The Cricket · chapter 4 of 4
The Long Dream
长长的梦
A year on, the family is rich but Xiaobao still sleeps. When he wakes, he tells of an amazing dream.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 一年过去了，县官升了官。程明一家也住进了新房子，有了新田，还有花不完的钱。
Yì nián guòqù le, xiànguān shēng le guān. Chéng Míng yì jiā yě zhù jìn le xīn fángzi, yǒu le xīn tián, hái yǒu huā bu wán de qián.
A year passed. The magistrate was promoted, and Cheng Ming's family moved into a new house, with new fields and more money than they could spend.
- Cheng's Wife 你看，这么多的米，这么多的布。这一年里，我们要什么就有什么了。
Nǐ kàn, zhème duō de mǐ, zhème duō de bù. Zhè yì nián lǐ, wǒmen yào shénme jiù yǒu shénme le.
Look at all this rice and all this cloth. This past year we've had whatever we wanted.
- Cheng Ming 是啊，什么都有了。可是我们只少了一样，最重要的一样。
Shì a, shénme dōu yǒu le. Kěshì wǒmen zhǐ shǎo le yí yàng, zuì zhòngyào de yí yàng.
Yes, we have everything, except one thing, the most important one.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Cricket 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.
- Cheng's Wife 大夫已经来过十几次了。他们都说小宝没有病，只是一直不肯醒来。
Dàifu yǐjīng lái guo shí jǐ cì le. Tāmen dōu shuō Xiǎobǎo méiyǒu bìng, zhǐshì yìzhí bù kěn xǐnglái.
The doctors have come a dozen times and all say Xiaobao isn't sick. He simply won't wake up.
- Cheng Ming 那只小蟋蟀现在怎么样了，你有没有听到它的消息？
Nà zhī xiǎo xīshuài xiànzài zěnmeyàng le, nǐ yǒu méiyǒu tīngdào tā de xiāoxi?
How is that little cricket now? Have you heard any news of it?
- Cheng's Wife 县官把它送进了皇宫。听说皇帝一看到它打架，就高兴得不得了。
Xiànguān bǎ tā sòng jìn le huánggōng. Tīngshuō huángdì yí kàndào tā dǎjià, jiù gāoxìng de bùdéliǎo.
The magistrate sent it to the palace. They say the emperor was overjoyed the moment he saw it fight.
- Cheng Ming 皇帝高兴了，县官升官了。我们也发财了，只有我的儿子还在睡觉。
Huángdì gāoxìng le, xiànguān shēngguān le. Wǒmen yě fācái le, zhǐyǒu wǒ de érzi hái zài shuìjiào.
The emperor is happy, the magistrate is promoted, we're rich, and only my son is still asleep.
- Cheng's Wife 一只小虫子让我们变富了。可是它却带不回我们的小宝。
Yì zhī xiǎo chóngzi ràng wǒmen biàn fù le. Kěshì tā què dài bù huí wǒmen de Xiǎobǎo.
One little bug made us rich, but it can't bring our Xiaobao back.
- Cheng Ming 我每天都在想，那天晚上，我为什么要那样大声地吼他呢？
Wǒ měitiān dōu zài xiǎng, nà tiān wǎnshang, wǒ wèishénme yào nàyàng dàshēng de hǒu tā ne?
Every day I ask myself why I shouted at him so loudly that night.
- Cheng's Wife 别难过了，你快去看看他吧。我觉得他今天的脸色，好像有点不一样。
Bié nánguò le, nǐ kuài qù kànkan tā ba. Wǒ juéde tā jīntiān de liǎnsè, hǎoxiàng yǒudiǎn bù yíyàng.
Don't be sad. Go and look at him. I think his face looks a little different today.
- Narrator 那天下午，阳光照在小宝的脸上。屋子里静静的，好像时间也停下来了。
Nà tiān xiàwǔ, yángguāng zhào zài Xiǎobǎo de liǎn shàng. Wūzi lǐ jìngjìng de, hǎoxiàng shíjiān yě tíng xiàlái le.
That afternoon, sunlight fell on Xiaobao's face. The room was quiet, as if time itself had stopped.
- Xiaobao 爸爸……娘……我怎么觉得，好像睡了很久很久？
Bàba… niáng… wǒ zěnme juéde, hǎoxiàng shuì le hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ?
Dad... Mom... why do I feel like I've slept for such a long, long time?
- Cheng's Wife 小宝，你醒了吗，你真的醒过来了，我的孩子！
Xiǎobǎo, nǐ xǐng le ma, nǐ zhēn de xǐng guòlái le, wǒ de háizi!
Xiaobao, are you awake? You've really woken up, my child!
- Cheng Ming 小宝，我的好儿子，你听得见爸爸说话吗？
Xiǎobǎo, wǒ de hǎo érzi, nǐ tīng de jiàn bàba shuōhuà ma?
Xiaobao, my good son, can you hear me?
- Xiaobao 听得见，爸爸，我刚才做了一个好长好长的梦。
Tīng de jiàn, bàba, wǒ gāngcái zuò le yí gè hǎo cháng hǎo cháng de mèng.
I can hear you, Dad. I just had such a long, long dream.
- Cheng's Wife 是什么样的梦呢，你慢慢说，娘在这里听着，不着急。
Shì shénme yàng de mèng ne, nǐ mànmàn shuō, niáng zài zhèlǐ tīng zhe, bù zháojí.
What kind of dream? Tell us slowly. I'm right here listening, no rush.
- Xiaobao 我变成了一只小蟋蟀，我很小，也很瘦，可是我跳得特别高。
Wǒ biànchéng le yì zhī xiǎo xīshuài, wǒ hěn xiǎo, yě hěn shòu, kěshì wǒ tiào de tèbié gāo.
