Strange Tales for Beginners · chapter 2 of 5
A Peach from Heaven
天上的桃
It is winter, and a magician says his little boy will fetch a peach from heaven. The rope goes up. The boy goes up. Then the rope falls.
Read what you hear
- Lao Liu 各位，各位！来看老刘的魔术！
Gèwèi, gèwèi! Lái kàn Lǎo Liú de móshù!
Everyone, everyone! Come see Lao Liu's magic!
- Xiao Bao 爸爸，今天真冷。我们回家吧。
Bàba, jīntiān zhēn lěng. Wǒmen huíjiā ba.
Papa, it's so cold today. Let's go home.
- Lao Liu 不行！今天，我要给大家一个大魔术！
Bù xíng! Jīntiān, wǒ yào gěi dàjiā yí gè dà móshù!
No! Today I'll show everyone a big magic trick!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Strange Tales for Beginners 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.
- Lao Liu 现在是冬天，地上没有桃。可是天上有！
Xiànzài shì dōngtiān, dìshàng méiyǒu táo. Kěshì tiānshàng yǒu!
It's winter, and there are no peaches on the ground. But there are in heaven!
- Xiao Bao 天上？爸爸，你想做什么？
Tiānshàng? Bàba, nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme?
In heaven? Papa, what are you going to do?
- Lao Liu 小宝，你去天上，偷一个桃回来！
Xiǎobǎo, nǐ qù tiānshàng, tōu yí gè táo huílái!
Xiao Bao, you go up to heaven and steal a peach!
- Xiao Bao 什么？我不去！那么高，我怕！
Shénme? Wǒ bù qù! Nàme gāo, wǒ pà!
What? I won't go! It's so high, I'm scared!
- Lao Liu 别怕。爸爸有绳子。你看！
Bié pà. Bàba yǒu shéngzi. Nǐ kàn!
Don't be afraid. Papa has a rope. Look!
- Lao Liu 一，二，三！绳子，上天去！
Yī, èr, sān! Shéngzi, shàngtiān qù!
One, two, three! Rope, go up to the sky!
- Xiao Bao 绳子站起来了！我看不到它的头了！
Shéngzi zhàn qǐlái le! Wǒ kàn bú dào tā de tóu le!
The rope is standing up! I can't see its end!
- Lao Liu 小宝，快上去！爸爸在下面看着你。
Xiǎobǎo, kuài shàngqù! Bàba zài xiàmiàn kànzhe nǐ.
Xiao Bao, climb up! Papa is watching you from below.
- Xiao Bao 好……我爬了。一，二，三，四……
Hǎo…… wǒ pá le. Yī, èr, sān, sì……
Okay... I'm climbing. One, two, three, four...
- Xiao Bao 爸爸！我在云里了！你看不到我了吧？
Bàba! Wǒ zài yún lǐ le! Nǐ kàn bú dào wǒ le ba?
Papa! I'm in the clouds! You can't see me now, right?
- Lao Liu 小宝！你看到桃了吗？
Xiǎobǎo! Nǐ kàndào táo le ma?
Xiao Bao! Do you see any peaches?
- Xiao Bao 看到了！好大，好红的桃！我拿一个！
Kàndào le! Hǎo dà, hǎo hóng de táo! Wǒ ná yí gè!
I see them! Big, red peaches! I'll take one!
- Lao Liu 快一点！拿了就回来！
Kuài yìdiǎn! Ná le jiù huílái!
Hurry! Take one and come back!
- Xiao Bao 啊！有人来了！他们大喊，谁在偷桃！
A! Yǒurén lái le! Tāmen dà hǎn, shuí zài tōu táo!
Ah! People are coming! They're shouting, who's stealing peaches!
- Xiao Bao 爸爸！桃给你！接住！
Bàba! Táo gěi nǐ! Jiē zhù!
Papa! Here's the peach! Catch it!
- Lao Liu 好大的桃！各位，请吃！不要钱！
Hǎo dà de táo! Gèwèi, qǐng chī! Bú yào qián!
What a big peach! Everyone, please eat! It's free!
- Lao Liu 小宝？小宝！你怎么不下来？
Xiǎobǎo? Xiǎobǎo! Nǐ zěnme bú xiàlái?
Xiao Bao? Xiao Bao! Why don't you come down?
- Lao Liu 绳子……绳子掉下来了！小宝在哪儿？
Shéngzi…… shéngzi diào xiàlái le! Xiǎobǎo zài nǎr?
The rope... the rope has fallen down! Where is Xiao Bao?
- Lao Liu 小宝……你在这个箱子里吗？
Xiǎobǎo…… nǐ zài zhège xiāngzi lǐ ma?
Xiao Bao... are you in this box?
- Xiao Bao 爸爸！我在这儿！我回来了！
Bàba! Wǒ zài zhèr! Wǒ huílái le!
Papa! I'm here! I'm back!
- Lao Liu 我的小宝！你没事吧？
Wǒ de Xiǎobǎo! Nǐ méishì ba?
My Xiao Bao! Are you all right?
- Xiao Bao 没事！他们抓不到我。我在箱子里睡了一下！
Méishì! Tāmen zhuā bú dào wǒ. Wǒ zài xiāngzi lǐ shuì le yíxià!
I'm fine! They couldn't catch me. I took a nap in the box!
- Lao Liu 各位，谢谢！我们的桃好吃吗？
Gèwèi, xièxie! Wǒmen de táo hǎochī ma?
Thank you, everyone! Was our peach tasty?
- Xiao Bao 爸爸，下次我不去了。天上太高了！
Bàba, xià cì wǒ bù qù le. Tiānshàng tài gāo le!
Papa, I'm not going next time. Heaven is too high!
- Grandma Qian 我的鸭子！谁看到我的鸭子了？
Wǒ de yāzi! Shuí kàndào wǒ de yāzi le?
My duck! Has anyone seen my duck?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why doesn't Xiao Bao want to go?
“我不去！那么高，我怕！”
- What does the magician say is in heaven?
“现在是冬天，地上没有桃。可是天上有！”
- What does Xiao Bao throw down from above?
“爸爸！桃给你！接住！”
- Where is Xiao Bao when the magician finds him?
“小宝……你在这个箱子里吗？”……“我在这儿！我回来了！”
- What does the woman shout at the end?
“我的鸭子！谁看到我的鸭子了？”