The River Snail Girl · chapter 4 of 5
The Girl from the River
河里来的姑娘
Caught outside her shell, the girl only wants to hide. But Xie Duan has questions, and one big request.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 姑娘回过头，看见了谢端。
Gūniang huí guò tóu, kànjiàn le Xiè Duān.
The girl turned around and saw Xie Duan.
- River Snail Girl 啊！你……你没有去地里？
À! Nǐ… nǐ méiyǒu qù dì lǐ?
Oh! You… you didn't go to the field?
- Xie Duan 别怕，别怕！我不是坏人。
Bié pà, bié pà! Wǒ bú shì huàirén.
It's all right, don't be scared! I won't hurt you.
Chapter 4 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.
- River Snail Girl 你看见我了……我要回去了！
Nǐ kànjiàn wǒ le… wǒ yào huíqù le!
You've seen me… I have to go back!
- Narrator 她拿起田螺壳，要回到壳里去。
Tā ná qǐ tiánluó ké, yào huí dào ké lǐ qù.
She snatched up the snail shell, ready to climb back inside.
- Xie Duan 等一下！请你别走。这些天的饭，是你做的吗？
Děng yíxià! Qǐng nǐ bié zǒu. Zhèxiē tiān de fàn, shì nǐ zuò de ma?
Wait! Please don't go. All those dinners — did you make them?
- River Snail Girl 是……是我做的。
Shì… shì wǒ zuò de.
Yes… I did.
- Xie Duan 谢谢你！可是，你是谁？你从哪儿来？
Xièxie nǐ! Kěshì, nǐ shì shéi? Nǐ cóng nǎr lái?
Thank you! But who are you? Where do you come from?
- River Snail Girl 我从河里来。我是河里的田螺。
Wǒ cóng hé lǐ lái. Wǒ shì hé lǐ de tiánluó.
I come from the river. I'm a snail from the river.
- River Snail Girl 我在河里，天天看见你。你一个人，从早上干到晚上。
Wǒ zài hé lǐ, tiāntiān kànjiàn nǐ. Nǐ yí gè rén, cóng zǎoshang gàn dào wǎnshang.
From the river, I saw you every day, all alone, working from morning till night.
- River Snail Girl 你是好人。天帝知道了，就让我来帮你。
Nǐ shì hǎorén. Tiāndì zhīdào le, jiù ràng wǒ lái bāng nǐ.
You're a good man. The Emperor of Heaven knew it, so he sent me to help you.
- Xie Duan 天帝让你来帮我？
Tiāndì ràng nǐ lái bāng wǒ?
The Emperor of Heaven sent you to help me?
- River Snail Girl 是的。可是……你不怕我吗？我是一个田螺啊。
Shì de. Kěshì… nǐ bú pà wǒ ma? Wǒ shì yí gè tiánluó a.
Yes. But… aren't you afraid of me? I'm a snail!
- Xie Duan 怕你？你天天给我做饭，我为什么要怕你？
Pà nǐ? Nǐ tiāntiān gěi wǒ zuòfàn, wǒ wèishénme yào pà nǐ?
Afraid of you? You cook for me every day. Why would I be afraid of you?
- Xie Duan 你有名字吗？
Nǐ yǒu míngzi ma?
Do you have a name?
- River Snail Girl 没有。田螺没有名字。
Méiyǒu. Tiánluó méiyǒu míngzi.
No. Snails don't have names.
- Xie Duan 那我叫你“田螺姑娘”，好吗？
Nà wǒ jiào nǐ “Tiánluó gūniang”, hǎo ma?
Then I'll call you River Snail Girl. How's that?
- River Snail Girl 田螺姑娘……真好听。
Tiánluó gūniang… zhēn hǎotīng.
River Snail Girl… that's pretty.
- Xie Duan 田螺姑娘，你别回壳里了。住在这里，和我一起吃饭，好吗？
Tiánluó gūniang, nǐ bié huí ké lǐ le. Zhù zài zhèlǐ, hé wǒ yìqǐ chīfàn, hǎo ma?
River Snail Girl, don't go back into your shell. Stay here and eat with me. Will you?
- River Snail Girl 让我想一想……明天早上，我告诉你。
Ràng wǒ xiǎng yi xiǎng… míngtiān zǎoshang, wǒ gàosu nǐ.
Let me think about it… I'll tell you in the morning.
- Narrator 她把田螺壳放在了架子上。
Tā bǎ tiánluó ké fàng zài le jiàzi shang.
She set the snail shell up on the shelf.
- Narrator 明天早上，她还会在这里吗？
Míngtiān zǎoshang, tā hái huì zài zhèlǐ ma?
In the morning, would she still be there?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the girl try to do when she sees Xie Duan?
“我要回去了……要回到壳里去。”
- Who sent the girl to help Xie Duan?
“天帝知道了，就让我来帮你。”
- Why was she sent to help him?
“你一个人，从早上干到晚上……你是好人。”
- What name does Xie Duan give her?
“那我叫你‘田螺姑娘’，好吗？”
- What does she say when he asks her to stay?
“让我想一想……明天早上，我告诉你。”