The Five Goats of Guangzhou · chapter 4 of 4
The City of Goats
羊城
The goats stay behind and the immortals fly home. In the morning, five stone goats sit on the hill, and the village has a new name.
Read what you hear
- Red Robe 羊，来吧。天上在等我们。
Yáng, lái ba. Tiān shàng zài děng wǒmen.
Goats, come on. The sky is waiting for us.
- Green Robe 它们不动。它们在看村子。
Tāmen bú dòng. Tāmen zài kàn cūnzi.
They won't move. They are looking at the village.
- Yellow Robe 你们想留下来，是不是？
Nǐmen xiǎng liú xiàlái, shì bu shì?
You want to stay, don't you?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Five Goats of Guangzhou 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 He 羊，你们想住在这里吗？
Yáng, nǐmen xiǎng zhù zài zhèlǐ ma?
Goats, do you want to live here?
- White Robe 好。羊留下来，看着你们的家。
Hǎo. Yáng liú xiàlái, kàn zhe nǐmen de jiā.
Good. The goats will stay and watch over your homes.
- Black Robe 小朋友，你要种很多稻。别哭。
Xiǎopéngyou, nǐ yào zhòng hěn duō dào. Bié kū.
Little one, plant lots of rice. Don't cry.
- Xiao He 我不哭……我有一点儿想你们。
Wǒ bù kū… wǒ yǒu yìdiǎnr xiǎng nǐmen.
I'm not crying... I just already miss you a little.
- Red Robe 我们也会想你们。再见了！
Wǒmen yě huì xiǎng nǐmen. Zàijiàn le!
We will miss you too. Goodbye!
- Grandpa 谢谢你们！再见，仙人！云也回家了。
Xièxie nǐmen! Zàijiàn, xiānrén! Yún yě huí jiā le.
Thank you! Goodbye, immortals! Even the clouds are going home.
- Xiao He 他们飞走了……天上有五个颜色。
Tāmen fēi zǒu le… tiān shàng yǒu wǔ gè yánsè.
They flew away... there are five colors in the sky.
- Grandpa 睡吧，小禾。明天早上，我们再看羊。
Shuì ba, Xiǎo Hé. Míngtiān zǎoshang, wǒmen zài kàn yáng.
Sleep now, Xiao He. Tomorrow morning we'll see the goats again.
- Xiao He 爷爷，天亮了。羊呢？
Yéye, tiān liàng le. Yáng ne?
Grandpa, it's morning. Where are the goats?
- Grandpa 羊？山上……有五块大石头。
Yáng? Shān shàng… yǒu wǔ kuài dà shítou.
The goats? On the hill... there are only five big stones.
- Xiao He 这块像红衣的羊，那块像黄衣的羊！
Zhè kuài xiàng Hóngyī de yáng, nà kuài xiàng Huángyī de yáng!
This one looks like Red Robe's goat, and that one like Yellow Robe's!
- Grandpa 羊变成石头了。它们真的不走了。
Yáng biànchéng shítou le. Tāmen zhēn de bù zǒu le.
The goats have turned into stone. They really are staying.
- Xiao He 它们留下来，做我们的羊。
Tāmen liú xiàlái, zuò wǒmen de yáng.
They stayed to be our goats.
- Grandpa 走，我们去告诉大家！
Zǒu, wǒmen qù gàosu dàjiā!
Come, let's go tell everyone!
- Xiao He 大家快来看羊！
Dàjiā kuài lái kàn yáng!
Everybody, come see the goats!
- Narrator 那一年，稻长得又高又黄。大家有饭吃，也有水喝。
Nà yì nián, dào zhǎng de yòu gāo yòu huáng. Dàjiā yǒu fàn chī, yě yǒu shuǐ hē.
That year, the rice grew tall and golden. Everyone had food to eat and water to drink.
- Grandpa 小禾，我们不饿了！
Xiǎo Hé, wǒmen bú è le!
Xiao He, we aren't hungry anymore!
- Xiao He 爷爷，今天我要吃三碗米饭！
Yéye, jīntiān wǒ yào chī sān wǎn mǐfàn!
Grandpa, today I'm going to eat three bowls of rice!
- Grandpa 三碗？你的肚子有那么大吗？
Sān wǎn? Nǐ de dùzi yǒu nàme dà ma?
Three bowls? Is your tummy that big?
- Xiao He 我的肚子说：“要四碗！”
Wǒ de dùzi shuō: “Yào sì wǎn!”
My tummy says, "Four bowls!"
- Grandpa 哈哈！好，四碗！以后，这里就叫羊城。
Hāhā! Hǎo, sì wǎn! Yǐhòu, zhèlǐ jiù jiào Yángchéng.
Ha ha! Fine, four bowls! From now on, this place will be called the City of Goats.
- Xiao He 羊城？为什么？
Yángchéng? Wèishénme?
The City of Goats? Why?
- Grandpa 因为，这里有五只羊，在看着我们。
Yīnwèi, zhèlǐ yǒu wǔ zhī yáng, zài kàn zhe wǒmen.
Because five goats live here, watching over us.
- Xiao He 我喜欢这个名字！
Wǒ xǐhuan zhège míngzi!
I love that name!
- Grandpa 有水，有米，有羊。这里最好！
Yǒu shuǐ, yǒu mǐ, yǒu yáng. Zhèlǐ zuì hǎo!
We have water, rice and goats. This is the best place!
- Xiao He 五只羊，谢谢你们！我们不会再饿了！
Wǔ zhī yáng, xièxie nǐmen! Wǒmen bú huì zài è le!
Five goats, thank you! We will never be hungry again!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What do the goats do when the immortals call them?
“它们不动。它们在看村子。”
- What do the goats become by morning?
“山上……有五块大石头。”
- How many bowls of rice does Xiao He's tummy ask for?
“我的肚子说：‘要四碗！’”
- Why is the place called the City of Goats?
“这里有五只羊，在看着我们。”
- What does Xiao He say to the goats at the end?
“五只羊，谢谢你们！我们不会再饿了！”