The Carp and the Dragon Gate · chapter 2 of 3
The Friends Give Up
朋友回家了
The river gets fast and Xiao Hong's friends have excuses. She reaches the great waterfall alone, and thunder rolls in.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 三天过去了。河水越来越快。
Sān tiān guòqù le. Héshuǐ yuè lái yuè kuài.
Three days passed. The river ran faster and faster.
- Pang Pang 好累啊！黄河的水太快了！
Hǎo lèi a! Huáng Hé de shuǐ tài kuài le!
So tired! The water is too fast!
- Xiao Hong 加油，胖胖！我们快到龙门了！
Jiāyóu, Pàngpang! Wǒmen kuài dào lóngmén le!
Come on, Pang Pang! We're almost there!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Carp and the Dragon Gate 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.
- Pang Pang 我不行了。我的肚子在叫，你听！
Wǒ bù xíng le. Wǒ de dùzi zài jiào, nǐ tīng!
I can't do it. My belly is growling, listen!
- Lan Lan 真的！它叫得很大声，像打雷一样！
Zhēn de! Tā jiào de hěn dàshēng, xiàng dǎléi yíyàng!
It is! It's so loud, like thunder!
- Pang Pang 我要回去吃饭。吃饱了，我再来找你们！
Wǒ yào huíqù chīfàn. Chī bǎo le, wǒ zài lái zhǎo nǐmen!
I'm going back to eat. When I'm full, I'll come find you!
- Xiao Hong 你说过，你要去龙门！
Nǐ shuō guo, nǐ yào qù lóngmén!
You said you wanted to go to the Dragon Gate!
- Pang Pang 我说过吗？我忘了！明天再见，小红！
Wǒ shuō guo ma? Wǒ wàng le! Míngtiān zàijiàn, Xiǎohóng!
Did I? I forgot! See you tomorrow, Xiao Hong!
- Lan Lan 小红……我也想回家。我的家很近。
Xiǎohóng… wǒ yě xiǎng huí jiā. Wǒ de jiā hěn jìn.
Xiao Hong... I want to go home too. My home is close.
- Xiao Hong 蓝蓝，你怎么了？
Lánlan, nǐ zěnme le?
Lan Lan, what's wrong?
- Lan Lan 我怕黑，怕水，怕大鱼！
Wǒ pà hēi, pà shuǐ, pà dà yú!
I'm afraid of the dark, the water, and big fish!
- Xiao Hong 你什么都怕！
Nǐ shénme dōu pà!
You're afraid of everything!
- Lan Lan 对。可是你不怕。你要小心，小红！
Duì. Kěshì nǐ bú pà. Nǐ yào xiǎoxīn, Xiǎohóng!
Yes. But you're not. Be careful, Xiao Hong!
- Xiao Hong 好。再见，蓝蓝！
Hǎo. Zàijiàn, Lánlan!
Okay. Bye, Lan Lan!
- Xiao Hong 我一个人了……看！那是龙门！
Wǒ yí gè rén le… Kàn! Nà shì lóngmén!
I'm on my own now... Look! That's the Dragon Gate!
- Xiao Hong 好高啊！水从天上来，我看不见上边！
Hǎo gāo a! Shuǐ cóng tiān shàng lái, wǒ kàn bú jiàn shàngbian!
So tall! The water pours from the sky, and I can't see the top!
- Xiao Hong 别怕，小红。你是红色的鲤鱼，你可以！
Bié pà, Xiǎohóng. Nǐ shì hóngsè de lǐyú, nǐ kěyǐ!
Don't be scared, Xiao Hong. You're a red carp. You can do it!
- Xiao Hong 一，二，三，跳！
Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
One, two, three, jump!
- Xiao Hong 啊！水把我打回去了！
Ā! Shuǐ bǎ wǒ dǎ huíqù le!
Ow! The water knocked me back down!
- Xiao Hong 再来一次！一，二，三，跳！
Zài lái yí cì! Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
Again! One, two, three, jump!
- Xiao Hong 啊！又不行！我的头好疼！
Ā! Yòu bù xíng! Wǒ de tóu hǎo téng!
Ow! No good again! My head really hurts!
- Grandpa Turtle 小红，别哭。休息一下吧。
Xiǎohóng, bié kū. Xiūxi yíxià ba.
Xiao Hong, don't cry. Rest a little.
- Xiao Hong 我没哭。是水在我脸上！
Wǒ méi kū. Shì shuǐ zài wǒ liǎn shàng!
I'm not crying. That's just water on my face!
- Grandpa Turtle 好孩子。你这么累，为什么还跳？
Hǎo háizi. Nǐ zhème lèi, wèishénme hái tiào?
Good child. You are so tired. Why do you keep jumping?
- Xiao Hong 因为我想变成龙！我不回家！
Yīnwèi wǒ xiǎng biànchéng lóng! Wǒ bù huí jiā!
Because I want to become a dragon! I'm not going home!
- Grandpa Turtle 我知道。你的心，比水还大。
Wǒ zhīdào. Nǐ de xīn, bǐ shuǐ hái dà.
I know. Your heart is bigger than the river.
- Grandpa Turtle 有的鱼跳了一百次。你才三次。
Yǒu de yú tiào le yì bǎi cì. Nǐ cái sān cì.
Some fish jumped a hundred times. You've only done three.
- Xiao Hong 一百次？好！我不累！我也跳一百次！
Yì bǎi cì? Hǎo! Wǒ bú lèi! Wǒ yě tiào yì bǎi cì!
A hundred times? Okay! I'm not tired! I'll jump a hundred too!
- Grandpa Turtle 小红，你看天。要打雷了。
Xiǎohóng, nǐ kàn tiān. Yào dǎléi le.
Xiao Hong, look at the sky. Thunder is coming.
- Xiao Hong 打雷就打雷。我再跳一次！
Dǎléi jiù dǎléi. Wǒ zài tiào yí cì!
Let it thunder. I'll jump one more time!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Pang Pang turn back?
“我的肚子在叫，你听！”……“我要回去吃饭。”
- What is Lan Lan afraid of?
“我怕黑，怕水，怕大鱼！”
- What happens when Xiao Hong jumps?
“啊！水把我打回去了！”
- What does Grandpa Turtle tell her?
“有的鱼跳了一百次。”
- What comes at the end of the chapter?
“要打雷了。”