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.
Hear the chapter
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!
- 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?
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？”