Sinbad the Sailor · chapter 4 of 5
The Old Man of the Sea
海边的老爷爷
Sinbad kindly carries a frail old man across a stream, but the old man will not let go. Then Sinbad hears a voice from a ship that he never thought he would hear again.
Read what you hear
- Sinbad the Sailor 今天真热啊！前面有水，我先去喝一点儿水吧。
Jīntiān zhēnrè a! Qiánmiàn yǒushuǐ, wǒ xiān qù hē yìdiǎnr shuǐba.
It's so hot today! There's water ahead. I'll go have a drink first.
- The Old Man of the Sea 年轻人！年轻人！请你帮帮我这个老人！
Niánqīngrén! Niánqīngrén! Qǐng nǐ bāngbāngwǒ zhège lǎorén!
Young man! Young man! Please help this old man!
- Sinbad the Sailor 咦，这里有一位老爷爷！您怎么一个人在这个岛上？
Yí, zhèlǐ yǒu yíwèi lǎoyéye! Nín zěnme yígè rén zài zhège dǎoshàng?
Oh, there's an old grandfather here! Why are you all alone on this island?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Sinbad the Sailor 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.
- The Old Man of the Sea 我的腿走不动了。你能背我过那条小河吗？
Wǒ de tuǐ zǒubúdòng le. Nǐ néng bèi wǒ guò nàtiáo xiǎohé ma?
My legs can't walk anymore. Can you carry me across that little river?
- Sinbad the Sailor 当然可以，老爷爷。来，上来吧，我慢慢地走。
Dāngrán kěyǐ, lǎoyéye. Lái, shànglái ba, wǒ mànmàn dì zǒu.
Of course, grandfather. Come, climb up. I'll walk slowly.
- The Old Man of the Sea 谢谢你，年轻人。你真是一个好人。
Xièxie nǐ, niánqīngrén. Nǐ zhēnshì yígè hǎorén.
Thank you, young man. You are truly a good person.
- Sinbad the Sailor 好了，我们过河了。老爷爷，您可以下来了。
Hǎo le, wǒmen guòhé le. Lǎoyéye, nín kěyǐ xiàlái le.
There, we've crossed the river. Grandfather, you can get down now.
- The Old Man of the Sea 我不下来。
Wǒ bú xiàlái.
I'm not getting down.
- Sinbad the Sailor 您说什么？河已经过完了，您为什么不下来？
Nín shuō shénme? Hé yǐjīng guò wán le, nín wèishénme bú xiàlái?
What did you say? We've already crossed. Why won't you get down?
- The Old Man of the Sea 因为我喜欢坐在这儿。你走，我也走，你停，我也停。
Yīnwèi wǒ xǐhuan zuòzài zhèr. Nǐ zǒu, wǒ yě zǒu, nǐ tíng, wǒ yě tíng.
Because I like sitting here. When you walk, I go; when you stop, I stop.
- Sinbad the Sailor 您的腿太紧了！我喘不过气来了！请您快下来！
Nín de tuǐ tàijǐn le! Wǒ chuǎn búguò qìlái le! Qǐng nín kuài xiàlái!
Your legs are too tight! I can't breathe! Please get down!
- The Old Man of the Sea 不要说话，快走！我要去那边吃水果，走快一点儿！
Búyào shuōhuà, kuài zǒu! Wǒyào qù nàbiān chīshuǐguǒ, zǒukuài yìdiǎnr!
Don't talk, walk! I want to eat fruit over there. Go faster!
- Sinbad the Sailor 一天，两天，三天……他不是老爷爷，他是一个大麻烦！
Yìtiān, liǎngtiān, sāntiān… Tā búshì lǎoyéye, tā shì yígè dà máfán!
One day, two days, three days... He's no grandfather, he's a big problem!
- Sinbad the Sailor 我一定要想个办法。咦，这里有很多葡萄！
Wǒ yídìng yào xiǎnggèbànfǎ. Yí, zhèlǐ yǒu hěnduō pútáo!
I have to think of a way out. Oh, there are lots of grapes here!
