The Carp and the Dragon Gate · chapter 3 of 3
The Leap
跳过龙门
In a thunderstorm at the foot of the Dragon Gate, Xiao Hong tries one more time. Will she make it over?
Read what you hear
- Grandpa Turtle 小红！雨太大了！水很快，会很疼的！你等一等！
Xiǎohóng! Yǔ tài dà le! Shuǐ hěn kuài, huì hěn téng de! Nǐ děng yi děng!
Xiao Hong! The rain is too heavy! The water is fast and it will hurt! Wait a bit!
- Xiao Hong 龟爷爷，我不等了。我不怕疼。我怕我不试。
Guī yéye, wǒ bù děng le. Wǒ bú pà téng. Wǒ pà wǒ bú shì.
Grandpa Turtle, I won't wait. I'm not afraid of pain. I'm afraid of not trying.
- Grandpa Turtle 好孩子。去吧！
Hǎo háizi. Qù ba!
Good child. Go!
Chapter 3 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.
- Xiao Hong 一，二，三……跳！
Yī, èr, sān… tiào!
One, two, three... jump!
- Xiao Hong 我到了一半！龙门就在上面！
Wǒ dào le yíbàn! Lóngmén jiù zài shàngmiàn!
I'm halfway! The Dragon Gate is right above me!
- Xiao Hong 好高……我没有力气了……我想休息……
Hǎo gāo… wǒ méiyǒu lìqi le… wǒ xiǎng xiūxi…
So high... I have no strength left... I want to rest...
- Grandpa Turtle 小红！别停！你可以的！龙门在等你！
Xiǎohóng! Bié tíng! Nǐ kěyǐ de! Lóngmén zài děng nǐ!
Xiao Hong! Don't stop! You can do it! The Dragon Gate is waiting for you!
- Xiao Hong 我……不……停！
Wǒ… bù… tíng!
I... won't... stop!
- Xiao Hong 龙——门——我来了！
Lóng— mén— wǒ lái le!
Dragon Gate, here I come!
- Grandpa Turtle 看！天上的电，在小红的身上！
Kàn! Tiān shàng de diàn, zài Xiǎohóng de shēn shàng!
Look! The lightning from the sky is on Xiao Hong!
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 我……我在飞！我的身体好长！
Wǒ… wǒ zài fēi! Wǒ de shēntǐ hǎo cháng!
I... I'm flying! My body is so long!
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 我的身上，有金色的光！
Wǒ de shēn shàng, yǒu jīn sè de guāng!
There's golden light all over me!
- Narrator 小红跳过了龙门。她变成了一条红龙。
Xiǎohóng tiào guò le lóngmén. Tā biànchéng le yì tiáo hóng lóng.
Xiao Hong jumped over the Dragon Gate. She became a red dragon.
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 我是龙了！我做到了！我真的做到了！
Wǒ shì lóng le! Wǒ zuò dào le! Wǒ zhēn de zuò dào le!
I'm a dragon! I did it!
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 龟爷爷！您看见了吗？
Guī yéye! Nín kànjiàn le ma?
Grandpa Turtle! Did you see?
- Grandpa Turtle 我看见了！孩子，我看见了！
Wǒ kànjiàn le! Háizi, wǒ kànjiàn le!
I saw! Child, I saw it!
- Pang Pang 天亮了！蓝蓝，我吃饱了。我们去找小红吧！
Tiān liàng le! Lánlan, wǒ chī bǎo le. Wǒmen qù zhǎo Xiǎohóng ba!
It's morning! Lan Lan, I'm full. Let's go find Xiao Hong!
- Lan Lan 胖胖，你看！天上有一条龙！
Pàngpang, nǐ kàn! Tiān shàng yǒu yì tiáo lóng!
Pang Pang, look! There's a dragon in the sky!
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 胖胖！蓝蓝！是我，小红！
Pàngpang! Lánlan! Shì wǒ, Xiǎohóng!
Pang Pang! Lan Lan! It's me, Xiao Hong!
- Pang Pang 什么？！你是小红？！你真的是小红？
Shénme?! Nǐ shì Xiǎohóng?! Nǐ zhēn de shì Xiǎohóng?
What?! You're Xiao Hong?! Really?
- Pang Pang 龙也吃东西吗？
Lóng yě chī dōngxi ma?
Do dragons eat, too?
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 哈哈，龙也吃！可是我不饿。
Hāhā, lóng yě chī! Kěshì wǒ bú è.
Ha ha, dragons eat too! But I'm not hungry.
- Lan Lan 对不起，我们走了。你一个人很累吧？
Duìbuqǐ, wǒmen zǒu le. Nǐ yí gè rén hěn lèi ba?
I'm sorry we left. You must have been so tired alone.
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 没关系！你们回来了，我很高兴。
Méi guānxi! Nǐmen huílái le, wǒ hěn gāoxìng.
It's okay! You came back, and I'm so glad.
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 我也怕过。可是我再试了一次。
Wǒ yě pà guo. Kěshì wǒ zài shì le yí cì.
I was scared too. But I tried one more time.
- Lan Lan 那……我也想再试一次。
Nà… wǒ yě xiǎng zài shì yí cì.
Then... I want to try one more time, too.
- Grandpa Turtle 人们会记得你。新年，他们画鲤鱼，说：“年年有余。”
Rénmen huì jìde nǐ. Xīnnián, tāmen huà lǐyú, shuō: “Niánnián yǒu yú.”
People will remember you. At New Year they paint carp and say, “May every year bring more than enough.”
- Red Dragon (Xiao Hong) 好！你们一直试，也能跳！
Hǎo! Nǐmen yìzhí shì, yě néng tiào!
Good! Keep trying, and you can jump too!
- Pang Pang 好！明天！可是……先吃饭！
Hǎo! Míngtiān! Kěshì… xiān chīfàn!
Okay! Tomorrow! But... lunch first!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Xiao Hong afraid of?
“我不怕疼。我怕我不试。”
- What lights up Xiao Hong as she jumps?
“天上的电，在小红的身上！”
- What does Xiao Hong become?
“她变成了一条红龙。”
- What do Pang Pang and Lan Lan do?
“我们去找小红吧！”
- What do people do at New Year, says Grandpa Turtle?
“新年，他们画鲤鱼，说：”……“年年有余。”