Mulan · chapter 1 of 10
A Sigh at the Loom
木兰不织布了
Mulan's loom falls silent. The army needs one man from every family, and her father is old, with weak legs. What will his daughter do?
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 唧唧，唧唧……
Jījī, jījī…
Click-clack, click-clack…
- Narrator 很久很久以前，中国北方有一个姑娘，叫木兰。她每天都坐在门口织布。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Zhōngguó běifāng yǒu yí gè gūniang, jiào Mùlán. Tā měi tiān dōu zuò zài ménkǒu zhībù.
Long, long ago, in the north of China, there lived a young woman named Mulan. Every day, she sat weaving in her doorway.
- Mulan's father 木兰，今天我怎么只听见你叹气，听不见你织布？
Mùlán, jīntiān wǒ zěnme zhǐ tīngjiàn nǐ tànqì, tīng bú jiàn nǐ zhībù?
Mulan, why do I hear only sighs today, and no weaving?
- Mulan 爸爸……我没事。
Bàba… wǒ méi shì.
Father… I'm fine.
- Mulan's father 没事？你的脸都白了。有什么事，告诉爸爸。
Méi shì? Nǐ de liǎn dōu bái le. Yǒu shénme shì, gàosu bàba.
Fine? You've gone pale. Whatever it is, tell your father.
- Mulan 昨天，我看见了军队的名单。每家都要出一个男人去打仗。
Zuótiān, wǒ kànjiàn le jūnduì de míngdān. Měi jiā dōu yào chū yí gè nánrén qù dǎzhàng.
Yesterday I saw the army's list. Every family has to send one man to war.
- Mulan 名单一共有十二张，每一张上都有您的名字。
Míngdān yígòng yǒu shí'èr zhāng, měi yì zhāng shang dōu yǒu nín de míngzi.
There are twelve lists in all, and your name is on every one.
- Mulan's father 我知道。我老了，腿也不好了……可是我不能不去。
Wǒ zhīdào. Wǒ lǎo le, tuǐ yě bù hǎo le… kěshì wǒ bù néng bú qù.
I know. I'm old, and my legs are bad… but I can't refuse to go.
- Mulan 爸爸老了，弟弟还小，我也没有哥哥……那谁去呢？
Bàba lǎo le, dìdi hái xiǎo, wǒ yě méiyǒu gēge… nà shéi qù ne?
Father is old, my brother is still little, and I have no older brother… So who will go?
- Mulan 爸爸，让我去吧。我替您去！
Bàba, ràng wǒ qù ba. Wǒ tì nín qù!
Father, let me go. I'll go in your place!
- Mulan's father 你？你是女孩子啊！
Nǐ? Nǐ shì nǚháizi a!
You? But you're a girl!
- Mulan 女孩子也会骑马，也会射箭。爸爸，这些都是您教我的！
Nǚháizi yě huì qí mǎ, yě huì shè jiàn. Bàba, zhèxiē dōu shì nín jiāo wǒ de!
Girls can ride and shoot too. Father, you're the one who taught me!
- Mulan's father 可是，军队里都是男人……
Kěshì, jūnduì lǐ dōu shì nánrén…
But the army is all men…
- Mulan 我穿上男人的衣服，谁也看不出来。
Wǒ chuān shàng nánrén de yīfu, shéi yě kàn bù chūlái.
If I wear men's clothes, no one will be able to tell.
- Mulan's father 木兰……打仗会死人的。
Mùlán… dǎzhàng huì sǐ rén de.
Mulan… people die in war.
- Mulan 所以，我更不能让您去。
Suǒyǐ, wǒ gèng bù néng ràng nín qù.
That's exactly why I can't let you go.
- Narrator 木兰的爸爸看着她，很久很久没有说话。
Mùlán de bàba kànzhe tā, hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ méiyǒu shuōhuà.
Her father looked at her and said nothing for a long, long time.
- Mulan's father 你妈妈会哭的。
Nǐ māma huì kū de.
Your mother will cry.
- Mulan 妈妈那里，我去说。
Māma nàlǐ, wǒ qù shuō.
I'll talk to Mother myself.
- Mulan's father 好……你去吧。可是你要答应爸爸：一定要活着回来！
Hǎo… nǐ qù ba. Kěshì nǐ yào dāying bàba: yídìng yào huózhe huílái!
All right… go. But you must promise me: you'll come back alive!
- Mulan 我答应您。
Wǒ dāying nín.
I promise.
- Mulan 明天一早，我就去买马。从明天起，我不是木兰了，我是一个士兵。
Míngtiān yìzǎo, wǒ jiù qù mǎi mǎ. Cóng míngtiān qǐ, wǒ bú shì Mùlán le, wǒ shì yí gè shìbīng.
First thing tomorrow, I'll buy a horse. From tomorrow on, I'm not Mulan anymore. I'm a soldier.
What changed in the story?
- What does Mulan's father notice at the loom today?
“今天我怎么只听见你叹气，听不见你织布？”
- Whose name is on the army lists?
“每一张上都有您的名字。”
- Why can't anyone else in the family go?
“弟弟还小，我也没有哥哥”
- Who taught Mulan to ride and shoot?
“女孩子也会骑马，也会射箭……这些都是您教我的！”
- What does Mulan's father make her promise?
“一定要活着回来！”