The Night of the Nian · chapter 2 of 3
Red Paper and Fire
红纸和火
Red paper on the door, candles in Xiao Dong's hands, bamboo piled by the fire: the white-haired stranger seems to know something about Nian.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- The old man 小冬，快把蜡烛都点上！
Xiǎo Dōng, kuài bǎ làzhú dōu diǎn shàng!
Xiao Dong, quick, light all the candles!
- Narrator 老人从布袋里拿出红纸，贴在门上。
Lǎorén cóng bùdài lǐ ná chū hóng zhǐ, tiē zài mén shang.
The old man took red paper out of his bag and pasted it on the door.
- Xiao Dong 老爷爷，您贴红纸做什么？
Lǎo yéye, nín tiē hóng zhǐ zuò shénme?
Sir, what's the red paper for?
- The old man 等一会儿，你就明白了。老哥，家里有竹子吗？
Děng yíhuìr, nǐ jiù míngbai le. Lǎogē, jiā lǐ yǒu zhúzi ma?
Wait a moment, and you'll understand. Friend, is there any bamboo in the house?
- Grandpa 竹子？有，有，可是要竹子做什么？
Zhúzi? Yǒu, yǒu, kěshì yào zhúzi zuò shénme?
Bamboo? Yes, there is, but what do you need bamboo for?
- The old man 先放在火边。等我说了，再放进火里！
Xiān fàng zài huǒ biān. Děng wǒ shuō le, zài fàng jìn huǒ lǐ!
Put it by the fire for now. When I give the word, throw it in!
- Xiao Dong 蜡烛红红的，门上的纸也红红的……年真的会怕吗？
Làzhú hónghóng de, mén shang de zhǐ yě hónghóng de… Nián zhēn de huì pà ma?
The candles are red, and so is the paper on the door… Will Nian really be scared of that?
- Xiao Dong 爷爷，年来了！它好大，眼睛像两个大灯笼！
Yéye, Nián lái le! Tā hǎo dà, yǎnjing xiàng liǎng gè dà dēnglong!
Grandpa, Nian is here! It's huge, and its eyes are like two giant lanterns!
- Xiao Dong 年停住了……看着门上的红纸！
Nián tíngzhù le… kànzhe mén shang de hóng zhǐ!
Nian has stopped… it's staring at the red paper on the door!
- Grandpa 它……它为什么不进来？
Tā… tā wèishénme bú jìnlái?
Why… why isn't it coming in?
- The old man 年最怕红色。看见红色，它就不敢进来。
Nián zuì pà hóngsè. Kànjiàn hóngsè, tā jiù bù gǎn jìnlái.
Nian is most afraid of red. When it sees red, it doesn't dare come in.
- Xiao Dong 老爷爷，您怎么知道？
Lǎo yéye, nín zěnme zhīdào?
Sir, how do you know that?
- The old man 我知道的事，很多很多。
Wǒ zhīdào de shì, hěn duō hěn duō.
I know a great many things.
- Xiao Dong 不好，年到窗户这边来了！它的大眼睛……爷爷，我好怕！
Bù hǎo, Nián dào chuānghu zhèbiān lái le! Tā de dà yǎnjing… yéye, wǒ hǎo pà!
Oh no, Nian is coming over to the window! Those huge eyes… Grandpa, I'm so scared!
- Grandpa 别怕，别怕，爷爷在这里。
Bié pà, bié pà, yéye zài zhèlǐ.
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Grandpa's right here.
- The old man 现在，把竹子放进火里！
Xiànzài, bǎ zhúzi fàng jìn huǒ lǐ!
Now! Put the bamboo in the fire!
- Narrator 火里的竹子啪的一声，炸开了。
Huǒ lǐ de zhúzi pā de yì shēng, zhà kāi le.
The bamboo in the fire burst open with a bang.
- Xiao Dong 好响啊！您看，年往后退了，它怕这个声音！
Hǎo xiǎng a! Nín kàn, Nián wǎng hòu tuì le, tā pà zhège shēngyīn!
So loud! Look, Nian is backing away! It's scared of that noise!
- The old man 对，年也怕火，也怕很大的声音！
Duì, Nián yě pà huǒ, yě pà hěn dà de shēngyīn!
That's right! Nian is afraid of fire, too, and of loud noises!
- Xiao Dong 那我们一起来！爷爷，竹子都放进去，我来敲锅！
Nà wǒmen yìqǐ lái! Yéye, zhúzi dōu fàng jìnqù, wǒ lái qiāo guō!
Then let's all do it together! Grandpa, throw in all the bamboo! I'll bang the pot!
- Grandpa 好，爷爷也来！年，快回大海里去！
Hǎo, yéye yě lái! Nián, kuài huí dàhǎi lǐ qù!
All right, Grandpa's in! Nian, go back to the sea!
- Narrator 火光、声音，还有小冬的叫声，一起冲出了窗户。年大叫一声，转过身去……
Huǒguāng, shēngyīn, hái yǒu Xiǎo Dōng de jiàoshēng, yìqǐ chōng chū le chuānghu. Nián dà jiào yì shēng, zhuǎn guò shēn qù…
Firelight, bangs, and Xiao Dong's shouts all burst out through the window together. Nian gave a great howl and turned around…
- Xiao Dong 它……它要跑了吗？
Tā… tā yào pǎo le ma?
Is it… is it going to run?
What changed in the story?
- What does the old man do with the red paper?
“老人从布袋里拿出红纸，贴在门上”
- Why doesn't Nian come in through the door?
“年最怕红色。看见红色，它就不敢进来”
- What happens when the bamboo goes into the fire?
“火里的竹子啪的一声，炸开了”
- What else is Nian afraid of?
“年也怕火，也怕很大的声音”
- What does Xiao Dong do to help?
“我来敲锅”