I turned into a little cricket. I was tiny and thin, but I could jump really high.
- Cheng Ming 蟋蟀？你说你变成了一只蟋蟀？
Xīshuài? Nǐ shuō nǐ biànchéng le yì zhī xīshuài?
A cricket? You say you turned into a cricket?
- Xiaobao 对，梦里有一只大公鸡，还有一只黑黑的大蟋蟀。我很害怕，可是我告诉自己，我不能输。
Duì, mèng lǐ yǒu yì zhī dà gōngjī, hái yǒu yì zhī hēihēi de dà xīshuài. Wǒ hěn hàipà, kěshì wǒ gàosu zìjǐ, wǒ bù néng shū.
Yes. In the dream there was a big rooster and a big black cricket. I was scared, but I told myself I couldn't lose.
- Xiaobao 因为我看见爸爸在哭，娘也在哭。我想，只要我赢了，你们就会笑了。
Yīnwèi wǒ kànjiàn bàba zài kū, niáng yě zài kū. Wǒ xiǎng, zhǐyào wǒ yíng le, nǐmen jiù huì xiào le.
Because I saw Dad crying and Mom crying, and I thought, if I win, you'll smile.
- Cheng's Wife 你赢了，孩子，你真的赢了。你把我们全家都救回来了。
Nǐ yíng le, háizi, nǐ zhēn de yíng le. Nǐ bǎ wǒmen quán jiā dōu jiù huílái le.
You won, child. You really won. You saved our whole family.
- Cheng Ming 小宝，爸爸对不起你，那天晚上，我真不应该对你那么凶。
Xiǎobǎo, bàba duìbuqǐ nǐ, nà tiān wǎnshang, wǒ zhēn bù yīnggāi duì nǐ nàme xiōng.
Xiaobao, I'm sorry. That night I really shouldn't have been so harsh with you.
- Xiaobao 是我不好，我不应该在半夜里，偷偷去打开那个盒子。
Shì wǒ bù hǎo, wǒ bù yīnggāi zài bànyè lǐ, tōutōu qù dǎkāi nà ge hézi.
It was my fault. I shouldn't have sneaked over and opened that box in the middle of the night.
- Cheng Ming 蟋蟀没有了，我们还可以再抓。你能回来，才是最要紧的。
Xīshuài méiyǒu le, wǒmen hái kěyǐ zài zhuā. Nǐ néng huílái, cái shì zuì yàojǐn de.
We can always catch another cricket. What matters most is that you came back.
- Cheng's Wife 你一定饿了吧，你先躺着别动，娘现在就去给你煮面。
Nǐ yídìng è le ba, nǐ xiān tǎng zhe bié dòng, niáng xiànzài jiù qù gěi nǐ zhǔ miàn.
You must be hungry. Lie still, and I'll go cook you some noodles right now.
- Xiaobao 好，娘，我想吃面，我想吃……三大碗。
Hǎo, niáng, wǒ xiǎng chī miàn, wǒ xiǎng chī… sān dà wǎn.
Yes, Mom, I want noodles. I want... three big bowls.
- Cheng Ming 三大碗？你睡了整整一年，怎么胃口变得这么大呢！
Sān dà wǎn? Nǐ shuì le zhěngzhěng yì nián, zěnme wèikǒu biàn de zhème dà ne!
Three big bowls? You sleep a whole year and wake up with an appetite this big!
- Xiaobao 爸爸，那只小蟋蟀，它现在还在皇宫里面吗？
Bàba, nà zhī xiǎo xīshuài, tā xiànzài hái zài huánggōng lǐmiàn ma?
Dad, that little cricket, is it still in the palace?
- Cheng Ming 应该还在吧，我听说，皇帝非常喜欢它，每天都要看它。
Yīnggāi hái zài ba, wǒ tīngshuō, huángdì fēicháng xǐhuan tā, měitiān dōu yào kàn tā.
It should be. I hear the emperor likes it very much and watches it every day.
- Xiaobao 我希望它有一天，也能像我一样，平平安安地回到家里。
Wǒ xīwàng tā yǒu yì tiān, yě néng xiàng wǒ yíyàng, píngpíng'ān'ān de huí dào jiā lǐ.
I hope that one day it can come home safe and sound, just like me.
- Cheng Ming 好了好了，从今天以后，我们家里谁也不许再提蟋蟀这两个字了！
Hǎo le hǎo le, cóng jīntiān yǐhòu, wǒmen jiā lǐ shéi yě bù xǔ zài tí xīshuài zhè liǎng gè zì le!
All right, all right! From today on, nobody in this house may say the word cricket again!
- Xiaobao 那我可以只听，不碰吗？我保证，我只用耳朵听，不用手碰。
Nà wǒ kěyǐ zhǐ tīng, bú pèng ma? Wǒ bǎozhèng, wǒ zhǐ yòng ěrduo tīng, bú yòng shǒu pèng.
Then may I only listen and not touch? I promise to use just my ears and never my hands.
- Cheng's Wife 好，说好了，只听不碰！来，面煮好了，你们快来吃吧！
Hǎo, shuōhǎo le, zhǐ tīng bú pèng! Lái, miàn zhǔ hǎo le, nǐmen kuài lái chī ba!
Deal, listen only, no touching! Come on, the noodles are ready, come and eat!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What has happened to the family a year later?
“大夫已经来过十几次了，他们都说小宝没有病，只是一直不肯醒来。”
- Where is the little cricket now?
“县官把它送进了皇宫”
- What did Xiaobao dream?
“我变成了一只小蟋蟀”
- Why did he fight so hard in his dream?
“只要我赢了，你们就会笑了。”
- What does Xiaobao ask for at the end?
“我想吃……三大碗。”