Strange Tales for Beginners · chapter 3 of 5
The Duck Thief
偷鸭子的人
Grandma Qian's white duck is gone, and she has a promise for the thief: feathers. The next morning, someone in the village wakes up very fluffy.
Read what you hear
- Grandma Qian 我的鸭子！我的白鸭子不见了！
Wǒ de yāzi! Wǒ de bái yāzi bú jiàn le!
My duck! My white duck is gone!
- Da Niu 钱奶奶，怎么了？
Qián nǎinai, zěnme le?
Grandma Qian, what's wrong?
- Grandma Qian 大牛，你看到我的鸭子了吗？
Dà Niú, nǐ kàndào wǒ de yāzi le ma?
Da Niu, have you seen my duck?
Chapter 3 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.
- Da Niu 没有，我没有看到。我昨天很早就睡了。
Méiyǒu, wǒ méiyǒu kàndào. Wǒ zuótiān hěn zǎo jiù shuì le.
No, I haven't. I went to bed very early yesterday.
- Grandma Qian 是吗？可是门口有鸭子的羽毛。
Shì ma? Kěshì ménkǒu yǒu yāzi de yǔmáo.
Is that so? But there's a duck feather at my gate.
- Da Niu 羽毛？哦……可能是风吹来的。
Yǔmáo? Ó…… kěnéng shì fēngchuī lái de.
A feather? Oh... maybe the wind blew it here.
- Grandma Qian 有人偷了我的鸭子！
Yǒurén tōu le wǒ de yāzi!
Someone stole my duck!
- Grandma Qian 大家听着！谁偷了我的鸭子，身上会长羽毛！
Dàjiā tīng zhe! Shuí tōu le wǒ de yāzi, shēnshàng huì zhǎng yǔmáo!
Listen, everyone! Whoever stole my duck will grow feathers!
- Da Niu 羽毛？不会的，不会的……我只是吃了一只鸭子。
Yǔmáo? Bú huì de, bú huì de…… wǒ zhǐshì chī le yì zhī yāzi.
Feathers? No way, no way... I only ate a duck.
- Da Niu 钱奶奶，我要回家了。我……我肚子疼。
Qián nǎinai, wǒ yào huíjiā le. Wǒ…… wǒ dùzi téng.
Grandma Qian, I need to go home. I... my stomach hurts.
- Grandma Qian 你去吧。我明天再来找你。
Nǐ qù ba. Wǒ míngtiān zài lái zhǎo nǐ.
Go on. I'll come find you tomorrow.
- Da Niu 哎呀，睡得真好……
Āiyā, shuì de zhēn hǎo……
Ah, that was a good sleep...
- Da Niu 我的手！怎么这么白？是羽毛！
Wǒ de shǒu! Zěnme zhème bái? Shì yǔmáo!
My hands! Why are they so white? Feathers!
- Da Niu 腿上也有！背上也有！头上也有！
Tuǐ shàng yě yǒu! Bèishàng yě yǒu! Tóushàng yě yǒu!
On my legs too! On my back too! On my head too!
- Da Niu 我要变成鸭子了！我不想变成鸭子！
Wǒ yào biànchéng yāzi le! Wǒ bù xiǎng biànchéng yāzi!
I'm turning into a duck! I don't want to be a duck!
- Da Niu 我拔一个……哎呀，好疼！
Wǒ bá yí gè…… āiyā, hǎo téng!
I'll pull one out... Ow, it hurts!
- Da Niu 是钱奶奶！她说的是真的！我去找她！
Shì Qián nǎinai! Tā shuō de shì zhēnde! Wǒ qù zhǎo tā!
It's Grandma Qian! What she said is true! I'll go find her!
- Da Niu 钱奶奶！钱奶奶！快开门！
Qián nǎinai! Qián nǎinai! Kuài kāimén!
Grandma Qian! Grandma Qian! Open the door quickly!
- Grandma Qian 大牛？哈哈，你像一只大白鸭子！
Dà Niú? Hāhā, nǐ xiàng yì zhī dà bái yāzi!
Da Niu? Ha ha, you look like a big white duck!
- Da Niu 钱奶奶，对不起！是我吃了你的鸭子！
Qián nǎinai, duìbuqǐ! Shì wǒ chī le nǐ de yāzi!
Grandma Qian, I'm sorry! I ate your duck!
- Grandma Qian 我知道。我就知道是你。
Wǒ zhīdào. Wǒ jiù zhīdào shì nǐ.
I know. I knew it was you.
- Da Niu 我错了！请你帮帮我！我不想有羽毛！
Wǒ cuò le! Qǐng nǐ bāngbang wǒ! Wǒ bù xiǎng yǒu yǔmáo!
I was wrong! Please help me! I don't want feathers!
- Grandma Qian 好。你站好。我骂你一下，羽毛就没有了。
Hǎo. Nǐ zhàn hǎo. Wǒ mà nǐ yíxià, yǔmáo jiù méiyǒu le.
All right. Stand still. I'll scold you, and the feathers will go.
- Grandma Qian 你这个大笨蛋！你这个小偷！你吃了我的鸭子！
Nǐ zhège dà bèndàn! Nǐ zhège xiǎotōu! Nǐ chī le wǒ de yāzi!
You big fool! You thief! You ate my duck!
- Da Niu 是是是，我是大笨蛋！哎，羽毛在掉了！
Shì shì shì, wǒ shì dà bèndàn! Āi, yǔmáo zài diào le!
Yes, yes, I'm a big fool! Hey, the feathers are falling off!
- Grandma Qian 好了，没有了。以后不要偷东西！
Hǎo le, méiyǒu le. Yǐhòu bú yào tōu dōngxi!
There, they're gone. Don't steal again!
- Da Niu 我不会了！我买两只鸭子给你。
Wǒ bú huì le! Wǒ mǎi liǎng zhī yāzi gěi nǐ.
Never again! I'll buy you two ducks.
- Grandma Qian 你还有什么事？
Nǐ háiyǒu shénme shì?
Was there something else?
- Da Niu 老周今天晚上要走夜路回家！山上有两只狼，我昨天看到了！
Lǎo Zhōu jīntiān wǎnshang yào zǒu yèlù huíjiā! Shānshàng yǒu liǎng zhī láng, wǒ zuótiān kàndào le!
Lao Zhou is walking home tonight in the dark! There are two wolves on the hill. I saw them yesterday!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What has Grandma Qian lost?
“我的鸭子！我的白鸭子不见了！”
- What does she say will happen to the thief?
“谁偷了我的鸭子，身上会长羽毛！”
- What does Da Niu say about the feather at the gate?
“可能是风吹来的。”
- What happens to Da Niu the next morning?
“我的手！怎么这么白？是羽毛！”
- How do the feathers come off?
“我骂你一下，羽毛就没有了。”