Strange Tales for Beginners · chapter 5 of 5
The Painted Wall
画里的花园
Scholar Zhu can't stop looking at a girl in a wall painting. One day she looks back, and the painted garden opens like a door.
Read what you hear
- The Old Monk 朱先生，请看。这是我们庙里的大画。
Zhū xiānsheng, qǐng kàn. Zhè shì wǒmen miàolǐ de dà huà.
Mr. Zhu, please look. This is our temple's big painting.
- Mr. Zhu 哇！好大的画！好多花！好多女孩！
Wā! Hǎo dà de huà! Hǎoduō huā! Hǎoduō nǚhái!
Wow! What a big painting! So many flowers! So many girls!
- The Old Monk 你慢慢看。我去做饭。
Nǐ mànmàn kàn. Wǒ qù zuòfàn.
Take your time. I'll go cook.
Chapter 5 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.
- Mr. Zhu 这个女孩最好看。她的头发上，有一朵红花。
Zhège nǚhái zuì hǎokàn. Tā de tóufa shàng, yǒu yì duǒ hóng huā.
This girl is the prettiest. She has a red flower in her hair.
- Mr. Zhu 她在笑。她在看我吗？
Tā zài xiào. Tā zài kàn wǒ ma?
She's smiling. Is she looking at me?
- Mr. Zhu 你好……你叫什么名字？
Nǐ hǎo…… nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
Hello... what's your name?
- Mr. Zhu 咦？花在动……我怎么在飞？
Yí? Huā zài dòng…… wǒ zěnme zài fēi?
Huh? The flowers are moving... why am I flying?
- Yu'er 你好，先生。你是谁？
Nǐ hǎo, xiānsheng. Nǐ shì shuí?
Hello, sir. Who are you?
- Mr. Zhu 我是朱先生。这是哪儿？你是……画里的女孩？
Wǒ shì Zhū xiānsheng. Zhè shì nǎr? Nǐ shì…… huà lǐ de nǚhái?
I'm Mr. Zhu. Where is this? Are you... the girl in the painting?
- Yu'er 我是玉儿。这里是画里的花园。
Wǒ shì Yù'er. Zhèlǐ shì huà lǐ de huāyuán.
I'm Yu'er. This is the garden inside the painting.
- Mr. Zhu 我在画里？太奇怪了！可是，这里真好看。
Wǒ zài huà lǐ? Tài qíguài le! Kěshì, zhèlǐ zhēn hǎokàn.
I'm inside the painting? How strange! But it's so beautiful here.
- Yu'er 你看我，看了很久。我知道。
Nǐ kàn wǒ, kàn le hěn jiǔ. Wǒ zhīdào.
You looked at me for a long time. I know.
- Mr. Zhu 对不起！可是你真好看。
Duìbuqǐ! Kěshì nǐ zhēn hǎokàn.
I'm sorry! But you really are beautiful.
- Yu'er 来，我带你看我的花园。这里有花，有鸟，有很大的树。
Lái, wǒ dài nǐ kàn wǒ de huāyuán. Zhèlǐ yǒu huā, yǒu niǎo, yǒu hěndà de shù.
Come, I'll show you the garden. There are flowers, birds and big trees.
- The Guard 谁在这里？有人进来了吗？
Shuí zài zhèlǐ? Yǒurén jìnlái le ma?
Who's there? Has someone come in?
- Yu'er 嘘！朱先生，快藏起来！
Xū! Zhū xiānsheng, kuài cáng qǐlái!
Shh! Mr. Zhu, hide quickly!
- Mr. Zhu 我藏在哪儿？
Wǒ cáng zài nǎr?
Where do I hide?
- Yu'er 在我后面。别说话。
Zài wǒ hòumiàn. Bié shuōhuà.
Behind me. Don't say a word.
- The Guard 没有人？奇怪……我再看看。
Méiyǒu rén? Qíguài…… wǒ zài kànkan.
Nobody? Strange... I'll look again.
- Yu'er 他走了。你没事吧？
Tā zǒu le. Nǐ méishì ba?
He's gone. Are you all right?
- The Old Monk 朱先生！朱先生！回来吧！
Zhū xiānsheng! Zhū xiānsheng! Huílái ba!
Mr. Zhu! Mr. Zhu! Come back!
- Mr. Zhu 是师父！玉儿，我要回去了。
Shì shīfu! Yù'er, wǒ yào huíqù le.
It's the master! Yu'er, I have to go back.
- Yu'er 去吧。我会一直在这儿等你。
Qù ba. Wǒ huì yìzhí zài zhèr děng nǐ.
Go. I'll always be here waiting for you.
- Mr. Zhu 咦？我在……大厅里？我回来了！
Yí? Wǒ zài…… dàtīng lǐ? Wǒ huílái le!
Huh? I'm... in the hall? I'm back!
- The Old Monk 你站在这儿很久了，一直看着墙。
Nǐ zhàn zài zhèr hěn jiǔ le, yìzhí kànzhe qiáng.
You stood there a long time, staring at the wall.
- Mr. Zhu 师父，画里有一个大花园！有一个女孩，她叫玉儿！
Shīfu, huà lǐ yǒu yí gè dà huāyuán! Yǒu yí gè nǚhái, tā jiào Yù'er!
Master, there's a garden in the painting! There's a girl named Yu'er!
- The Old Monk 你看，她的头发，不一样了。
Nǐ kàn, tā de tóufa, bù yíyàng le.
Look, her hair is different now.
- Mr. Zhu 玉儿，谢谢你。我明天还会来看你！
Yù'er, xièxie nǐ. Wǒ míngtiān hái huì lái kàn nǐ!
Yu'er, thank you. I'll come see you again tomorrow!
- Yu'er 好。我等你，朱先生。
Hǎo. Wǒ děng nǐ, Zhū xiānsheng.
Good. I'll be waiting for you, Mr. Zhu.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Zhu notice about the girl in the painting?
“她的头发上，有一朵红花。”
- What is the girl's name?
“我是玉儿。这里是画里的花园。”
- What does Yu'er do when the guard comes?
“快藏起来！”……“在我后面。别说话。”
- Who calls Zhu back?
“朱先生！朱先生！回来吧！”
- What has changed in the painting when Zhu returns?
“你看，她的头发，不一样了。”