Puss in Boots · chapter 3 of 4
Whose Meadow Is This?
这是谁的草地
Mister Cat races ahead of the king's carriage with a strange order for the farmers. At the end of the road waits a castle, and an ogre with a very unusual talent.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 猫先生跑在马车前边。路边有一大片草地，很多农民正在干活。
Māo xiānsheng pǎo zài mǎchē qiánbian. Lù biān yǒu yí dà piàn cǎodì, hěn duō nóngmín zhèngzài gànhuó.
Mister Cat ran on ahead of the carriage. Beside the road lay a wide meadow, where many farmers were at work.
- Puss 大家好！国王的马车马上就到了。
Dàjiā hǎo! Guówáng de mǎchē mǎshàng jiù dào le.
Hello, everyone! The king's carriage will be here any minute.
- Puss 国王问这片草地是谁的，你们就说：是卡拉巴斯侯爵的！
Guówáng wèn zhè piàn cǎodì shì shéi de, nǐmen jiù shuō: shì Kǎlābāsī hóujué de!
When the king asks whose meadow this is, you say, "It belongs to the Marquis of Carabas!"
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Puss in Boots 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 Farmers 卡拉巴斯侯爵？可是这片草地是妖怪的啊！
Kǎlābāsī hóujué? Kěshì zhè piàn cǎodì shì yāoguài de a!
The Marquis of Carabas? But this meadow belongs to the ogre!
- Puss 别问那么多！不这么说，你们就有大麻烦了！
Bié wèn nàme duō! Bú zhème shuō, nǐmen jiù yǒu dà máfan le!
Don't ask so many questions! If you don't say it, you'll be in big trouble!
- The Farmers 一只猫，穿着靴子，还会说话……我们听他的吧！
Yì zhī māo, chuānzhe xuēzi, hái huì shuōhuà… wǒmen tīng tā de ba!
A cat in boots, and he can talk… We'd better do as he says!
- Narrator 不一会儿，国王的马车来了。
Bù yíhuìr, guówáng de mǎchē lái le.
Before long, the king's carriage arrived.
- The King 你们好！这片大草地是谁的？
Nǐmen hǎo! Zhè piàn dà cǎodì shì shéi de?
Hello there! Whose big meadow is this?
- The Farmers 是卡拉巴斯侯爵的！
Shì Kǎlābāsī hóujué de!
It belongs to the Marquis of Carabas!
- The King 侯爵，你的草地真大，真漂亮啊！
Hóujué, nǐ de cǎodì zhēn dà, zhēn piàoliang a!
Marquis, what a big, beautiful meadow you have!
- The Miller's Son 是……是啊。这片草地，年年都长得很好。
Shì… shì a. Zhè piàn cǎodì, niánnián dōu zhǎng de hěn hǎo.
Y… yes. The grass here grows well every single year.
- The Princess 爸爸，你看，侯爵的脸红了！
Bàba, nǐ kàn, hóujué de liǎn hóng le!
Look, Father, the Marquis is blushing!
- The Miller's Son 这不是我的草地……我在骗国王。我的心跳得好快！
Zhè bú shì wǒ de cǎodì… wǒ zài piàn guówáng. Wǒ de xīn tiào de hǎo kuài!
This isn't my meadow… I'm fooling the king. My heart is pounding!
- Narrator 马车往前走，又来到一大片麦田。
Mǎchē wǎng qián zǒu, yòu lái dào yí dà piàn màitián.
The carriage rolled on and came to a great field of wheat.
- The King 这些麦子是谁的？
Zhèxiē màizi shì shéi de?
And whose wheat is this?
- The Farmers 也是卡拉巴斯侯爵的！
Yě shì Kǎlābāsī hóujué de!
That belongs to the Marquis of Carabas too!
- The King 侯爵，你比我还有钱啊！这么多麦子，能做多少面包啊！
Hóujué, nǐ bǐ wǒ hái yǒu qián a! Zhème duō màizi, néng zuò duōshao miànbāo a!
Marquis, you're richer than I am! Think how much bread all this wheat would make!
- The Princess 侯爵，你的猫呢？我很喜欢那只穿靴子的猫，它好聪明！
Hóujué, nǐ de māo ne? Wǒ hěn xǐhuan nà zhī chuān xuēzi de māo, tā hǎo cōngming!
