Mazu, Goddess of the Sea · chapter 2 of 4
The Girl and the Clouds
默娘看天
Moniang beats her brother at swimming and reads the red clouds. Her father goes fishing anyway, and a strange wind starts to rise.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Brother 默娘！你等等我！
Mòniáng! Nǐ děngdeng wǒ!
Moniang! Wait for me!
- Moniang 哥哥，你游泳太慢了！我在等你呢！
Gēge, nǐ yóuyǒng tài màn le! Wǒ zài děng nǐ ne!
Brother, you swim too slowly! I'm waiting for you!
- Brother 我是哥哥！我怎么会慢？是水太冷了！
Wǒ shì gēge! Wǒ zěnme huì màn? Shì shuǐ tài lěng le!
I'm your big brother! How could I be slow? The water is too cold!
- Moniang 你是慢哥哥！
Nǐ shì màn gēge!
You're Slow Brother!
- Brother 再来一次！这次，游到那条船那儿！
Zài lái yí cì! Zhè cì, yóu dào nà tiáo chuán nàr!
One more time! This time, swim to that boat!
- Moniang 好！一，二，三！
Hǎo! Yī, èr, sān!
Okay! One, two, three!
- Brother 又是你先到！你真的是鱼吗？
Yòu shì nǐ xiān dào! Nǐ zhēn de shì yú ma?
You got there first again! Are you really a fish?
- Moniang 我是海的孩子！
Wǒ shì hǎi de háizi!
I'm a child of the sea!
- Brother 你会游泳，会看天，还会看书。我呢？
Nǐ huì yóuyǒng, huì kàn tiān, hái huì kàn shū. Wǒ ne?
You can swim, read the sky, and read books. What about me?
- Moniang 你会吃鱼！你吃得比谁都多！
Nǐ huì chī yú! Nǐ chī de bǐ shéi dōu duō!
You can eat fish! You eat more than anyone!
- Brother 哈哈，这个我最会！
Hāhā, zhège wǒ zuì huì!
Ha ha, that I'm best at!
- Narrator 太阳下山了。大家都在海边。
Tàiyáng xiàshān le. Dàjiā dōu zài hǎibiān.
The sun went down. Everyone gathered by the sea.
- Moniang 老爷爷！明天别出海！天气要变了！
Lǎoyéye! Míngtiān bié chūhǎi! Tiānqì yào biàn le!
Grandpa! Don't go out to sea tomorrow! The weather is about to change!
- Old Fisherman 为什么？今天天气很好啊。海也很安静。
Wèishénme? Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo a. Hǎi yě hěn ānjìng.
Why? The weather is lovely today. The sea is calm too.
- Moniang 您看，云是红的，红得很怪。大风要来了。
Nín kàn, yún shì hóng de, hóng de hěn guài. Dà fēng yào lái le.
Look, the clouds are red, strangely red. A big wind is coming.
- Old Fisherman 我七十岁了。我出海五十年，不怕风。
Wǒ qīshí suì le. Wǒ chūhǎi wǔshí nián, bú pà fēng.
I'm seventy years old. I've gone to sea for fifty years. I'm not afraid of wind.
- Moniang 老爷爷，请听我说。大海要生气了。
Lǎoyéye, qǐng tīng wǒ shuō. Dàhǎi yào shēngqì le.
Grandpa, please listen. The sea is about to get angry.
- Old Fisherman 上次她也说对了……好，我不去。
Shàng cì tā yě shuō duì le… Hǎo, wǒ bú qù.
She was right last time too... All right, I won't go.
- Father 别担心。我和你哥哥去，一天就回来。
Bié dānxīn. Wǒ hé nǐ gēge qù, yì tiān jiù huílái.
Don't worry. Your brother and I will go, and we'll be back in one day.
- Moniang 爸爸，别去！明天真的有大风！
Bàba, bié qù! Míngtiān zhēn de yǒu dà fēng!
Papa, don't go! There really will be a big wind tomorrow!
- Father 好，好。给你带一条大鱼回来！
Hǎo, hǎo. Gěi nǐ dài yì tiáo dà yú huílái!
All right, all right. I'll bring you back a big fish!
- Narrator 第二天，爸爸和哥哥出海了。中午，风来了。
Dì-èr tiān, bàba hé gēge chūhǎi le. Zhōngwǔ, fēng lái le.
The next day, Papa and Brother went out to sea. At noon, the wind came.
- Mother 默娘，你怎么了？
Mòniáng, nǐ zěnme le?
Moniang, what's wrong?
- Moniang 妈妈，你听。风来了，来得好快。
Māma, nǐ tīng. Fēng lái le, lái de hǎo kuài.
Mama, listen. The wind is here, and it came so fast.
- Mother 风大一点，没什么。你爸爸很会开船，很快回来。
Fēng dà yìdiǎn, méi shénme. Nǐ bàba hěn huì kāi chuán, hěn kuài huílái.
A bit of wind is nothing. Your papa sails well, he'll be back soon.
- Moniang 不，妈妈。这不是小风。这是很大很大的风。
Bù, māma. Zhè bú shì xiǎo fēng. Zhè shì hěn dà hěn dà de fēng.
No, Mama. This is not a small wind. This is a huge wind.
- Mother 那怎么办？
Nà zěnme bàn?
Then what do we do?
- Moniang 爸爸和哥哥在哪儿？他们会没事吗？
Bàba hé gēge zài nǎr? Tāmen huì méishì ma?
Where are Papa and Brother? Will they be all right?
What changed in the story?
- Who wins the swimming race?
“又是你先到！你真的是鱼吗？”
- What does Moniang read in the red clouds?
“大风要来了。”
- What does the old fisherman decide?
“好，我不去。”
- What does Father promise to bring back?
“给你带一条大鱼回来！”
- Why is Moniang afraid at the end?
“这不是小风。”……“爸爸和哥哥在哪儿？”