- Sinbad the Sailor 我把葡萄水放在太阳下面，它会变成很厉害的甜水……
Wǒ bǎ pútáo shuǐ fàngzài tàiyáng xiàmiàn, tāhuì biànchéng hěn lìhài de tiánshuǐ…
If I leave the grape juice in the sun, it will turn into a strong sweet drink...
- Sinbad the Sailor 老爷爷，您要不要喝一点儿葡萄水？很甜的。
Lǎoyéye, nín yào búyào hē yìdiǎnr pútáo shuǐ? Hěntián de.
Grandfather, would you like some grape drink? It's very sweet.
- The Old Man of the Sea 甜的？给我，给我！我最喜欢吃甜的了！
Tián de? Gěi wǒ, gěi wǒ! Wǒ zuì xǐhuan chī tián de le!
Sweet? Give it to me, give it to me! I love sweet things most of all!
- The Old Man of the Sea 真好喝！再来一杯！
Zhēn hǎohē! Zài lái yìbēi!
So good! Another cup!
- The Old Man of the Sea 地在转……我的腿……怎么没有力气了……
Dì zài zhuǎn… Wǒ de tuǐ… Zěnme méiyǒu lìqi le…
The ground is spinning... my legs... why have they lost their strength...
- Sinbad the Sailor 他的腿松了！对不起，老爷爷，我要走了。
Tā de tuǐ sōng le! Duìbùqǐ, lǎoyéye, wǒyào zǒu le.
His legs have loosened! Sorry, grandfather, I have to go.
- The Old Man of the Sea 别走……我还想坐……再坐一会儿……
Bié zǒu… Wǒ hái xiǎng zuò… Zài zuò yíhuìr…
Don't go... I still want to ride... just a little longer...
- Sinbad the Sailor 我自由了！我要跑得远远的，再也不回来了！
Wǒ zìyóu le! Wǒyào pǎo dé yuǎnyuǎn de, zàiyě bù huílái le!
I'm free! I'm going to run far, far away and never come back!
- Sinbad the Sailor 海边！你看，前面就是海！
Hǎibiān! Nǐ kàn, qiánmiàn jiùshì hǎi!
The shore! Look, the sea is right ahead!
- Sinbad the Sailor 那是什么？是一条船！船上有人吗？
Nà shì shénme? Shì yìtiáo chuán! Chuánshàng yǒurén ma?
What's that? It's a ship! Is anyone on board?
- Captain 喂！岸上的人！你是谁？为什么一个人在这儿？
Wèi! Ànshàng de rén! Nǐ shì shuí? Wèishénme yígè rén zài zhèr?
Hello! You on the shore! Who are you? Why are you here alone?
- Sinbad the Sailor 这个声音……我认识这个声音！
Zhège shēngyīn… Wǒ rènshi zhège shēngyīn!
That voice... I know that voice!
- Captain 你是……你是辛巴达吗？
Nǐ shì… Nǐ shì Xīnbādá ma?
Are you... are you Sinbad?
- Sinbad the Sailor 船长！是我！是我啊！
Chuánzhǎng! Shì wǒ! Shì wǒ a!
Captain! It's me! It's me!
- Captain 你还活着？！我们以为你早就不在了！
Nǐ hái huózhe?! Wǒmen yǐwéi nǐ zǎojiù bú zài le!
You're alive?! We thought you were gone long ago!
- Captain 我有话要对你说！你的东西，我一直都带在船上！
Wǒ yǒu huà yào duì nǐ shuō! Nǐ de dōngxi, wǒ yìzhí dōu dài zài chuánshàng!
I have something to tell you! Your things, I've kept them on the ship all this time!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the old man ask Sinbad to do?
“你能背我过那条小河吗”
- What happens after they cross the river?
“我不下来”
- How long does Sinbad carry the old man before he makes a plan?
“一天，两天，三天”
- How does Sinbad get free?
“您要不要喝一点儿葡萄水”
- Who does Sinbad hear on the ship?
“你是……你是辛巴达吗”