Pinocchio · chapter 22 of 25
The Circus
马戏团
Pinocchio learns to dance in a circus for a dinner of hay, until one night he sees a lady with turquoise hair in the crowd.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 匹诺曹到了马戏团。马戏团老板天天教他跳舞。
Pǐnuòcáo dào le mǎxìtuán. Mǎxìtuán Lǎobǎn tiāntiān jiāo tā tiàowǔ.
Pinocchio went to the circus. Every day, the Circus Owner taught him to dance.
- the Circus Owner 跳！再跳！不跳，没有饭吃！
Tiào! Zài tiào! Bú tiào, méiyǒu fàn chī!
Jump! Again! No jumping, no dinner!
- Pinocchio 跳，跳，天天跳……我好累！
Tiào, tiào, tiāntiān tiào… wǒ hǎo lèi!
Jump, jump, jump every day... I'm so tired!
Chapter 22 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of Pinocchio (chapters 1–5) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- the Circus Owner 吃吧！你的饭，是草。
Chī ba! Nǐ de fàn, shì cǎo.
Eat up! Your dinner is hay.
- Pinocchio 草？我不吃！我要面包！
Cǎo? Wǒ bù chī! Wǒ yào miànbāo!
Hay? I won't eat it! I want bread!
- Pinocchio ……好吧，草我也吃。
…Hǎo ba, cǎo wǒ yě chī.
...Fine. I'll even eat hay.
- the Circus Owner 好驴！明天晚上，很多人来看你！
Hǎo lǘ! Míngtiān wǎnshang, hěn duō rén lái kàn nǐ!
Good donkey! Tomorrow night, lots of people are coming to see you!
- Narrator 第二天晚上，马戏团里来了很多人。
Dì èr tiān wǎnshang, mǎxìtuán lǐ lái le hěn duō rén.
The next night, lots of people came to the circus.
- the Circus Owner 大家快来看！会跳舞的小驴！
Dàjiā kuài lái kàn! Huì tiàowǔ de xiǎo lǘ!
Come and see, everyone! The dancing donkey!
- Pinocchio 他们都在看我！我是最好的驴！
Tāmen dōu zài kàn wǒ! Wǒ shì zuì hǎo de lǘ!
They're all watching me! I'm the best donkey here!
- Pinocchio 那边……那个漂亮的女人……蓝头发！
Nàbiān… nàge piàoliang de nǚrén… lán tóufa!
Over there... that beautiful lady... turquoise hair!
- Pinocchio 她有一个小东西……上边画着一个木偶！
Tā yǒu yí gè xiǎo dōngxi… shàngbian huà zhe yí gè mù'ǒu!
She has something small... with a puppet painted on it!
- The Fairy with Turquoise Hair 匹诺曹……我的孩子，你在哪儿？
Pǐnuòcáo… wǒ de háizi, nǐ zài nǎr?
Pinocchio... my child, where are you?
- Pinocchio 是妈妈！妈妈，我在这儿！
Shì māma! Māma, wǒ zài zhèr!
It's Mama! Mama, I'm here!
- the Circus Owner 叫什么叫？快跳！
Jiào shénme jiào? Kuài tiào!
What are you braying for? Jump!
- Pinocchio 她走了……妈妈走了……她没看见我……
Tā zǒu le… māma zǒu le… tā méi kànjiàn wǒ…
She's gone... Mama's gone... she didn't see me...
- the Circus Owner 最后一个！跳！再高一点！
Zuìhòu yí gè! Tiào! Zài gāo yìdiǎn!
Last one! Jump! Higher!
- Narrator 匹诺曹跳了，没跳好，倒了。
Pǐnuòcáo tiào le, méi tiào hǎo, dǎo le.
Pinocchio jumped, landed badly, and fell.
- Pinocchio 我的腿……好疼！我站不起来了！
Wǒ de tuǐ… hǎo téng! Wǒ zhàn bu qǐlai le!
My leg... it hurts so much! I can't get up!
- the Circus Owner 这头驴，腿坏了，没有用了。卖了吧！
Zhè tóu lǘ, tuǐ huài le, méiyǒu yòng le. Mài le ba!
This donkey's leg is ruined. He's no use anymore. Might as well sell him!
- The Buyer 这头驴，多少钱？
Zhè tóu lǘ, duōshao qián?
How much for this donkey?
- the Circus Owner 不贵！给你吧。
Bú guì! Gěi nǐ ba.
Cheap! He's yours.
- The Buyer 好。小驴，我要你的皮，做一个鼓！
Hǎo. Xiǎo lǘ, wǒ yào nǐ de pí, zuò yí gè gǔ!
Good. Little donkey, I want your skin to make a drum!
- Pinocchio 我的皮？不要！不要！
Wǒ de pí? Bú yào! Bú yào!
My skin? No! Don't!
- Narrator 到了海边，买主在小驴身上挂了一块大石头。
Dào le hǎibiān, Mǎizhǔ zài xiǎo lǘ shēnshang guà le yí kuài dà shítou.
At the sea, the Buyer hung a big stone on the little donkey.
- Pinocchio 他……他要做什么？
Tā… tā yào zuò shénme?
What... what's he going to do?
- The Buyer 绳子在我这儿。去吧！
Shéngzi zài wǒ zhèr. Qù ba!
I've got the rope. In you go!
- Narrator 小驴掉进了海里，很快就看不见了。
Xiǎo lǘ diào jìn le hǎi lǐ, hěn kuài jiù kàn bu jiàn le.
The little donkey fell into the sea and was soon gone from sight.
- The Buyer 一个小时以后，我就有一个好鼓了。
Yí gè xiǎoshí yǐhòu, wǒ jiù yǒu yí gè hǎo gǔ le.
In an hour, I'll have a fine drum.
- Pinocchio 爸爸……妈妈……对不起……
Bàba… māma… duìbuqǐ…
Papa... Mama... I'm sorry...
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the Circus Owner give Pinocchio for dinner?
“你的饭，是草”
- How does Pinocchio know the lady is his Fairy?
“蓝头发……上边画着一个木偶”
- Why does the Circus Owner sell Pinocchio?
“这头驴，腿坏了，没有用了”
- What does the Buyer want Pinocchio's skin for?
“我要你的皮，做一个鼓”
- What is Pinocchio thinking as he sinks?
“爸爸……妈妈……对不起”