐ… yǒu le! Wǒ gěi nǐ huà yí gè dà shuǐchē!
The fields need water… I've got it! I'll paint you a big water wheel!
- Narrator 马良来到河边，画了一个大水车。水车转了起来，河水流进了地里。
Mǎ Liáng lái dào hé biān, huà le yí gè dà shuǐchē. Shuǐchē zhuàn le qǐlái, héshuǐ liú jìn le dì lǐ.
Ma Liang went down to the river and painted a big water wheel. The wheel began to turn, and river water flowed into the fields.
- Granny Li 水！水来了！马良，你的笔真的是神笔！
Shuǐ! Shuǐ lái le! Mǎ Liáng, nǐ de bǐ zhēnde shì shén bǐ!
Water! Here comes the water! Ma Liang, your brush really is magic!
- Ma Liang 奶奶，以后你不用去河边拿水了！
Nǎinai, yǐhòu nǐ bú yòng qù hé biān ná shuǐ le!
Granny, you won't have to carry water from the river anymore!
- Granny Li 太好了！我的老腰说：谢谢你，马良！
Tài hǎo le! Wǒ de lǎo yāo shuō: xièxie nǐ, Mǎ Liáng!
Wonderful! My old back says: thank you, Ma Liang!
- Granny Li 可是……我家的犁太老了，昨天坏了。
Kěshì… wǒ jiā de lí tài lǎo le, zuótiān huài le.
But… my plow was so old, it broke yesterday.
- Ma Liang 没问题！我给你画一个新犁！
Méi wèntí! Wǒ gěi nǐ huà yí gè xīn lí!
No problem! I'll paint you a new plow!
- Granny Li 新犁！真好！可是，谁来拉犁呢？奶奶拉不动啊！
Xīn lí! Zhēn hǎo! Kěshì, shéi lái lā lí ne? Nǎinai lā bu dòng a!
A new plow! Lovely! But who's going to pull it? Granny's too old to pull a plow!
- Ma Liang 那我再画一头大牛！
Nà wǒ zài huà yì tóu dà niú!
Then I'll paint a big ox too!
- Narrator 大牛活了。可是，它没去地里，它去了奶奶的菜地。
Dà niú huó le. Kěshì, tā méi qù dì lǐ, tā qù le nǎinai de càidì.
The big ox came to life. But instead of heading to the field, it went straight to Granny's vegetable patch.
- Granny Li 哎呀！牛，别吃我的菜！那是我的菜！
Āiyā! Niú, bié chī wǒ de cài! Nà shì wǒ de cài!
Oh no! Ox, don't eat my vegetables! Those are my vegetables!
- Ma Liang 大牛，那是奶奶的菜！快去地里干活吧！
Dà niú, nà shì nǎinai de cài! Kuài qù dì lǐ gàn huó ba!
Big ox, those are Granny's vegetables! Off to the field and get to work!
- Granny Li 哈哈！好牛，好牛！就是太爱吃了！
Hāhā! Hǎo niú, hǎo niú! Jiùshì tài ài chī le!
Ha ha! Good ox, good ox! Just a bit too fond of its food!
- Narrator 很快，大家都来找马良。马良给这家画犁，给那家画牛。
Hěn kuài, dàjiā dōu lái zhǎo Mǎ Liáng. Mǎ Liáng gěi zhè jiā huà lí, gěi nà jiā huà niú.
Soon everyone came looking for Ma Liang. He painted a plow for one family and an ox for another.
- Ma Liang 不要钱，不要钱！我只给穷人画！
Bú yào qián, bú yào qián! Wǒ zhǐ gěi qióngrén huà!
No money, please, no money! I only paint for the poor!
- Granny Li 不好，财主来了……
Bù hǎo, cáizhu lái le…
Oh no, here comes the rich man…
- The Rich Man 马良，听说，你有一支神笔？
Mǎ Liáng, tīngshuō, nǐ yǒu yì zhī shén bǐ?
Ma Liang, I hear you've got a magic brush?
- Ma Liang 你来这里干什么？
Nǐ lái zhèlǐ gàn shénme?
What do you want here?
- The Rich Man 给我画金子！很多很多金子！越多越好！
Gěi wǒ huà jīnzi! Hěn duō hěn duō jīnzi! Yuè duō yuè hǎo!
Paint me gold! Lots and lots of gold! The more the better!
- Ma Liang 不画。我只给穷人画。
Bú huà. Wǒ zhǐ gěi qióngrén huà.
No. I only paint for the poor.
- The Rich Man 不画？好！来人，带他走！
Bú huà? Hǎo! Lái rén, dài tā zǒu!
You won't? Fine! Men! Take him away!
- Granny Li 马良！你们要带他去哪儿？
Mǎ Liáng! Nǐmen yào dài tā qù nǎr?
Ma Liang! Where are you taking him?
- Ma Liang 奶奶，别怕！我会回来的！
Nǎinai, bié pà! Wǒ huì huílái de!
Granny, don't be afraid! I'll come back!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Granny Li's back hurt?
“我天天去河边拿水，一天走十次。哎哟，我的老腰！”
- What does Ma Liang paint to bring water to the fields?
“马良来到河边，画了一个大水车。”
- What does the painted ox do first?
“它没去地里，它去了奶奶的菜地。”
- What does Ma Liang ask the villagers to pay him?
“不要钱，不要钱！我只给穷人画！”
- What happens when Ma Liang refuses to paint gold?
“不画？好！来人，带他走！”