The River Snail Girl · chapter 3 of 5
Behind the Door
门后边
Xie Duan says goodbye to his snail and shuts the door, but he doesn't leave. At sunset, the water jar begins to glow.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天早上，谢端很早就起床了。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, Xiè Duān hěn zǎo jiù qǐchuáng le.
The next morning, Xie Duan got up very early.
- Xie Duan 大田螺，我去地里了！晚上见！
Dà tiánluó, wǒ qù dì lǐ le! Wǎnshang jiàn!
Big Snail, I'm off to the field! See you tonight!
- Xie Duan 我不去。我在门后边，看一看。
Wǒ bú qù. Wǒ zài mén hòubian, kàn yi kàn.
I'm not really going. I'll watch from behind the door.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The River Snail Girl 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.
- Narrator 他关上门，站在门后边，一动也不动。
Tā guānshàng mén, zhàn zài mén hòubian, yí dòng yě bú dòng.
He shut the door and stood behind it, perfectly still.
- Xie Duan 家里很安静。谁也没有来……
Jiā lǐ hěn ānjìng. Shéi yě méiyǒu lái…
It's so quiet in here. Nobody's come…
- Narrator 他等了很久很久。太阳下山了。
Tā děng le hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ. Tàiyáng xià shān le.
He waited for a long, long time. The sun went down.
- Xie Duan 天快黑了……是我想错了吗？
Tiān kuài hēi le… shì wǒ xiǎng cuò le ma?
It's almost dark… Did I get it wrong?
- Xie Duan 啊！水缸……亮了！
À! Shuǐgāng… liàng le!
Oh! The water jar… it's glowing!
- Narrator 田螺壳慢慢开了。一个姑娘，从壳里走了出来。
Tiánluó ké mànmàn kāi le. Yí gè gūniang, cóng ké lǐ zǒu le chūlái.
Slowly, the snail's shell opened, and a girl stepped out of it.
- Xie Duan 一个姑娘！她是从田螺里出来的！
Yí gè gūniang! Tā shì cóng tiánluó lǐ chūlái de!
A girl! She came out of the snail!
- River Snail Girl 谢端去地里了……好，家里没有人。
Xiè Duān qù dì lǐ le… hǎo, jiā lǐ méiyǒu rén.
Xie Duan's gone to the field… good, there's no one home.
- River Snail Girl 他是一个好人。他天天给我换水，跟我说话。
Tā shì yí gè hǎorén. Tā tiāntiān gěi wǒ huàn shuǐ, gēn wǒ shuōhuà.
He's a good man. Every day he gives me fresh water, and he talks to me.
- River Snail Girl 他干活太累了。今天给他做什么呢？
Tā gànhuó tài lèi le. Jīntiān gěi tā zuò shénme ne?
He works so hard. What shall I make him today?
- River Snail Girl 米饭，鸡蛋，还有王大婶给的菜！
Mǐfàn, jīdàn, hái yǒu Wáng dàshěn gěi de cài!
Rice, eggs, and the vegetables Aunt Wang brought!
- Xie Duan 原来是她！天天给我做饭的人，是她！
Yuánlái shì tā! Tiāntiān gěi wǒ zuòfàn de rén, shì tā!
So it's her! She's the one who's been cooking for me every day!
- Xie Duan 她真好看……她是谁呢？
Tā zhēn hǎokàn… tā shì shéi ne?
She's so lovely… Who is she?
- River Snail Girl 饭好了！谢端快回来了。
Fàn hǎo le! Xiè Duān kuài huílái le.
Dinner's ready! Xie Duan will be home soon.
- River Snail Girl 我要回到壳里去了。他不能看见我。
Wǒ yào huí dào ké lǐ qù le. Tā bù néng kànjiàn wǒ.
I must get back into my shell. He mustn't see me.
- Xie Duan 她要回去了？不行……
Tā yào huíqù le? Bù xíng…
She's going back? No…
- Xie Duan 我要出去。我要问一问她！
Wǒ yào chūqù. Wǒ yào wèn yi wèn tā!
I'm going out there. I have to ask her!
- Xie Duan 姑娘，请等一下！
Gūniang, qǐng děng yíxià!
Miss, please wait!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Xie Duan tell the snail in the morning?
“大田螺，我去地里了！晚上见！”
- What does Xie Duan really do?
“我不去……站在门后边，一动也不动。”
- What comes out of the snail's shell?
“一个姑娘，从壳里走了出来。”
- Why does the girl cook for Xie Duan?
“他是一个好人。他天天给我换水，跟我说话。”
- Why does the girl hurry back to her shell?
“我要回到壳里去了。他不能看见我。”