Pinocchio · chapter 20 of 25
The Land of Toys
玩具国
Pinocchio means to go straight home, but Candlewick begs him to wait just one more minute for a wagon that comes at midnight.
Read what you hear
- Pinocchio 不去！小灯芯，天快黑了，我要回家！
Bú qù! Xiǎo Dēngxīn, tiān kuài hēi le, wǒ yào huí jiā!
No! Candlewick, it's getting dark. I'm going home!
- Candlewick 回家？明天又要上学！上学有什么好玩的？
Huí jiā? Míngtiān yòu yào shàngxué! Shàngxué yǒu shénme hǎowán de?
Home? Then school again tomorrow! What's fun about school?
- Pinocchio 明天，我就要变成一个真正的孩子了！
Míngtiān, wǒ jiù yào biànchéng yí gè zhēnzhèng de háizi le!
Tomorrow I'm going to become a real boy!
Chapter 20 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1–3 of Pinocchio 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.
- Candlewick 真正的孩子，也要天天上学。我啊，天天玩！
Zhēnzhèng de háizi, yě yào tiāntiān shàngxué. Wǒ a, tiāntiān wán!
Real boys have to go to school every day too. Me? I play every day!
- Pinocchio 妈妈在等我……我得走了。
Māma zài děng wǒ… wǒ děi zǒu le.
Mama's waiting for me... I have to go.
- Candlewick 再等一会儿！车马上就来了。
Zài děng yíhuìr! Chē mǎshàng jiù lái le.
Wait a little longer! The wagon will be here any minute.
- Pinocchio 好吧……就一分钟。
Hǎo ba… jiù yì fēnzhōng.
Okay... just one more minute.
- Narrator 一分钟，又一分钟……天黑了。
Yì fēnzhōng, yòu yì fēnzhōng… tiān hēi le.
One minute, then another... and night fell.
- Candlewick 十二点了！你听，车来了！
Shí'èr diǎn le! Nǐ tīng, chē lái le!
It's midnight! Listen, the wagon's coming!
- Pinocchio 好多孩子！拉车的驴，还穿着白鞋！
Hǎo duō háizi! Lā chē de lǘ, hái chuānzhe bái xié!
So many boys! And the donkeys pulling the wagon are wearing white shoes!
- the Little Man 好孩子，上车吧……我的二十四头驴，跑得很快！
Hǎo háizi, shàng chē ba… wǒ de èrshísì tóu lǘ, pǎo de hěn kuài!
Good boys, climb aboard... my twenty-four donkeys run very fast!
- Candlewick 我来了！匹诺曹，你呢？大家都在叫你！
Wǒ lái le! Pǐnuòcáo, nǐ ne? Dàjiā dōu zài jiào nǐ!
I'm coming! Pinocchio, what about you? Everyone's calling you!
- Pinocchio 好吧……好吧……好吧！等等我，我也去！
Hǎo ba… hǎo ba… hǎo ba! Děngdeng wǒ, wǒ yě qù!
Oh... oh... oh, all right! Wait for me, I'm coming too!
- the Little Man 车上没有位子了。你坐在驴上吧！
Chē shang méiyǒu wèizi le. Nǐ zuò zài lǘ shang ba!
There's no room left in the wagon. You can ride a donkey!
- Pinocchio 好玩！看我跳！
Hǎowán! Kàn wǒ tiào!
Fun! Watch me jump on!
- Narrator 那头驴跳了起来。匹诺曹掉到了地上。
Nà tóu lǘ tiào le qǐlai. Pǐnuòcáo diào dào le dìshang.
The donkey bucked, and Pinocchio fell to the ground.
- Pinocchio 它不让我坐！
Tā bú ràng wǒ zuò!
It won't let me ride!
- Narrator 小个子走过来，咬了一下那头驴的耳朵。
Xiǎo Gèzi zǒu guòlai, yǎo le yíxià nà tóu lǘ de ěrduo.
The Little Man walked over and bit the donkey's ear.
- the Little Man 好了。现在它会听话了。坐吧，孩子。
Hǎo le. Xiànzài tā huì tīnghuà le. Zuò ba, háizi.
There. Now it'll behave. On you get, boy.
- Pinocchio 谁在哭？像一个孩子……是你吗？
Shéi zài kū? Xiàng yí gè háizi… shì nǐ ma?
Who's crying? It sounds like a boy... is it you?
- the Little Gray Donkey 傻瓜……你会难过的！
Shǎguā… nǐ huì nánguò de!
Poor fool... you'll be sorry!
- Pinocchio 驴会哭？驴还会说话？
Lǘ huì kū? Lǘ hái huì shuōhuà?
A donkey that cries? A donkey that talks?
- the Little Man 驴不会说话。你听错了，孩子。
Lǘ bú huì shuōhuà. Nǐ tīng cuò le, háizi.
Donkeys don't talk. You heard wrong, boy.
- Candlewick 到了！玩具国！你看，没有学校，也没有书！
Dào le! Wánjù Guó! Nǐ kàn, méiyǒu xuéxiào, yě méiyǒu shū!
We're here! The Land of Toys! Look, no school, and no books!
- Pinocchio 大家都在玩！太好玩了！
Dàjiā dōu zài wán! Tài hǎowán le!
Everyone's playing! This is so much fun!
- Narrator 天天放假，天天玩。五个月很快就过去了。
Tiāntiān fàngjià, tiāntiān wán. Wǔ gè yuè hěn kuài jiù guòqu le.
Every day was a holiday, every day was play. Five months flew by.
- Pinocchio 妈妈的牛奶咖啡……还在等我吗？明天再回去吧！
Māma de niúnǎi kāfēi… hái zài děng wǒ ma? Míngtiān zài huíqu ba!
Mama's milky coffee... is it still waiting for me? I'll go back tomorrow!
- Pinocchio 早上了……我的头，怎么这么重？
Zǎoshang le… wǒ de tóu, zěnme zhème zhòng?
Morning already... why is my head so heavy?
- Pinocchio 长长的……还有毛……像驴的……
Chángcháng de… hái yǒu máo… xiàng lǘ de…
Long... and hairy... like a donkey's...
- Pinocchio 我的耳朵！我的耳朵怎么了？！
Wǒ de ěrduo! Wǒ de ěrduo zěnme le?!
My ears! What's happening to my ears?!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Pinocchio say he has to go?
“妈妈在等我……我得走了。”
- How long does Pinocchio agree to wait?
“好吧……就一分钟。”
- Why does Pinocchio ride on a donkey?
“车上没有位子了。你坐在驴上吧！”
- What does the crying donkey whisper to Pinocchio?
“傻瓜……你会难过的！”
- What is the Land of Toys like?
“你看，没有学校，也没有书！”……“大家都在玩！”