Painted Skin · chapter 4 of 4
The Beggar's Gift
疯乞丐的礼物
Chen goes to the market and gets down on her knees for a strange old man, because he may be the only one who can wake her husband.
Read what you hear
- The Mad Beggar 月亮大，太阳小，我的鞋子会说话！哈哈哈！
Yuèliang dà, tàiyáng xiǎo, wǒ de xiézi huì shuōhuà! Hāhāhā!
The moon is big, the sun is small, and my shoes can talk! Ha ha ha!
- Chen 老人家！老人家！求您听我说！
Lǎorenjia! Lǎorenjia! Qiú nín tīng wǒ shuō!
Old sir! Old sir! Please listen to me!
- The Mad Beggar 哎呀！好漂亮的小娘子！找我做什么？我没有钱，只有一只臭鞋！
Āiyā! Hǎo piàoliang de xiǎo niángzǐ! Zhǎo wǒ zuò shénme? Wǒ méiyǒu qián, zhǐyǒu yì zhī chòu xié!
Oh my! What a pretty lady! What do you want with me? I have no money, only one smelly shoe!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Painted Skin is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Chen 我丈夫王生，怎么叫也叫不醒。道长说，只有那位乞丐能救他。
Wǒ zhàngfu Wáng Shēng, zěnme jiào yě jiào bù xǐng. Dàozhǎng shuō, zhǐyǒu nà wèi qǐgài néng jiù tā.
My husband, Wang Sheng, will not wake up no matter what I do. The Taoist says only the beggar can save him.
- The Mad Beggar 救他？我又不是医生！你去找医生啊！
Jiù tā? Wǒ yòu bú shì yīshēng! Nǐ qù zhǎo yīshēng a!
Save him? I'm no doctor! Go find a doctor!
- Chen 医生说没有办法。求求您！
Yīshēng shuō méiyǒu bànfǎ. Qiúqiu nín!
The doctors say there's nothing to be done. Please!
- The Mad Beggar 求我？行啊。你跪下，叫我三声“老爷爷”。要大声，让全市场的人都听见！
Qiú wǒ? Xíng a. Nǐ guì xià, jiào wǒ sān shēng “lǎo yéye”. Yào dàshēng, ràng quán shìchǎng de rén dōu tīngjiàn!
Begging me? Fine. Kneel down and call me “Grandpa” three times. Loud enough for the whole market to hear!
- Chen 老……老爷爷。
Lǎo… lǎo yéye.
G-Grandpa.
- The Onlookers 快看！一位夫人跪在泥里，叫一个疯子爷爷！哈哈哈！
Kuài kàn! Yí wèi fūrén guì zài ní lǐ, jiào yí gè fēngzi yéye! Hāhāhā!
Look! A lady is kneeling in the mud, calling a madman Grandpa! Ha ha ha!
- The Mad Beggar 什么？我听不见！小娘子的脸皮，怎么这么薄？
Shénme? Wǒ tīng bú jiàn! Xiǎo niángzǐ de liǎnpí, zěnme zhème báo?
What? I can't hear you! Why is the pretty lady's face-skin so thin?
- Chen 老爷爷！老爷爷！老爷爷！请您救救我丈夫！
Lǎo yéye! Lǎo yéye! Lǎo yéye! Qǐng nín jiùjiu wǒ zhàngfu!
Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa! Please save my husband!
- The Mad Beggar 吵死了！走开！走开！我要打你了！
Chǎo sǐ le! Zǒu kāi! Zǒu kāi! Wǒ yào dǎ nǐ le!
So noisy! Go away! Go away! I'll hit you!
- Chen 您打吧。您打多久都行。我不走。
Nín dǎ ba. Nín dǎ duō jiǔ dōu xíng. Wǒ bù zǒu.
Hit me if you like. Hit me for as long as you want. I'm not leaving.
- The Mad Beggar 好。你不怕丢脸，你只怕他醒不过来。拿着这个，放在他的胸口上。
Hǎo. Nǐ bú pà diūliǎn, nǐ zhǐ pà tā xǐng bù guòlái. Ná zhe zhège, fàng zài tā de xiōngkǒu shang.
Good. You aren't afraid of looking foolish. You're only afraid he won't wake. Take this and lay it on his chest.
- Chen 它……它是热的！像一颗小小的心。
Tā… tā shì rè de! Xiàng yì kē xiǎoxiǎo de xīn.
It's… it's warm! Like a tiny heart.
- The Mad Beggar 别问，别怕。快回家！哈哈哈！
Bié wèn, bié pà. Kuài huí jiā! Hāhāhā!
Don't ask, don't be afraid. Hurry home! Ha ha ha!
- Chen 王生，我回来了。你听着，这个是热的。
Wáng Shēng, wǒ huílái le. Nǐ tīng zhe, zhège shì rè de.
