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 ($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 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？”