Mazu, Goddess of the Sea · chapter 4 of 4
The Light on the Hill
山上的火
On a dark night, lost boats cannot find the shore. Moniang has an idea, and many years later a boy asks about her at the temple.
Read what you hear
- Brother 默娘！你看，海上有很多小船！
Mòniáng! Nǐ kàn, hǎi shàng yǒu hěn duō xiǎo chuán!
Moniang! Look, there are so many little boats on the sea!
- Moniang 我看见了。可是他们回不来。
Wǒ kànjiàn le. Kěshì tāmen huí bù lái.
I see them. But they can't get back.
- Brother 为什么？
Wèishénme?
Why not?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea 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.
- Moniang 天太黑，海上没有灯。他们看不见路，也看不见家。
Tiān tài hēi, hǎi shàng méiyǒu dēng. Tāmen kàn bú jiàn lù, yě kàn bú jiàn jiā.
It's too dark, and there are no lights on the sea. They can't see the way, or their homes.
- Brother 那怎么办？我们没有大灯，也没有大船。
Nà zěnme bàn? Wǒmen méiyǒu dà dēng, yě méiyǒu dà chuán.
Then what do we do? We have no big lamp and no big ship.
- Moniang 山上有很多树……大家家里有火。我们点一个大火！
Shān shàng yǒu hěn duō shù… Dàjiā jiā lǐ yǒu huǒ. Wǒmen diǎn yí gè dà huǒ!
There are many trees on the hill... and everyone has fire at home. Let's light a huge fire!
- Moniang 哥哥，快去叫大家！叫他们带火来！
Gēge, kuài qù jiào dàjiā! Jiào tāmen dài huǒ lái!
Brother, quick, go call everyone! Tell them to bring fire!
- Brother 好！我去！
Hǎo! Wǒ qù!
Right! I'm going!
- Moniang 小船，小船，别怕。我在这儿。
Xiǎo chuán, xiǎo chuán, bié pà. Wǒ zài zhèr.
Little boats, little boats, don't be afraid. I'm here.
- Old Fisherman 默娘，我带树来了！很多很多树！
Mòniáng, wǒ dài shù lái le! Hěn duō hěn duō shù!
Moniang, I've brought the wood! Lots and lots of it!
- Moniang 谢谢您，老爷爷！
Xièxie nín, lǎoyéye!
Thank you, Grandpa!
- Old Fisherman 山上真高！我老了，可是我不怕累！
Shān shàng zhēn gāo! Wǒ lǎo le, kěshì wǒ bú pà lèi!
This hill is so high! I'm old, but I'm not afraid of getting tired!
- Moniang 来，我们点火！
Lái, wǒmen diǎn huǒ!
Come, let's light the fire!
- Old Fisherman 好大的火！比太阳还大！
Hǎo dà de huǒ! Bǐ tàiyáng hái dà!
What a huge fire! Bigger than the sun!
- Moniang 小船！到这儿来！看这个光！
Xiǎo chuán! Dào zhèr lái! Kàn zhège guāng!
Little boats! Come this way! Look at this light!
- Old Fisherman 看！小船在动！他们看见火了！
Kàn! Xiǎo chuán zài dòng! Tāmen kànjiàn huǒ le!
Look! The little boats are moving! They see the fire!
- Moniang 他们回家了。一条，两条，三条……都回来了。
Tāmen huíjiā le. Yì tiáo, liǎng tiáo, sān tiáo… dōu huílái le.
They're coming home. One, two, three... they're all coming back.
- Old Fisherman 默娘，谢谢你。今晚，你帮了很多很多人。
Mòniáng, xièxie nǐ. Jīnwǎn, nǐ bāng le hěn duō hěn duō rén.
Moniang, thank you. Tonight you helped so, so many people.
- Narrator 很多年过去了。人们叫她妈祖。
Hěn duō nián guòqù le. Rénmen jiào tā Māzǔ.
Many years passed. People called her Mazu.
- A-hai 爷爷，这里为什么有这么多红灯？
Yéye, zhèlǐ wèishénme yǒu zhème duō hóng dēng?
Grandpa, why are there so many red lanterns here?
- Grandpa 这是妈祖的家。她叫默娘。
Zhè shì Māzǔ de jiā. Tā jiào Mòniáng.
This is Mazu's home. Her name was Moniang.
- A-hai 妈祖会游泳吗？
Māzǔ huì yóuyǒng ma?
Could Mazu swim?
- Grandpa 会！她游得比鱼还好！
Huì! Tā yóu de bǐ yú hái hǎo!
Yes! She swam better than a fish!
- Grandpa 天黑的时候，她给海上的船点灯，大家都能回家。
Tiān hēi de shíhou, tā gěi hǎi shàng de chuán diǎn dēng, dàjiā dōu néng huíjiā.
When it got dark, she lit lamps for the boats at sea, so everyone could get home.
- A-hai 爷爷，你也坐过船吗？
Yéye, nǐ yě zuò guo chuán ma?
Grandpa, have you been on a boat too?
- Grandpa 坐过。那年我们来台湾，风很大。可是我们不怕。
Zuò guo. Nà nián wǒmen lái Táiwān, fēng hěn dà. Kěshì wǒmen bú pà.
I have. The year we came to Taiwan, the wind was strong. But we weren't afraid.
- A-hai 为什么不怕？
Wèishénme bú pà?
Why weren't you afraid?
- Grandpa 因为海上有妈祖的光。
Yīnwèi hǎi shàng yǒu Māzǔ de guāng.
Because the sea had Mazu's light.
- A-hai 妈祖，谢谢你！
Māzǔ, xièxie nǐ!
Mazu, thank you!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't the little boats come home?
“天太黑，海上没有灯。他们看不见路。”
- What does Moniang ask her brother to do?
“快去叫大家！叫他们带火来！”
- What does the old fisherman say about the hill?
“我老了，可是我不怕累！”
- What happens when the big fire burns?
“他们看见火了！”
- Why was Grandpa not afraid of the wind on the way to Taiwan?
“因为海上有妈祖的光。”