The Fisherman and the Golden Fish · chapter 2 of 4
The New Washtub
新木盆
The fisherman asks the golden fish for a washtub. It is only the start of his wife's wishes, and the sea is changing.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 海很蓝，天很亮。老渔夫又来了。
Hǎi hěn lán, tiān hěn liàng. Lǎo yúfū yòu lái le.
The sea was blue and the sky was bright. The old fisherman had come again.
- The Old Fisherman 金鱼！金鱼！你在吗？
Jīnyú! Jīnyú! Nǐ zài ma?
Golden fish! Golden fish! Are you there?
- The Golden Fish 我在这儿。老爷爷，今天您要什么？
Wǒ zài zhèr. Lǎo yéye, jīntiān nín yào shénme?
I'm here. Grandfather, what do you want today?
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Fisherman and the Golden Fish 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.
- The Old Fisherman 对不起，金鱼。我的老太太要一个新木盆。
Duìbuqǐ, jīnyú. Wǒ de lǎo tàitai yào yí gè xīn mùpén.
I'm sorry, golden fish. My wife wants a new washtub.
- The Golden Fish 好。回家吧。新木盆在你家。
Hǎo. Huí jiā ba. Xīn mùpén zài nǐ jiā.
All right. Go home. The new washtub is at your house.
- The Old Fisherman 谢谢你，金鱼！你真好！
Xièxie nǐ, jīnyú! Nǐ zhēn hǎo!
Thank you, golden fish! You are so good!
- The Golden Fish 不用谢。您真是好人。
Bú yòng xiè. Nín zhēn shì hǎorén.
Don't mention it. You are a good man.
- The Old Fisherman 一个新木盆。这次，她会高兴的。
Yí gè xīn mùpén. Zhè cì, tā huì gāoxìng de.
A new washtub. This time she'll be happy.
- The Old Wife 老头子，你看！新木盆！
Lǎo tóuzi, nǐ kàn! Xīn mùpén!
Old man, look! A new washtub!
- The Old Fisherman 太好了！老太太，你高兴吗？
Tài hǎo le! Lǎo tàitai, nǐ gāoxìng ma?
Wonderful! Wife, are you happy?
- The Old Wife 好大啊！我可以洗一百件衣服！
Hǎo dà a! Wǒ kěyǐ xǐ yì bǎi jiàn yīfu!
It's so big! I can wash a hundred pieces of clothing!
- The Old Fisherman 一百件？我只有一件衣服。
Yì bǎi jiàn? Wǒ zhǐyǒu yí jiàn yīfu.
A hundred? I only have one piece of clothing.
- The Old Wife 你不懂！可是，我们的房子太小了。
Nǐ bù dǒng! Kěshì, wǒmen de fángzi tài xiǎo le.
You don't understand! But our house is too small.
- The Old Fisherman 小？我们在这儿住了三十年。
Xiǎo? Wǒmen zài zhèr zhù le sānshí nián.
Small? We've lived here for thirty years.
- The Old Wife 就是啊！太久了！我们要一个大房子！
Jiùshì a! Tài jiǔ le! Wǒmen yào yí gè dà fángzi!
Exactly! That's too long! We need a big house!
- The Old Fisherman 可是这里有海，有风，我很喜欢。
Kěshì zhèlǐ yǒu hǎi, yǒu fēng, wǒ hěn xǐhuan.
But here we have the sea and the wind, and I like it.
- The Old Wife 海和风不能吃！去，要大房子！
Hǎi hé fēng bù néng chī! Qù, yào dà fángzi!
You can't eat the sea and the wind! Go and ask for a big house!
- The Old Fisherman 又去？金鱼会不高兴的。
Yòu qù? Jīnyú huì bù gāoxìng de.
Again? The golden fish won't be happy.
- The Old Wife 你去不去？我要大房子！
Nǐ qù bú qù? Wǒ yào dà fángzi!
Are you going or not? I want a big house!
- The Old Fisherman 好，好，我去。
Hǎo, hǎo, wǒ qù.
All right, all right, I'll go.
- Narrator 老渔夫又去了海边。海有点儿绿。
Lǎo yúfū yòu qù le hǎibiān. Hǎi yǒudiǎnr lǜ.
The old fisherman went to the sea again. The water was a little green.
- The Old Fisherman 金鱼……金鱼，你在吗？
Jīnyú… Jīnyú, nǐ zài ma?
Golden fish... golden fish, are you there?
- The Golden Fish 我在。老太太高兴吗？
Wǒ zài. Lǎo tàitai gāoxìng ma?
I'm here. Is your wife happy?
- The Old Fisherman 高兴……一点儿。可是……
Gāoxìng… yìdiǎnr. Kěshì…
Happy... a little. But...
- The Golden Fish 她还想要。您看，海不蓝了。您要什么？
Tā hái xiǎng yào. Nín kàn, hǎi bù lán le. Nín yào shénme?
She wants more. Look, the sea isn't blue anymore. What do you want?
- The Old Fisherman 对不起……我的老太太要一个大房子。
Duìbuqǐ… wǒ de lǎo tàitai yào yí gè dà fángzi.
I'm sorry... my wife wants a big house.
- The Golden Fish 好。你回家看看吧。
Hǎo. Nǐ huí jiā kànkan ba.
All right. Go home and take a look.
- The Old Fisherman 谢谢你，金鱼。我不会再来了。
Xièxie nǐ, jīnyú. Wǒ bú huì zài lái le.
Thank you, golden fish. I won't come again.
- The Golden Fish 老爷爷，我们还会见面的。
Lǎo yéye, wǒmen hái huì jiànmiàn de.
Grandfather, we will meet again.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the fisherman ask the golden fish for first?
“我的老太太要一个新木盆。”
- What is the joke about the hundred pieces of clothing?
“一百件？我只有一件衣服。”
- Why does the wife want a new house?
“我们的房子太小了。”……“我们在这儿住了三十年。”
- How has the sea changed?
“海不蓝了。”
- What does the golden fish say at the end?
“我们还会见面的。”