Sleeping Beauty · chapter 2 of 4
The Little Door
小门
On her fifteenth birthday Rose is left alone in the big castle. She climbs an old staircase and finds a tiny door nobody ever told her about.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 十五年过去了。今天，玫瑰十五岁了。
Shíwǔ nián guòqù le. Jīntiān, Méigui shíwǔ suì le.
Fifteen years passed. Today, Rose turned fifteen.
- The Queen 玫瑰，生日快乐！可是我和爸爸要出去一下。
Méigui, shēngrì kuàilè! Kěshì wǒ hé bàba yào chūqù yíxià.
Happy birthday, Rose! But Papa and I have to go out for a little while.
- Briar Rose 你们今天不在家吗？
Nǐmen jīntiān bú zài jiā ma?
You won't be home today?
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Sleeping Beauty 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 Queen 我们很快回来。你在家玩吧。
Wǒmen hěn kuài huílái. Nǐ zài jiā wán ba.
We'll be back soon. Play at home, dear.
- Briar Rose 好吧。那你们早点回来！
Hǎo ba. Nà nǐmen zǎodiǎn huílái!
All right. Then come home early!
- Briar Rose 十五岁的生日，家里没有人。真没意思。
Shíwǔ suì de shēngrì, jiā lǐ méiyǒu rén. Zhēn méi yìsi.
My fifteenth birthday, and nobody is home. How boring.
- Briar Rose 我去看看这个大房子吧。
Wǒ qù kànkan zhège dà fángzi ba.
I'll go and explore this big house.
- Briar Rose 这个房间，我看过。那个房间，我也看过。
Zhège fángjiān, wǒ kàn guo. Nàge fángjiān, wǒ yě kàn guo.
I've seen this room. I've seen that room too.
- Briar Rose 啊！这里有一个我没看过的楼梯！
À! Zhèlǐ yǒu yí gè wǒ méi kàn guo de lóutī!
Oh? Here's a staircase I've never seen!
- Briar Rose 楼梯好长，好黑……我有点怕。可是我想上去。
Lóutī hǎo cháng, hǎo hēi… Wǒ yǒudiǎn pà. Kěshì wǒ xiǎng shàngqù.
The stairs are so long and dark... I'm a little scared. But I want to go up.
- Briar Rose 上面有一个小门！门上有一把旧钥匙！
Shàngmiàn yǒu yí gè xiǎo mén! Mén shàng yǒu yì bǎ jiù yàoshi!
There's a little door up here! And an old key in it!
- Briar Rose 这把钥匙好旧。它能打开吗？
Zhè bǎ yàoshi hǎo jiù. Tā néng dǎkāi ma?
This key is so old. Will it open the door?
- Briar Rose 钥匙转了！门开了！
Yàoshi zhuàn le! Mén kāi le!
The key turned! The door is open!
- The Old Spinner 你好，孩子。这么高的楼梯，你是怎么上来的？
Nǐ hǎo, háizi. Zhème gāo de lóutī, nǐ shì zěnme shàng lái de?
Hello, child. How did you climb those tall stairs?
- Briar Rose 我是玫瑰。我想看看这个大房子。老奶奶，您在做什么？
Wǒ shì Méigui. Wǒ xiǎng kànkan zhège dà fángzi. Lǎo nǎinai, nín zài zuò shénme?
I'm Rose. I wanted to explore this big house. Grandmother, what are you doing?
- The Old Spinner 我一个人住在这儿，很多年了。我在做线。你看，这个东西一直在转。
Wǒ yí gè rén zhù zài zhèr, hěn duō nián le. Wǒ zài zuò xiàn. Nǐ kàn, zhège dōngxi yìzhí zài zhuàn.
I've lived here alone for many years. I'm making thread. Look, this thing keeps turning.
- Briar Rose 我没有看过这个！好玩！让我试试！
Wǒ méiyǒu kàn guo zhège! Hǎo wán! Ràng wǒ shìshi!
I've never seen one of these! How fun! Let me try!
- The Old Spinner 来，孩子。手要小心啊。
Lái, háizi. Shǒu yào xiǎoxīn a.
Come on, child. Be careful with your hand.
- Briar Rose 今天我十五岁了。这是我的生日礼物！
Jīntiān wǒ shíwǔ suì le. Zhè shì wǒ de shēngrì lǐwù!
I turned fifteen today. This is my birthday present!
- Briar Rose 这样吗？它转得真快……啊！
Zhèyàng ma? Tā zhuàn de zhēn kuài… À!
Like this? It goes so fast... ah!
- Briar Rose 我的手！好疼！
Wǒ de shǒu! Hǎo téng!
My hand! It hurts!
- The Old Spinner 孩子！你怎么了？
Háizi! Nǐ zěnme le?
Child! What's wrong?
- Briar Rose 我……好困……怎么这么困……
Wǒ… hǎo kùn… zěnme zhème kùn…
I... I'm so sleepy... why am I so sleepy...
- The Old Spinner 玫瑰？你是公主？公主，别睡！
Méigui? Nǐ shì gōngzhǔ? Gōngzhǔ, bié shuì!
Rose? You are the princess? Princess, don't sleep!
- The Old Spinner 来人啊！公主睡着了，怎么叫也不醒！
Lái rén a! Gōngzhǔ shuìzháo le, zěnme jiào yě bù xǐng!
Somebody help! The princess has fallen asleep, and I can't wake her!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why is Rose bored on her fifteenth birthday?
“十五岁的生日，家里没有人。真没意思。”
- What does Rose find at the top of the stairs?
“上面有一个小门！门上有一把旧钥匙！”
- What is the old woman doing in the tower?
“我在做线。”
- What does Rose want to do with the spinning wheel?
“好玩！让我试试！”
- What happens right after Rose hurts her hand?
“我……好困……怎么这么困……”