Mazu, Goddess of the Sea · chapter 3 of 4
The Storm at Sea
海上的大风
A huge storm catches Father and Brother at sea. At home Moniang falls into a strange sleep at her loom.
Read what you hear
- Father 拉着我！风太大了！船要动了！
Lā zhe wǒ! Fēng tài dà le! Chuán yào dòng le!
Hold on to me! The wind is too strong! The boat is moving!
- Brother 爸爸！我怕！我想回家！
Bàba! Wǒ pà! Wǒ xiǎng huíjiā!
Papa! I'm scared! I want to go home!
- Father 别怕！爸爸在这儿！你看着我！
Bié pà! Bàba zài zhèr! Nǐ kàn zhe wǒ!
Don't be scared! Papa is right here! Look at me!
Chapter 3 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.
- Brother 船在动！我们回不去了！海太大了！
Chuán zài dòng! Wǒmen huí bú qù le! Hǎi tài dà le!
The boat is moving! We can't get home! The sea is too big!
- Father 我们有手，有船。别哭，一定回得去！
Wǒmen yǒu shǒu, yǒu chuán. Bié kū, yídìng huí de qù!
We have hands, we have a boat. Don't cry, we will get home!
- Brother 看！船要坏了！水进来了！
Kàn! Chuán yào huài le! Shuǐ jìnlái le!
Look! The boat is falling apart! Water is coming in!
- Father 我应该听默娘的话……她说过有大风。
Wǒ yīnggāi tīng Mòniáng de huà… Tā shuō guo yǒu dà fēng.
I should have listened to Moniang... She said a big wind was coming.
- Brother 爸爸，我们还能回家吗？
Bàba, wǒmen hái néng huíjiā ma?
Papa, can we still get home?
- Father 大海啊，请你帮帮我们！我们想回家！
Dàhǎi a, qǐng nǐ bāngbang wǒmen! Wǒmen xiǎng huíjiā!
Oh sea, please help us! We want to go home!
- Mother 默娘，你怎么坐着不动？饭好了。
Mòniáng, nǐ zěnme zuò zhe bú dòng? Fàn hǎo le.
Moniang, why are you sitting so still? Dinner is ready.
- Mother 默娘？默娘！你怎么了？说话啊！
Mòniáng? Mòniáng! Nǐ zěnme le? Shuōhuà a!
Moniang? Moniang! What's wrong? Speak to me!
- Narrator 默娘睡了。她的手在动，像在拉一条船。
Mòniáng shuì le. Tā de shǒu zài dòng, xiàng zài lā yì tiáo chuán.
Moniang had fallen deep asleep. Her hands moved, as if pulling a boat.
- Moniang 爸爸，别怕。哥哥，我在这儿。拉着我。
Bàba, bié pà. Gēge, wǒ zài zhèr. Lā zhe wǒ.
Papa, don't be afraid. Brother, I'm here. Hold on to me.
- Mother 她在说什么？默娘，醒醒！你听见吗？
Tā zài shuō shénme? Mòniáng, xǐngxing! Nǐ tīngjiàn ma?
What is she saying? Moniang, wake up! Can you hear me?
- Moniang 快到了……大海，请你让我们回家。
Kuài dào le… Dàhǎi, qǐng nǐ ràng wǒmen huíjiā.
Almost there... Sea, please let us go home.
- Mother 默娘！醒醒！快醒醒！
Mòniáng! Xǐngxing! Kuài xǐngxing!
Moniang! Wake up! Wake up now!
- Moniang 妈妈！你为什么叫我？
Māma! Nǐ wèishénme jiào wǒ?
Mama! Why did you call me?
- Moniang 我拉着他们，他们就快到了！
Wǒ lā zhe tāmen, tāmen jiù kuài dào le!
I was pulling them in, and they were almost here!
- Mother 对不起，对不起。我怕你睡不醒了。
Duìbuqǐ, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ pà nǐ shuì bù xǐng le.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was afraid you would never wake up.
- Father 我们……回来了。大海不生气了。
Wǒmen… huílái le. Dàhǎi bù shēngqì le.
We... we're home. The sea isn't angry anymore.
- Brother 爸爸，你看见了吗？海里有个女孩！
Bàba, nǐ kànjiàn le ma? Hǎi lǐ yǒu ge nǚhái!
Papa, did you see? There was a girl in the sea!
- Father 我看见了。她穿红衣服，有很亮的光。
Wǒ kànjiàn le. Tā chuān hóng yīfu, yǒu hěn liàng de guāng.
I saw her. She wore red and had a bright light.
- Brother 她的脸……真像默娘！
Tā de liǎn… zhēn xiàng Mòniáng!
Her face... it looked just like Moniang!
- Moniang 哥哥，你看错了。我一直在家里睡觉。
Gēge, nǐ kàn cuò le. Wǒ yìzhí zài jiā lǐ shuìjiào.
Brother, you saw wrong. I was asleep at home the whole time.
- Father 好，好，你在家里睡觉。谢谢你，我的女儿。
Hǎo, hǎo, nǐ zài jiā lǐ shuìjiào. Xièxie nǐ, wǒ de nǚ'ér.
All right, all right, you were asleep at home. Thank you, my daughter.
- Moniang 爸爸，海上还有很多人回不了家。
Bàba, hǎi shàng hái yǒu hěn duō rén huí bù liǎo jiā.
Papa, out on the sea there are still many people who can't get home.
- Father 你想做什么，我的孩子？
Nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme, wǒ de háizi?
What do you want to do, my child?
- Moniang 我要帮他们回家。我要给他们点灯。
Wǒ yào bāng tāmen huíjiā. Wǒ yào gěi tāmen diǎn dēng.
I want to help them get home. I want to light lamps for them.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Father wish he had done?
“我应该听默娘的话……”
- What do Moniang's hands seem to be doing while she sleeps?
“她的手在动，像在拉一条船。”
- Why does Mother wake Moniang?
“我怕你睡不醒了。”
- What does Brother say he saw in the sea?
“海里有个女孩！”……“她穿红衣服，有很亮的光。”
- What does Moniang want to do at the end?
“我要帮他们回家。”