Mulan · chapter 10 of 10
Back at the Loom
木兰又织布了
Spring comes around again, and Mulan is back at her loom when a familiar loud voice calls out from the gate.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二年春天，桃花又开了。
Dì èr nián chūntiān, táohuā yòu kāi le.
The next spring, the peach trees bloomed again.
- Narrator 唧唧复唧唧，木兰又坐在门口织布了。
Jījī fù jījī, Mùlán yòu zuò zài ménkǒu zhībù le.
Click-clack, click-clack. Mulan sat in the doorway, weaving once more.
- Captain Li 花弟！花弟在家吗？
Huā Dì! Huā Dì zài jiā ma?
Hua Di! Is Hua Di home?
- Mulan 李大哥！你怎么还叫我花弟？
Lǐ dàgē! Nǐ zěnme hái jiào wǒ Huā Dì?
Captain Li! Why are you still calling me Hua Di?
- Captain Li 叫了十二年了，改不了了！
Jiào le shí'èr nián le, gǎi bù liǎo le!
Twelve years of habit. I can't stop now!
- Mulan 你不穿军装，我都认不出来了！
Nǐ bù chuān jūnzhuāng, wǒ dōu rèn bù chūlái le!
Out of uniform, I hardly recognized you!
- Captain Li 你不穿军装，我也认不出来啊！
Nǐ bù chuān jūnzhuāng, wǒ yě rèn bù chūlái a!
Out of uniform, I didn't recognize you either!
- Mulan's father 是小李来了？快进来坐！我给你倒茶。
Shì Xiǎo Lǐ lái le? Kuài jìnlái zuò! Wǒ gěi nǐ dào chá.
Is that young Li? Come in and sit down! I'll pour you some tea.
- Captain Li 谢谢大爷！你们看，我带来了什么？我妈做的饼！
Xièxie dàye! Nǐmen kàn, wǒ dài lái le shénme? Wǒ mā zuò de bǐng!
Thank you, Uncle! Look what I brought! My mom's flatbread!
- Mulan 你说了十二年的饼！今天终于吃到了！
Nǐ shuō le shí'èr nián de bǐng! Jīntiān zhōngyú chī dào le!
The flatbread you talked about for twelve years! At last I get to taste it!
- Mulan's father 小李，这十二年，谢谢你照顾我的女儿。
Xiǎo Lǐ, zhè shí'èr nián, xièxie nǐ zhàogù wǒ de nǚ'ér.
Young Li, thank you for looking after my daughter all these years.
- Captain Li 大爷，说真的……是她照顾我。她救了我好几次！
Dàye, shuō zhēn de… shì tā zhàogù wǒ. Tā jiù le wǒ hǎo jǐ cì!
Uncle, to tell the truth… she looked after me. She saved my life more than once!
- Captain Li 不过啊……其实我早就知道她是女的！
Búguò a… qíshí wǒ zǎo jiù zhīdào tā shì nǚ de!
Mind you… I actually knew she was a woman all along!
- Mulan 真的吗？那你为什么问我：“您是花弟的姐姐吗？”
Zhēn de ma? Nà nǐ wèishénme wèn wǒ: “Nín shì Huā Dì de jiějie ma?”
Really? Then why did you ask me, “Are you Hua Di's sister?”
- Captain Li 这个……好吧，我不知道！
Zhège… hǎo ba, wǒ bù zhīdào!
Well… all right, I had no idea!
- Mulan's father 哈哈哈！小李，你真是一个好人！
Hāhāhā! Xiǎo Lǐ, nǐ zhēn shì yí gè hǎo rén!
Ha ha ha! Young Li, you're a good man!
- Captain Li 我说呢，你的手怎么那么小！
Wǒ shuō ne, nǐ de shǒu zěnme nàme xiǎo!
So that's why your hands were so small!
- Mulan 小手也能射箭，也能织布。
Xiǎo shǒu yě néng shè jiàn, yě néng zhībù.
Small hands can shoot arrows, and weave cloth too.
- Captain Li 还有那两只兔子……我想了一年，还是看不出来！
Hái yǒu nà liǎng zhī tùzi… wǒ xiǎng le yì nián, háishi kàn bù chūlái!
And those two rabbits… I've thought about them for a whole year, and I still can't tell them apart!
- Mulan's father 木兰，那一天，你坐在这里叹气。今天，你坐在这里笑。
Mùlán, nà yì tiān, nǐ zuò zài zhèlǐ tànqì. Jīntiān, nǐ zuò zài zhèlǐ xiào.
Mulan, on that day long ago, you sat here sighing. Today you sit here laughing.
- Mulan 因为今天，我们都在家。
Yīnwèi jīntiān, wǒmen dōu zài jiā.
Because today, we're all home.
- Narrator 唧唧，唧唧，织布的声音又响了起来。
Jījī, jījī, zhībù de shēngyīn yòu xiǎng le qǐlái.
Click-clack, click-clack, the sound of weaving filled the air again.
- Narrator 这就是木兰的故事。一千多年以后，人们还在唱。
Zhè jiù shì Mùlán de gùshi. Yìqiān duō nián yǐhòu, rénmen hái zài chàng.
That is the story of Mulan. More than a thousand years later, people are still singing it.
What changed in the story?
- What is Mulan doing when Captain Li arrives?
“木兰又坐在门口织布了。”
- What does Captain Li bring?
“我妈做的饼！”
- What does Captain Li claim, and then admit isn't true?
“其实我早就知道她是女的！……好吧，我不知道！”
- What finally makes sense to Captain Li?
“我说呢，你的手怎么那么小！”
- How is Mulan different now from that day at the loom long ago?
“那一天，你坐在这里叹气。今天，你坐在这里笑。”