Mulan · chapter 9 of 10
The Road Home
回家
After twelve years, Mulan rides home with Captain Li beside her. Her father is waiting at the gate, and Li is about to get the surprise of his life.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 春天到了，桃花都开了。木兰骑着快马，回到了家乡。
Chūntiān dào le, táohuā dōu kāi le. Mùlán qízhe kuài mǎ, huí dào le jiāxiāng.
Spring came, and the peach trees were in bloom. Mulan rode her fast horse back to her hometown.
- Captain Li 花将军，前面就是你家？
Huā jiāngjūn, qiánmiàn jiù shì nǐ jiā?
General Hua, is that your house up ahead?
- Mulan 对！你看，门口站着的……是我爸爸！
Duì! Nǐ kàn, ménkǒu zhànzhe de… shì wǒ bàba!
Yes! Look, standing at the gate… that's my father!
- Mulan's father 木兰！是木兰吗？
Mùlán! Shì Mùlán ma?
Mulan! Is that Mulan?
- Mulan 爸爸！我回来了！
Bàba! Wǒ huílái le!
Father! I'm home!
- Narrator 木兰跳下马，跪在爸爸面前。爸爸抱着她，又哭又笑。
Mùlán tiào xià mǎ, guì zài bàba miànqián. Bàba bàozhe tā, yòu kū yòu xiào.
Mulan leapt from her horse and knelt before her father. He held her, crying and laughing at once.
- Mulan's father 你活着回来了……你真的活着回来了！
Nǐ huózhe huílái le… nǐ zhēn de huózhe huílái le!
You came back alive… You really came back alive!
- Captain Li 木兰？这是花弟的小名吗？比“花弟”还像女孩子的名字！
Mùlán? Zhè shì Huā Dì de xiǎomíng ma? Bǐ “Huā Dì” hái xiàng nǚháizi de míngzi!
Mulan? Is that Hua Di's childhood name? It sounds even more like a girl's name than “Hua Di”!
- Mulan's father 快进来！你妈妈在做饭，你姐姐在换新衣服，你弟弟在院子里杀猪杀羊！
Kuài jìnlái! Nǐ māma zài zuò fàn, nǐ jiějie zài huàn xīn yīfu, nǐ dìdi zài yuànzi lǐ shā zhū shā yáng!
Come in, come in! Your mother's cooking, your sister's changing into her best clothes, and your brother's in the yard killing a pig and a sheep for the feast!
- Mulan 李大哥，你在外面等我一下。一会儿，你就知道了。
Lǐ dàgē, nǐ zài wàimiàn děng wǒ yíxià. Yíhuìr, nǐ jiù zhīdào le.
Captain Li, wait out here a moment. You'll see soon enough.
- Mulan 我的房间，和十二年前一样……再见了，军装。
Wǒ de fángjiān, hé shí'èr nián qián yíyàng… zàijiàn le, jūnzhuāng.
My room is just the way it was twelve years ago… Goodbye, uniform.
- Narrator 过了一会儿，一个穿红裙子的姑娘走了出来，头上还戴着一朵花。
Guò le yíhuìr, yí gè chuān hóng qúnzi de gūniang zǒu le chūlái, tóu shang hái dàizhe yì duǒ huā.
A little while later, a young woman in a red dress stepped out, with a flower in her hair.
- Captain Li 请问……您是花弟的姐姐吗？
Qǐngwèn… nín shì Huā Dì de jiějie ma?
Excuse me… are you Hua Di's sister?
- Mulan 李大哥，是我啊。
Lǐ dàgē, shì wǒ a.
Captain Li, it's me.
- Captain Li 花……花弟？你……你是女的？！
Huā… Huā Dì? Nǐ… nǐ shì nǚ de?!
H-Hua Di? You're… you're a woman?!
- Mulan's father 她是我的女儿，木兰！
Tā shì wǒ de nǚ'ér, Mùlán!
She's my daughter, Mulan!
- Captain Li 我们一起打仗，打了十二年，我怎么一点儿也不知道？！
Wǒmen yìqǐ dǎzhàng, dǎ le shí'èr nián, wǒ zěnme yìdiǎnr yě bù zhīdào?!
We fought side by side for twelve years, and I never had a clue?!
- Mulan 李大哥，两只兔子在地上一起跑，你能看出哪只是公的，哪只是母的吗？
Lǐ dàgē, liǎng zhī tùzi zài dì shang yìqǐ pǎo, nǐ néng kàn chū nǎ zhī shì gōng de, nǎ zhī shì mǔ de ma?
Captain Li, when two rabbits run side by side, can you tell which is the buck and which is the doe?
- Captain Li 看不出来……兔子跑起来，都一样！
Kàn bù chūlái… tùzi pǎo qǐlái, dōu yíyàng!
No way… When rabbits run, they all look the same!
- Mulan 在战场上，我们也都一样。
Zài zhànchǎng shang, wǒmen yě dōu yíyàng.
On the battlefield, we were all the same too.
- Captain Li 我要回家告诉我妈！她一定不相信！
Wǒ yào huí jiā gàosu wǒ mā! Tā yídìng bù xiāngxìn!
I've got to go home and tell my mom! She'll never believe it!
- Mulan 那明年春天，你带着你妈做的饼，来我家吧！
Nà míngnián chūntiān, nǐ dàizhe nǐ mā zuò de bǐng, lái wǒ jiā ba!
Then next spring, bring your mom's flatbread and come see us!
- Captain Li 好！说好了！
Hǎo! Shuō hǎo le!
Deal! It's a promise!
What changed in the story?
- Who is waiting at the gate when Mulan arrives?
“你看，门口站着的……是我爸爸！”
- What does Captain Li think “Mulan” is?
“这是花弟的小名吗？”
- What does Mulan change into?
“一个穿红裙子的姑娘走了出来，头上还戴着一朵花。”
- Who does Captain Li think she is at first?
“您是花弟的姐姐吗？”
- What does Mulan mean with the two running rabbits?
“兔子跑起来，都一样……在战场上，我们也都一样。”