Wang, I'm back. Listen, this is warm.
- Chen 我把它放在你的胸口上了。求你，醒过来。
Wǒ bǎ tā fàng zài nǐ de xiōngkǒu shang le. Qiú nǐ, xǐng guòlái.
I'm laying it on your chest. Please, wake up.
- Wang Sheng 娘……娘子？
Niáng… niángzǐ?
Dear… wife?
- Chen 王生！你醒了！它不见了，变成一阵热气，进到你的胸口里了！
Wáng Shēng! Nǐ xǐng le! Tā bú jiàn le, biànchéng yí zhèn rèqì, jìn dào nǐ de xiōngkǒu lǐ le!
Wang! You're awake! It's gone. It turned into a puff of warmth and went right into your chest!
- Wang Sheng 我做了一个很长很冷的梦……梦里有一个绿脸的……
Wǒ zuò le yí gè hěn cháng hěn lěng de mèng… mèng lǐ yǒu yí gè lǜ liǎn de…
I had a long, cold dream… and in it there was a green-faced…
- Chen 别说了。你回来了，这就够了。
Bié shuō le. Nǐ huílái le, zhè jiù gòu le.
Don't talk. You're back, and that's enough.
- The Taoist 陈夫人！王生怎么样了？
Chén fūrén! Wáng Shēng zěnmeyàng le?
Madam Chen! How is Wang Sheng?
- Chen 道长！他醒了！是那位疯乞丐救了他！
Dàozhǎng! Tā xǐng le! Shì nà wèi fēng qǐgài jiù le tā!
Master! He's awake! The mad beggar saved him!
- The Taoist 好。邪气还没走，她一定会再来。我的葫芦准备好了。你看，她来了。
Hǎo. Xiéqì hái méi zǒu, tā yídìng huì zài lái. Wǒ de húlu zhǔnbèi hǎo le. Nǐ kàn, tā lái le.
Good. The evil air has not left, so she will surely come back. My gourd is ready. Look, here she comes.
- The Girl 夫人！夫人！我是小房间的姑娘！有人要打我，求您开门！
Fūrén! Fūrén! Wǒ shì xiǎo fángjiān de gūniang! Yǒu rén yào dǎ wǒ, qiú nín kāi mén!
Madam! Madam! It's me, the girl from the little room! Someone wants to hit me. Please open the gate!
- Chen 画皮，你的手冷得像冰，你也不吃饭。第一天，我就觉得奇怪。
Huàpí, nǐ de shǒu lěng de xiàng bīng, nǐ yě bù chīfàn. Dì yī tiān, wǒ jiù juéde qíguài.
Painted Skin, your hand is cold as ice, and you never eat. On the very first day, I thought it was strange.
- The Taoist 画皮，你的皮再漂亮，也骗不了人了！进这个葫芦里去吧！
Huàpí, nǐ de pí zài piàoliang, yě piàn bù liǎo rén le! Jìn zhège húlu lǐ qù ba!
Painted Skin, no matter how pretty your skin is, it cannot fool anyone now! Go into this gourd!
- Narrator 漂亮的皮掉在地上，像一张薄纸。绿色的烟被吸进了红葫芦。
Piàoliang de pí diào zài dì shang, xiàng yì zhāng báo zhǐ. Lǜsè de yān bèi xī jìn le hóng húlu.
The pretty skin dropped to the ground like a sheet of thin paper. Green smoke was sucked into the red gourd.
- The Demon 不！放我出去！我不要……
Bù! Fàng wǒ chūqù! Wǒ bú yào…
No! Let me out! I don't want…
- Wang Sheng 我看的是她的脸。娘子，你看的是她的手。以后，我先听你的。
Wǒ kàn de shì tā de liǎn. Niángzǐ, nǐ kàn de shì tā de shǒu. Yǐhòu, wǒ xiān tīng nǐ de.
I looked at her face. Dear wife, you looked at her hands. From now on, I'll listen to you first.
- Chen 好。那从明天起，你洗碗。再带猫回来，你就睡在外面！
Hǎo. Nà cóng míngtiān qǐ, nǐ xǐ wǎn. Zài dài māo huílái, nǐ jiù shuì zài wàimiàn!
Good. Then from tomorrow you wash the dishes. And if you bring home another cat, you sleep outside!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the beggar tell Chen to do before he will help?
“你跪下，叫我三声‘老爷爷’。要大声，让全市场的人都听见！”
- Why does the beggar finally help Chen?
“你不怕丢脸，你只怕他醒不过来。”
- What does the beggar give Chen?
“拿着这个，放在他的胸口上。”……“它是热的！像一颗小小的心。”
- How did Chen know the girl was not who she seemed?
“你的手冷得像冰，你也不吃饭。第一天，我就觉得奇怪。”
- What happens to the demon at the end?
“绿色的烟被吸进了红葫芦。”