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.
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，前面那个小房子，就是你家？
Huā jiāngjūn, qiánmiàn nàge xiǎo fángzi, jiù shì nǐ jiā?
General Hua, that little house up ahead, is that your home?
- 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!
Chapter 9 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of Mulan are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Mulan's father 木兰！是木兰吗？是我的木兰吗？
Mùlán! Shì Mùlán ma? Shì wǒ de Mùlán ma?
Mulan! Is that Mulan? Is that my Mulan?
- Mulan 爸爸！是我！我回来了！
Bàba! Shì wǒ! Wǒ huílái le!
Father! It's me! I'm home!
- Narrator 木兰跳下马，跪在爸爸面前。爸爸又哭又笑。
Mùlán tiào xià mǎ, guì zài bàba miànqián. Bàba yòu kū yòu xiào.
Mulan leapt from her horse and knelt before her father. He cried and laughed 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!
- Mulan 爸爸，我答应过您的。
Bàba, wǒ dāying guò nín de.
Father, I promised you I would.
- 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！
Kuài jìnlái! Nǐ māma zài zuò fàn, nǐ jiějie zài huàn xīn yīfu, nǐ dìdi zài yuànzi lǐ shā zhū!
Come in, come in! Your mother's cooking, your sister's putting on her best clothes, and your brother's in the yard getting a pig ready 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……一点儿也没变。
Wǒ de fángjiān, hé shí'èr nián qián yíyàng…… yìdiǎnr yě méi biàn.
My room is just the way it was twelve years ago… Not one thing has changed.
- Mulan 镜子里的人是谁啊？头发这么乱，脸这么黑！
Jìngzi lǐ de rén shì shéi a? Tóufa zhème luàn, liǎn zhème hēi!
Who's that in the mirror? Such messy hair, such a sunburned face!
- Mulan 再见了，军装。再见了，花弟。
Zàijiàn le, jūnzhuāng. Zàijiàn le, Huā Dì.
Goodbye, uniform. Goodbye, Hua Di.
- Mulan 你好，木兰。好久不见了。
Nǐ hǎo, Mùlán. Hǎojiǔ bú jiàn le.
Hello, Mulan. It's been a long time.
- Mulan 红裙子，还有一朵花……好了！
Hóng qúnzi, hái yǒu yì duǒ huā…… Hǎo le!
A red dress, and a flower… There!
- Mulan 李大哥，你准备好了吗？
Lǐ dàgē, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo le ma?
Captain Li, are you ready for this?
- Narrator 一个穿红裙子的姑娘走了出来，头上还戴着一朵花。
Yí gè chuān hóng qúnzi de gūniang zǒu le chūlái, tóu shàng hái dàizhe yì duǒ huā.
A young woman in a red dress stepped out, with a flower in her hair.
- Captain Li 请……请问，您是花弟的姐姐吗？
Qǐng…… qǐngwèn, nín shì Huā Dì de jiějie ma?
Ex… 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 shàng 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 male and which is the female?
- 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 在打仗的地方，我们也都一样。
Zài dǎzhàng de dìfang, wǒmen yě dōu yíyàng.
Out where we fought, 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！明年春天，我一定来！
Hǎo! Shuō hǎo le! Míngnián chūntiān, wǒ yídìng lái!
Deal! It's a promise! Next spring, I'll be here!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who is waiting at the gate when Mulan comes home?
“门口站着的……是我爸爸！”
- What does Mulan remind her father of?
“爸爸，我答应过您的。”
- What does Li think the name Mulan is?
“这是花弟的小名吗？”
- Who does Li think the young woman in the red dress is?
“您是花弟的姐姐吗？”
- What does Mulan's rabbit riddle mean?
“在打仗的地方，我们也都一样。”