The Carp and the Dragon Gate · chapter 1 of 3
The Red Carp and the Old Turtle
红鲤鱼和老龟
A little red carp dreams of the Dragon Gate, where a carp who jumps becomes a dragon. Her friends laugh, until an old turtle tells her how high it is.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 春天到了。黄河的水，又大又黄。
Chūntiān dào le. Huáng Hé de shuǐ, yòu dà yòu huáng.
Spring had come. The Yellow River was wide and yellow.
- Pang Pang 小红，你在看什么？你的眼睛不动了！
Xiǎohóng, nǐ zài kàn shénme? Nǐ de yǎnjing bú dòng le!
Xiao Hong, what are you looking at? Your eyes haven't moved at all!
- Xiao Hong 我在看山。我想去山上！
Wǒ zài kàn shān. Wǒ xiǎng qù shān shàng!
I'm looking at the mountains. I want to go up there!
- Pang Pang 山上？太远了！我想睡觉。
Shān shàng? Tài yuǎn le! Wǒ xiǎng shuìjiào.
Up there? Too far! I want to take a nap.
- Xiao Hong 胖胖，你听说了吗？山上有龙门！
Pàngpang, nǐ tīngshuō le ma? Shān shàng yǒu lóngmén!
Pang Pang, have you heard? The Dragon Gate is up in the mountains!
- Lan Lan 龙门？那是什么地方？
Lóngmén? Nà shì shénme dìfang?
The Dragon Gate? What kind of place is that?
- Xiao Hong 鲤鱼跳过龙门，就变成龙！
Lǐyú tiào guò lóngmén, jiù biànchéng lóng!
A carp that jumps over the Dragon Gate becomes a dragon!
- Pang Pang 变成龙？哈哈哈！你是小鱼！
Biànchéng lóng? Hāhāhā! Nǐ shì xiǎo yú!
Become a dragon? Ha ha ha! You're a little fish!
- Xiao Hong 小鱼也能做大事！我一定要去！
Xiǎo yú yě néng zuò dà shì! Wǒ yídìng yào qù!
Little fish can do big things too! I will go for sure!
- Lan Lan 可是黄河的水很快。我会怕。
Kěshì Huáng Hé de shuǐ hěn kuài. Wǒ huì pà.
But the water is fast. I'll be scared.
- Xiao Hong 别怕，蓝蓝！我们三个一起去！
Bié pà, Lánlan! Wǒmen sān gè yìqǐ qù!
Don't be scared, Lan Lan! All three of us will go together!
- Pang Pang 我不去。我又饿又累。
Wǒ bú qù. Wǒ yòu è yòu lèi.
I'm not going. I'm hungry and tired.
- Xiao Hong 河里有一位老爷爷，他什么都知道！
Hé lǐ yǒu yí wèi lǎo yéye, tā shénme dōu zhīdào!
There's an old grandpa in the river, and he knows everything!
- Lan Lan 那我们去问他吧！小红，你带路。
Nà wǒmen qù wèn tā ba! Xiǎohóng, nǐ dài lù.
Then let's go ask him! Xiao Hong, you lead the way.
- Xiao Hong 龟爷爷！您知道龙门吗？
Guī yéye! Nín zhīdào lóngmén ma?
Grandpa Turtle! Do you know the Dragon Gate?
- Grandpa Turtle 知道。我很老了，我看见过。
Zhīdào. Wǒ hěn lǎo le, wǒ kànjiàn guo.
I do. I am very old, and I have seen it.
- Pang Pang 龙门是真的吗？
Lóngmén shì zhēn de ma?
Is the Dragon Gate real?
- Grandpa Turtle 是真的。它在最高的山上，很远很远。
Shì zhēn de. Tā zài zuì gāo de shān shàng, hěn yuǎn hěn yuǎn.
It's real. It's on the tallest mountain.
- Grandpa Turtle 春天，很多鲤鱼从黄河游上去，去跳龙门。
Chūntiān, hěn duō lǐyú cóng Huáng Hé yóu shàngqù, qù tiào lóngmén.
Every spring, many carp swim up the Yellow River to try the jump.
- Lan Lan 跳过去的，有多少？
Tiào guòqù de, yǒu duōshao?
How many make it over?
- Grandpa Turtle 很少很少。有时候，一条也没有。
Hěn shǎo hěn shǎo. Yǒushíhou, yì tiáo yě méiyǒu.
Very few. Sometimes not even one.
- Pang Pang 你看，太难了。我们回家吧！
Nǐ kàn, tài nán le. Wǒmen huí jiā ba!
See? Too hard. Let's go home!
- Xiao Hong 不回家！我想试试！
Bù huí jiā! Wǒ xiǎng shìshi!
No going home! I want to try!
- Grandpa Turtle 小红的眼睛很亮。去吧，孩子们。
Xiǎohóng de yǎnjing hěn liàng. Qù ba, háizimen.
Xiao Hong's eyes are bright. Go on, children.
- Pang Pang 好吧，我去。可是路上要吃东西！
Hǎo ba, wǒ qù. Kěshì lùshang yào chī dōngxi!
Fine, I'll come. But we need snacks on the way!
- Lan Lan 胖胖，你每天都吃东西！
Pàngpang, nǐ měi tiān dōu chī dōngxi!
Pang Pang, you eat every single day!
- Pang Pang 对呀！我是胖胖嘛！
Duì ya! Wǒ shì Pàngpang ma!
Yep! That's why I'm Pang Pang!
- Xiao Hong 好！三条鲤鱼，去龙门！
Hǎo! Sān tiáo lǐyú, qù lóngmén!
All right! Three carp, off to the Dragon Gate!
- Grandpa Turtle 你们听！
Nǐmen tīng!
Listen, you three!
- Grandpa Turtle 那是龙门。它比山还高。你们还想去吗？
Nà shì lóngmén. Tā bǐ shān hái gāo. Nǐmen hái xiǎng qù ma?
That is the Dragon Gate. It is higher than the mountain. Do you still want to go?
What changed in the story?
- What does Xiao Hong want to do?
“鲤鱼跳过龙门，就变成龙！”
- Why does Pang Pang laugh at her?
“变成龙？哈哈哈！你是小鱼！”
- Who knows about the Dragon Gate?
“我很老了，我看见过。”
- How many carp make it over?
“很少很少。”
- What does Pang Pang ask for before he agrees to go?
“可是路上要吃东西！”