Room 302 · chapter 3 of 8
The Cat on the Stairs
楼梯上的猫
At two in the morning Xiaoyu follows a strange noise and learns who Dawang is and what Old Chen hides.
Read what you hear
- Fang Xiaoyu 有人吗？……张阿姨说，晚上不要出去看。可是我睡不着。
Yǒurén ma?… Zhāng āyí shuō, wǎnshang búyào chūqù kàn. Kěshì wǒ shuì bù zháo.
Is someone there? ... Auntie Zhang said not to go out and look at night. But I can't sleep.
- Fang Xiaoyu 别怕，小雨。开手机的灯，就看一下。
Bié pà, Xiǎoyǔ. Kāi shǒujī de dēng, jiù kàn yíxià.
Don't be scared, Xiaoyu. Just turn on the phone light and take one look.
- Old Chen 谁？谁在那儿？
Shuí? Shuí zài nàr?
Who's there? Who is that?
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Room 302 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, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Fang Xiaoyu 啊！对不起！我是三零二的新邻居，方小雨。
A! Duìbùqǐ! Wǒ shì sān líng èr de xīn línjū, Fāng Xiǎoyǔ.
Ah! Sorry! I'm the new neighbor in 302. Fang Xiaoyu.
- Old Chen 新邻居？现在是夜里两点！你为什么不睡觉？
Xīn línjū? Xiànzài shì yèlǐ liǎng diǎn! Nǐ wèishénme bú shuìjiào?
New neighbor? It's two in the morning! Why aren't you asleep?
- Fang Xiaoyu 我听到声音，所以出来看看。您是……
Wǒ tīngdào shēngyīn, suǒyǐ chūlái kànkan. Nín shì…
I heard a noise, so I came out to look. And you are...
- Old Chen 我是老陈，住三零四。回去睡觉。这里没有声音。
Wǒ shì Lǎo Chén, zhù sān líng sì. Huíqù shuìjiào. Zhèlǐ méiyǒu shēngyīn.
I'm Old Chen from 304. Go back to bed. There's no noise here.
- Fang Xiaoyu 陈叔叔，我想问一下……您认识大王吗？
Chén shūshu, wǒ xiǎng wèn yíxià… Nín rènshi Dàwáng ma?
Uncle Chen, may I ask... do you know Dawang?
- Old Chen 你说什么？谁告诉你的？！
Nǐ shuō shénme? Shuí gàosu nǐ de?!
What did you say? Who told you that?!
- Fang Xiaoyu 吴奶奶……不，不是！是高老师留下的纸！
Wú nǎinai… Bù, bú shì! Shì Gāo lǎoshī liúxià de zhǐ!
Grandma Wu... no, not her! It was a note Mr. Gao left!
- Old Chen ……高老师，那个老朋友。好吧。你看那边。
… Gāo lǎoshī, nàge lǎopéngyou. Hǎo ba. Nǐ kàn nàbiān.
...Mr. Gao, my old friend. Fine. Look over there.
- Fang Xiaoyu 咦？一只橙色的大猫！
Yí? Yì zhī chéngsè de dà māo!
Oh! A big orange cat!
- Old Chen 它叫大王。它没有家，我每天晚上给它送饭。
Tā jiào Dàwáng. Tā méiyǒu jiā, wǒ měi tiān wǎnshang gěi tā sòng fàn.
His name is Dawang. He has no home, so I bring him dinner every night.
- Old Chen 这栋楼不能养猫。你不要告诉张阿姨，好不好？
Zhè dòng lóu bù néng yǎng māo. Nǐ búyào gàosu Zhāng āyí, hǎo bù hǎo?
Cats aren't allowed in this building. Please don't tell Auntie Zhang, all right?
- Fang Xiaoyu 哈哈，别怕。大王，你怎么跑进我的房间了？
Hāhā, bié pà. Dàwáng, nǐ zěnme pǎo jìn wǒ de fángjiān le?
Ha ha, don't worry. Dawang, how did you get into my room?
- Old Chen 大王！回来！……咦，它在床下面做什么？
Dàwáng! Huílái!… Yí, tā zài chuáng xiàmiàn zuò shénme?
