Strange Tales for Beginners · chapter 4 of 5
The Butcher and the Wolves
屠夫和狼
Butcher Lao Zhou walks home in the dark with only a few bones and a knife, and two wolves are following him. How clever can one tired man be?
Read what you hear
- Da Niu 老周！老周！你今天不能回家！
Lǎo Zhōu! Lǎo Zhōu! Nǐ jīntiān bù néng huíjiā!
Lao Zhou! Lao Zhou! You can't go home today!
- Lao Zhou 大牛，怎么了？我妈在家。我要回家。
Dà Niú, zěnme le? Wǒ mā zàijiā. Wǒ yào huíjiā.
Da Niu, what's wrong? My mother is at home. I have to go home.
- Da Niu 山上有狼！大狼！有两只！它们很饿！
Shānshàng yǒu láng! Dà láng! Yǒu liǎng zhī! Tāmen hěn è!
There are wolves on the hill! Big ones! Two of them! They're hungry!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1 and 2 of Strange Tales for Beginners are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Lao Zhou 狼？我是屠夫！我有刀！我什么都不怕！
Láng? Wǒ shì túfū! Wǒ yǒu dāo! Wǒ shénme dōu bú pà!
Wolves? I'm a butcher! I have a knife! I'm not afraid of anything!
- Da Niu 你是屠夫，可是狼爱吃肉！你的肉呢？
Nǐ shì túfū, kěshì láng ài chī ròu! Nǐ de ròu ne?
You're a butcher, but wolves love meat! Where is your meat?
- Lao Zhou 我没有肉了。我有很多骨头。
Wǒ méiyǒu ròu le. Wǒ yǒu hěnduō gǔtou.
I have no meat left. I have lots of bones.
- Da Niu 老周，太晚了！狼会来的！
Lǎo Zhōu, tài wǎn le! Láng huì lái de!
Lao Zhou, it's too late! The wolves will come!
- Lao Zhou 太晚了。路上没有人……
Tài wǎn le. Lùshàng méiyǒu rén……
It's so late. There's no one on the road...
- Lao Zhou 什么？谁在那儿？我听到了！
Shénme? Shuí zài nàr? Wǒ tīngdào le!
What? Who's there? I heard something!
- Lao Zhou 狼！有两只狼！它们在看我！
Láng! Yǒu liǎng zhī láng! Tāmen zài kàn wǒ!
Wolves! Two wolves! They're looking at me!
- Lao Zhou 别过来！骨头给你们！
Bié guòlái! Gǔtou gěi nǐmen!
Stay back! Here are bones for you!
- Lao Zhou 一只狼吃骨头。一只狼还在走！
Yì zhī láng chī gǔtou. Yì zhī láng hái zài zǒu!
One wolf is eating the bone. One wolf keeps coming!
- Lao Zhou 它们来了！再给你们一个骨头！
Tāmen lái le! Zài gěi nǐmen yí gè gǔtou!
Here they come! Have another bone!
- Lao Zhou 没有骨头了！狼还在！我做什么？
Méiyǒu gǔtou le! Láng hái zài! Wǒ zuò shénme?
No bones left! The wolves are still here! What do I do?
- Lao Zhou 那儿有麦子！我去那儿！
Nàr yǒu màizi! Wǒ qù nàr!
There's wheat over there! I'll go there!
- Lao Zhou 来吧！我有大刀！我在这儿，你们来吧！
Lái ba! Wǒ yǒu dàdāo! Wǒ zài zhèr, nǐmen lái ba!
Come on! I have a big knife! I'm right here, come and get me!
- Lao Zhou 一只狼走了。一只狼坐下来，睡了。
Yì zhī láng zǒu le. Yì zhī láng zuòxià lái, shuì le.
One wolf has left. One wolf sits down and goes to sleep.
- Lao Zhou 不对！它在看我！它没有睡！
Bú duì! Tā zài kàn wǒ! Tā méiyǒu shuì!
Wait! It's watching me! It isn't asleep!
- Lao Zhou 看刀！
Kàn dāo!
Watch out for my knife!
- Lao Zhou 好了。这只狼不动了。
Hǎo le. Zhè zhī láng bù dòng le.
There. This wolf isn't moving.
- Lao Zhou 看！麦子在动！
Kàn! Màizi zài dòng!
Look! The wheat is moving!
- Lao Zhou 那只狼在麦子里！它想找我！
Nà zhī láng zài màizi lǐ! Tā xiǎng zhǎo wǒ!
That wolf is in the wheat! It wants to get me!
- Lao Zhou 一只睡，一只找！你们不好！看刀！
Yì zhī shuì, yì zhī zhǎo! Nǐmen bù hǎo! Kàn dāo!
One sleeps, one hunts! You bad wolves! Watch out for my knife!
- Narrator 天亮了。屠夫走到一个山上的庙。
Tiān liàng le. Túfū zǒu dào yí gè shānshàng de miào.
Dawn came. The butcher reached a temple on the hill.
- Lao Zhou 我还活着！我好累！我想喝水……
Wǒ hái huózhe! Wǒ hǎo lèi! Wǒ xiǎng hē shuǐ……
I'm alive! I'm so tired! I want some water...
- The Old Monk 你好。你怎么了？请进，请进。
Nǐ hǎo. Nǐ zěnme le? Qǐng jìn, qǐng jìn.
Hello. What happened to you? Please come in.
- Lao Zhou 师父，我想坐一下。我没有睡。
Shīfu, wǒ xiǎng zuò yíxià. Wǒ méiyǒu shuì.
Master, I'd like to sit for a while. I haven't slept.
- The Old Monk 请坐。我给你茶。
Qǐng zuò. Wǒ gěi nǐ chá.
Please sit. I'll get you some tea.
- Lao Zhou 咦？那个人为什么一直看墙？
Yí? Nàge rén wèishénme yìzhí kàn qiáng?
Huh? Why is that man staring at the wall the whole time?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Da Niu warn Lao Zhou?
“山上有狼！大狼！有两只！它们很饿！”
- What does the butcher throw to the wolves?
“别过来！骨头给你们！”
- Where does the butcher go to protect himself?
“那儿有麦子！我去那儿！”
- How does one wolf try to trick him?
“一只狼坐下来，睡了。”……“它没有睡！”
- What does the butcher notice at the temple?
“那个人为什么一直看墙？”