The Peach Blossom Spring · chapter 4 of 4
Never Found Again
找不到了
The fisherman marks every bend of the river on his way home, then goes straight to the governor. But will the cave still be there?
Read what you hear
- The fisherman 我出来了！我的小船还在！
Wǒ chūlái le! Wǒ de xiǎo chuán hái zài!
I'm out! And my little boat is still here!
- The fisherman 我说了不告诉别人……可是，我还想再来。
Wǒ shuō le bú gàosu biérén… kěshì, wǒ hái xiǎng zài lái.
I promised not to tell anyone… but I want to come back.
- The fisherman 这儿做一个记号。那儿，也做一个记号。
Zhèr zuò yí gè jìhao. Nàr, yě zuò yí gè jìhao.
A mark here. And another mark there.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Peach Blossom Spring 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.
- The fisherman 好了！下次，我一定能找到！
Hǎo le! Xià cì, wǒ yídìng néng zhǎo dào!
There! Next time, I'll find it for sure!
- Narrator 回到武陵，他马上去见了太守。
Huí dào Wǔlíng, tā mǎshàng qù jiàn le tàishǒu.
Back in Wuling, he went straight to the governor.
- The fisherman 太守！我找到了一个好地方，那里没有打仗！
Tàishǒu! Wǒ zhǎo dào le yí gè hǎo dìfang, nàlǐ méiyǒu dǎzhàng!
Governor! I've found a wonderful place, a place with no war!
- The governor 没有打仗？真的吗？在哪儿？
Méiyǒu dǎzhàng? Zhēn de ma? Zài nǎr?
No war? Really? Where is it?
- The fisherman 在一个山洞后边。那里的人还以为现在是秦朝！
Zài yí gè shāndòng hòubian. Nàlǐ de rén hái yǐwéi xiànzài shì Qín Cháo!
Behind a cave. The people there still think it's the Qin!
- The governor 秦朝？好，你带我去看看！
Qín Cháo? Hǎo, nǐ dài wǒ qù kànkan!
The Qin? All right. Take me there!
- Narrator 他们找啊找。春天过去了，夏天也过去了。
Tāmen zhǎo a zhǎo. Chūntiān guòqù le, xiàtiān yě guòqù le.
They searched and searched. Spring went by, and then summer.
- The governor 秋天都到了！你的山洞呢？
Qiūtiān dōu dào le! Nǐ de shāndòng ne?
It's autumn already! Where's this cave of yours?
- The fisherman 就在这儿啊！我在这儿下的船……
Jiù zài zhèr a! Wǒ zài zhèr xià de chuán…
It's right here! This is where I got out of my boat…
- The fisherman 我的记号呢？记号都没有了！
Wǒ de jìhao ne? Jìhao dōu méiyǒu le!
Where are my marks? They're all gone!
- The governor 这里都是山，没有山洞！
Zhèlǐ dōu shì shān, méiyǒu shāndòng!
It's solid rock here. There's no cave!
- The fisherman 太守，我没有说假话！真的有一个山洞！
Tàishǒu, wǒ méiyǒu shuō jiǎhuà! Zhēn de yǒu yí gè shāndòng!
Governor, I'm not lying! There really is a cave!
- The governor 我不找了。回去！
Wǒ bù zhǎo le. Huíqù!
I'm done searching. We're going back!
- The fisherman 桃树还在，可是桃花没有了……山洞也没有了……
Táoshù hái zài, kěshì táohuā méiyǒu le… shāndòng yě méiyǒu le…
The peach trees are still here, but the blossoms are gone… and so is the cave…
- The fisherman 老人家，对不起。我没有听您的话。
Lǎorénjia, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ méiyǒu tīng nín de huà.
I'm sorry, sir. I didn't keep my promise to you.
- Narrator 后来，很多人都去找过桃花源。可是，谁也没有找到。
Hòulái, hěn duō rén dōu qù zhǎo guo Táohuāyuán. Kěshì, shéi yě méiyǒu zhǎo dào.
Later, many people went looking for the Peach Blossom Spring. But no one ever found it.
- Narrator 今天，这样的好地方，中国人叫它“世外桃源”。
Jīntiān, zhèyàng de hǎo dìfang, Zhōngguó rén jiào tā “shìwài táoyuán”.
Today, Chinese people call a perfect, hidden place like that a “peach blossom land beyond the world.”
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the fisherman do on his way home?
“这儿做一个记号。那儿，也做一个记号。”
- Why does he make the marks?
“我还想再来……下次，我一定能找到！”
- Who does the fisherman tell about the village?
“回到武陵，他马上去见了太守。”
- What has happened to the fisherman's marks when they come back?
“我的记号呢？记号都没有了！”
- What happens in the end?
“很多人都去找过桃花源。可是，谁也没有找到。”