Dawang! Come back! ... Huh, what is he doing under the bed?
- Fang Xiaoyu 它在找东西。你看，它在用脚推那块地板。
Tā zài zhǎo dōngxi. Nǐ kàn, tā zài yòng jiǎo tuī nà kuài dìbǎn.
He's looking for something. Look, he's pushing that floorboard with his paw.
- Old Chen 这块地板是松的！高老师住的时候，大王常常来这里睡觉。
Zhè kuài dìbǎn shì sōng de! Gāo lǎoshī zhù de shíhou, Dàwáng chángcháng lái zhèlǐ shuìjiào.
That floorboard is loose! When Mr. Gao lived here, Dawang often slept in this spot.
- Fang Xiaoyu 所以，高老师知道大王会来？
Suǒyǐ, Gāo lǎoshī zhīdào Dàwáng huì lái?
So Mr. Gao knew Dawang came here?
- Old Chen 他每天给大王一点鱼。他说，他什么也没看到。他是个好人。
Tā měi tiān gěi Dàwáng yìdiǎn yú. Tā shuō, tā shénme yě méi kàndào. Tā shì gè hǎorén.
He gave Dawang a little fish every day. He said he saw nothing. He's a good man.
- Fang Xiaoyu 陈叔叔，您很喜欢高老师，对不对？
Chén shūshu, nín hěn xǐhuan Gāo lǎoshī, duì bú duì?
Uncle Chen, you really like Mr. Gao, don't you?
- Old Chen 谁说的！他很吵！可是……他是我最好的朋友。
Shuí shuō de! Tā hěn chǎo! Kěshì… Tā shì wǒ zuìhǎo de péngyou.
Who says so! He was noisy! But... he's my best friend.
- Old Chen 他走了以后，这栋楼太安静了。
Tā zǒu le yǐhòu, zhè dòng lóu tài ānjìng le.
Since he left, this building is much too quiet.
- Fang Xiaoyu 陈叔叔，请您帮我。我想打开这块地板。
Chén shūshu, qǐng nín bāng wǒ. Wǒ xiǎng dǎkāi zhè kuài dìbǎn.
Uncle Chen, please help me. I want to open this floorboard.
- Old Chen 我来。你拿灯。不要出声。
Wǒ lái. Nǐ ná dēng. Búyào chūshēng.
I'll do it. You hold the light. Not a sound.
- Fang Xiaoyu 一，二，三！
Yī, èr, sān!
One, two, three!
- Fang Xiaoyu 下面有一个信封。里面是一张照片。
Xiàmiàn yǒu yí gè xìnfēng. Lǐmiàn shì yì zhāng zhàopiān.
There's an envelope under here. A photo is inside.
- Old Chen 给我看看这张照片。这是屋顶！这是高老师，还有……张阿姨？
Gěi wǒ kànkan zhè zhāng zhàopiān. Zhè shì wūdǐng! Zhè shì Gāo lǎoshī, háiyǒu… Zhāng āyí?
Let me see. This is the roof! This is Mr. Gao, and... Auntie Zhang?
- Fang Xiaoyu 他们站得很近，还一起拿着一个灯笼。
Tāmen zhàn de hěn jìn, hái yìqǐ názhe yí gè dēnglóng.
They're standing very close, and holding a lantern together.
- Old Chen 难怪她一直不让别人去屋顶！小雨，这里面有一个大秘密！
Nánguài tā yìzhí bú ràng biérén qù wūdǐng! Xiǎoyǔ, zhè lǐmiàn yǒu yí gè dà mìmì!
No wonder she never lets anyone go up to the roof! Xiaoyu, there's a big secret in this!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Dawang?
“一只橙色的大猫……它叫大王”
- Why does Old Chen ask Xiaoyu to keep quiet?
“这栋楼不能养猫”
- What does Old Chen really feel about Mr. Gao?
“他是我最好的朋友”
- What do they find under the floorboard?
“下面有一个信封。里面是一张照片”
- What is surprising about the photo?
“这是屋顶！这是高老师，还有……张阿姨”