The Bremen Town Musicians · chapter 1 of 3
Too Old to Work
我们都老了
Four old animals are told they are too old to work. Then they set off for Bremen to be musicians, and find a light in the forest.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久以前，有一头老驴。他工作了很多年。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yì tóu lǎo lǘ. Tā gōngzuò le hěn duō nián.
Long ago, there was an old donkey. He had worked for many years.
- The Master 老驴！你太老了，不能工作了！走吧！
Lǎo lǘ! Nǐ tài lǎo le, bù néng gōngzuò le! Zǒu ba!
Old donkey! You're too old. You can't work anymore! Get out!
- Old Donkey 主人不要我了……我去哪儿呢？
Zhǔrén bú yào wǒ le… wǒ qù nǎr ne?
My master doesn't want me anymore... Where can I go?
- Old Donkey 对了！我会唱歌！我去不来梅，做音乐家！
Duì le! Wǒ huì chànggē! Wǒ qù Bùláiméi, zuò yīnyuèjiā!
I know! I can sing! I'll go to Bremen and be a musician!
- Old Donkey 我的声音很大。大家都爱听！
Wǒ de shēngyīn hěn dà. Dàjiā dōu ài tīng!
My voice is very loud. Everyone loves to listen!
- Old Donkey 咿啊！咿啊！你听，多好听！
Yī ā! Yī ā! Nǐ tīng, duō hǎotīng!
Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Ha ha, how lovely!
- Dahuang 我走不动了。我好累啊。
Wǒ zǒu bú dòng le. Wǒ hǎo lèi a.
I can't walk any farther. I'm so tired.
- Old Donkey 狗朋友，你怎么了？
Gǒu péngyou, nǐ zěnme le?
Dog friend, what's wrong?
- Dahuang 我叫大黄。我老了，跑不快了。主人不给我饭吃。
Wǒ jiào Dà Huáng. Wǒ lǎo le, pǎo bú kuài le. Zhǔrén bù gěi wǒ fàn chī.
I'm Dahuang. I'm old and can't run fast. My master won't give me any food.
- Old Donkey 别难过！我去不来梅，做音乐家。你也来吧！
Bié nánguò! Wǒ qù Bùláiméi, zuò yīnyuèjiā. Nǐ yě lái ba!
Don't be sad! I'm going to Bremen to be a musician. Come with me!
- Dahuang 音乐家？可是，我不会唱歌啊。
Yīnyuèjiā? Kěshì, wǒ bú huì chànggē a.
A musician? But I can't sing.
- Old Donkey 你会叫啊！你叫得很大声！
Nǐ huì jiào a! Nǐ jiào de hěn dàshēng!
You can bark! You bark very loudly!
- Dahuang 汪汪！真的很大声！好，我去！
Wāng wāng! Zhēn de hěn dàshēng! Hǎo, wǒ qù!
Woof woof! It really is loud! All right, I'll come!
- Mimi 喵……我好难过啊。
Miāo… wǒ hǎo nánguò a.
Meow... I'm so sad.
- Dahuang 小猫，你怎么在哭？
Xiǎo māo, nǐ zěnme zài kū?
Little cat, why are you crying?
- Mimi 我叫咪咪。我老了，不能抓老鼠了。主人也不要我了。
Wǒ jiào Mīmi. Wǒ lǎo le, bù néng zhuā lǎoshǔ le. Zhǔrén yě bú yào wǒ le.
I'm Mimi. I'm old and can't catch mice anymore. My mistress doesn't want me either.
- Old Donkey 咪咪，你的声音很好听。来做音乐家吧！
Mīmi, nǐ de shēngyīn hěn hǎotīng. Lái zuò yīnyuèjiā ba!
Mimi, you have a lovely voice. Come and be a musician!
- Mimi 真的吗？你听！喵！喵！喵！
Zhēn de ma? Nǐ tīng! Miāo! Miāo! Miāo!
Really? Listen! Meow! Meow! Meow!
- Dahuang 好听！我们三个是好朋友了！
Hǎotīng! Wǒmen sān gè shì hǎo péngyou le!
Lovely! The three of us are good friends now!
- Narrator 天黑了。三个朋友走进大森林。
Tiān hēi le. Sān gè péngyou zǒu jìn dà sēnlín.
Night fell. The three friends walked into the big forest.
- Dahong 喔喔喔！喔喔喔！我要大叫！大叫！
Wō wō wō! Wō wō wō! Wǒ yào dà jiào! Dà jiào!
Cock-a-doodle-doo! I'm going to shout! Shout!
- Old Donkey 公鸡，你怎么了？为什么大叫？
Gōngjī, nǐ zěnme le? Wèishénme dà jiào?
Rooster, what's the matter? Why are you shouting?
- Dahong 我叫大红。明天有客人来，主人要用我做汤！
Wǒ jiào Dà Hóng. Míngtiān yǒu kèrén lái, zhǔrén yào yòng wǒ zuò tāng!
I'm Dahong. Guests are coming tomorrow, and my master wants to make soup out of me!
- Mimi 做汤？不行！大红，你和我们走吧！
Zuò tāng? Bù xíng! Dà Hóng, nǐ hé wǒmen zǒu ba!
Soup? No way! Dahong, come with us!
- Dahong 去哪儿？我什么都不会，只会大叫。
Qù nǎr? Wǒ shénme dōu bú huì, zhǐ huì dà jiào.
Where to? I can't do anything. I can only shout.
- Old Donkey 去不来梅！大叫也是唱歌！你来做音乐家！
Qù Bùláiméi! Dà jiào yě shì chànggē! Nǐ lái zuò yīnyuèjiā!
To Bremen! Shouting counts as singing! Be our musician!
- Dahong 太好了！喔喔喔！我最会唱歌了！
Tài hǎo le! Wō wō wō! Wǒ zuì huì chànggē le!
Wonderful! Cock-a-doodle-doo! I'm the best singer ever!
- Mimi 你们看！那儿有灯！
Nǐmen kàn! Nàr yǒu dēng!
Look, everyone! There's a light ahead!
- Dahong 我飞上树看看！……啊！房子里有两个人，有刀，有钱！
Wǒ fēi shàng shù kànkan!… Ā! Fángzi lǐ yǒu liǎng gè rén, yǒu dāo, yǒu qián!
I'll fly up and look! ... Oh! There are two men in the house, with knives and money!
- Mimi 刀和钱？他们是强盗！
Dāo hé qián? Tāmen shì qiángdào!
Knives and money? They're robbers!
What changed in the story?
- Why does the farmer send the donkey away?
“你太老了，不能工作了”
- Where does the donkey want to go?
“我去不来梅，做音乐家”
- Why is the dog sad?
“我老了，跑不快了。主人不给我饭吃”
- Why is the rooster shouting?
“明天有客人来，主人要用我做汤”
- What does the rooster see from the tree?
“房子里有两个人，有刀，有钱”