Marquis, where's your cat? I really like that cat in boots. He's so clever!
- The Miller's Son 它先走了。它在干什么……我也不知道！
Tā xiān zǒu le. Tā zài gàn shénme… wǒ yě bù zhīdào!
He went on ahead. What he's up to… I have no idea!
- Narrator 大路的最后，有一座很大的城堡。这里的草地和麦田，都是城堡主人的。
Dà lù de zuìhòu, yǒu yí zuò hěn dà de chéngbǎo. Zhèlǐ de cǎodì hé màitián, dōu shì chéngbǎo zhǔrén de.
At the end of the road stood a huge castle. All the meadows and wheat fields around belonged to its master.
- Puss 这个妖怪很有钱，什么动物都会变。我要小心一点儿。
Zhège yāoguài hěn yǒu qián, shénme dòngwù dōu huì biàn. Wǒ yào xiǎoxīn yìdiǎnr.
This ogre is very rich, and he can turn into any animal at all. I'd better be careful.
- Puss 您好！我走到这里，一定要来见见有名的妖怪先生！
Nín hǎo! Wǒ zǒu dào zhèlǐ, yídìng yào lái jiànjian yǒumíng de yāoguài xiānsheng!
Hello! I was passing this way, and I simply had to meet the famous Mister Ogre!
- The Ogre 一只猫？还穿着靴子？进来吧。你想干什么？
Yì zhī māo? Hái chuānzhe xuēzi? Jìnlái ba. Nǐ xiǎng gàn shénme?
A cat? In boots? Come in, then. What do you want?
- Puss 大家都说，您什么动物都会变，比如狮子，比如大象。我不太相信……
Dàjiā dōu shuō, nín shénme dòngwù dōu huì biàn, bǐrú shīzi, bǐrú dàxiàng. Wǒ bú tài xiāngxìn…
Everyone says you can turn into any animal at all, like a lion, or an elephant. I don't quite believe it…
- The Ogre 哈！不相信？你看着！
Hā! Bù xiāngxìn? Nǐ kànzhe!
Ha! You don't believe it? Watch this!
- Narrator 妖怪变了。一只大狮子站在猫先生前边，张开了大嘴。
Yāoguài biàn le. Yì zhī dà shīzi zhàn zài Māo xiānsheng qiánbian, zhāng kāi le dà zuǐ.
The ogre changed. Now a huge lion stood before Mister Cat, opening its great jaws.
- The Ogre 嗷呜！小猫，现在你相信了吗？
Áowū! Xiǎo māo, xiànzài nǐ xiāngxìn le ma?
ROAR! Now do you believe it, little cat?
- Puss 救命啊！
Jiùmìng a!
Help!
- Narrator 猫先生跳上了房顶。可是穿着靴子，在房顶上很难走。
Māo xiānsheng tiào shàng le fángdǐng. Kěshì chuānzhe xuēzi, zài fángdǐng shang hěn nán zǒu.
Mister Cat leaped up onto the roof. But in boots, walking on a roof was very hard.
- Puss 哎呀，我的靴子！太滑了，太滑了！
Āiyā, wǒ de xuēzi! Tài huá le, tài huá le!
Oh no, my boots! So slippery, so slippery!
- The Ogre 哈哈哈！下来吧，小猫。我变回来了。
Hāhāhā! Xiàlái ba, xiǎo māo. Wǒ biàn huílái le.
Ha ha ha! Come on down, little cat. I've changed back.
- Puss 他能变得那么大……那他能变得很小很小吗？
Tā néng biàn de nàme dà… nà tā néng biàn de hěn xiǎo hěn xiǎo ma?
He can make himself that big… but can he make himself very, very small?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the cat tell the farmers to say?
“你们就说：是卡拉巴斯侯爵的！”
- Why do the farmers agree to do what the cat says?
“一只猫，穿着靴子，还会说话……我们听他的吧！”
- How does the young man feel when the king praises "his" meadow?
“这不是我的草地……我在骗国王。我的心跳得好快！”
- What does the cat say he can't quite believe?
“您什么动物都会变，比如狮子，比如大象。我不太相信……”
- Why is it hard for the cat to stay on the roof?
“可是穿着靴子，在房顶上很难走。”……“太滑了，太滑了！”