The Five Goats of Guangzhou · chapter 3 of 4
Water for the Rice
水和稻
Everyone pushes the heavy stone and water pours out. The rice is planted, the rain comes, and then the immortals say goodbye. But the goats stay still.
Read what you hear
- Red Robe 一，二，三！用力！
Yī, èr, sān! Yònglì!
One, two, three! Push hard!
- Xiao He 我也来！我也可以推！
Wǒ yě lái! Wǒ yě kěyǐ tuī!
I'll help too! I can push!
- Black Robe 小朋友，石头很大。你太小了。
Xiǎopéngyou, shítou hěn dà. Nǐ tài xiǎo le.
Little one, the rock is big. You are too small.
Chapter 3 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 我不小！我要喝水，爷爷也要喝水！
Wǒ bù xiǎo! Wǒ yào hē shuǐ, yéye yě yào hē shuǐ!
I'm not small! I need water, and Grandpa needs water too!
- Grandpa 小禾说得对。我们大家一起来！
Xiǎo Hé shuō de duì. Wǒmen dàjiā yìqǐ lái!
Xiao He is right. Let's all push together!
- Yellow Robe 一，二，三！推！
Yī, èr, sān! Tuī!
One, two, three! Push!
- Green Robe 动了！动了！石头动了！
Dòng le! Dòng le! Shítou dòng le!
It moved! It moved! The rock moved!
- Xiao He 再推一下！大家用力！
Zài tuī yí xià! Dàjiā yònglì!
Push once more! Everybody, push hard!
- Black Robe 小朋友，你不小。你很大。
Xiǎopéngyou, nǐ bù xiǎo. Nǐ hěn dà.
Little one, you aren't small. You're big.
- Xiao He 水！你们看，水！
Shuǐ! Nǐmen kàn, shuǐ!
Water! Look, water!
- Grandpa 水……真的是水。我们有水了！
Shuǐ… zhēn de shì shuǐ. Wǒmen yǒu shuǐ le!
Water... it really is water. We have water!
- Xiao He 爷爷，你哭了吗？
Yéye, nǐ kū le ma?
Grandpa, are you crying?
- Grandpa 没有！是水到我脸上了。
Méiyǒu! Shì shuǐ dào wǒ liǎn shàng le.
No! It's just water on my face.
- White Robe 好，现在种稻。一个一个，慢慢种。
Hǎo, xiànzài zhòng dào. Yí gè yí gè, mànman zhòng.
Good, now let's plant the rice. One by one, slowly.
- Xiao He 这样种吗？一，二，三……
Zhèyàng zhòng ma? Yī, èr, sān…
Like this? One, two, three...
- Green Robe 小禾种得真好！我最喜欢她种的稻！
Xiǎo Hé zhòng de zhēn hǎo! Wǒ zuì xǐhuan tā zhòng de dào!
Xiao He plants so well! I like her rice best!
- Yellow Robe 现在，天上要给你们一点儿雨。
Xiànzài, tiān shàng yào gěi nǐmen yìdiǎnr yǔ.
Now the sky will give you a little rain.
- Xiao He 下雨了！爷爷，下雨了！
Xià yǔ le! Yéye, xià yǔ le!
It's raining! Grandpa, it's raining!
- Grandpa 好大的雨！大家一起跳！
Hǎo dà de yǔ! Dàjiā yìqǐ tiào!
What a rain! Everybody, jump for joy!
- Narrator 三个月过去了。地里都是绿绿的稻，风一吹，像水在动。
Sān gè yuè guòqù le. Dì lǐ dōu shì lǜlǜ de dào, fēng yì chuī, xiàng shuǐ zài dòng.
Three months passed. The fields were full of green rice, and when the wind blew, it moved like water.
- Xiao He 爷爷，稻长高了！比我高，也比爷爷高！
Yéye, dào zhǎng gāo le! Bǐ wǒ gāo, yě bǐ yéye gāo!
Grandpa, the rice grew tall! It's taller than me, and taller than you!
- Grandpa 看，稻黄了。米可以吃了！
Kàn, dào huáng le. Mǐ kěyǐ chī le!
Look, the rice has turned yellow. The rice is ready to eat!
- Xiao He 太好了！今天我们有米饭吃了！
Tài hǎo le! Jīntiān wǒmen yǒu mǐfàn chī le!
Wonderful! We get rice to eat today!
- Grandpa 我们请大家一起吃！
Wǒmen qǐng dàjiā yìqǐ chī!
Let's invite everyone to eat together!
- White Robe 小禾，米饭好吃吗？
Xiǎo Hé, mǐfàn hǎochī ma?
Xiao He, is the rice good?
- Xiao He 好吃！白白的，热热的！比我想的还好吃！
Hǎochī! Báibái de, rèrè de! Bǐ wǒ xiǎng de hái hǎochī!
Yummy! White and hot! Even better than I dreamed!
- Red Robe 太好了。小朋友，我们要走了。
Tài hǎo le. Xiǎopéngyou, wǒmen yào zǒu le.
Wonderful. Little one, we have to go now.
- Xiao He 走？你们为什么要走？
Zǒu? Nǐmen wèishénme yào zǒu?
Go? Why do you have to go?
- Yellow Robe 我们要回天上了。稻和水，都留给你们。
Wǒmen yào huí tiān shàng le. Dào hé shuǐ, dōu liú gěi nǐmen.
We must go back to the sky. The rice and the water are yours to keep.
- Xiao He 你们看！五只羊……它们不想走！
Nǐmen kàn! Wǔ zhī yáng… tāmen bù xiǎng zǒu!
Look! The five goats... they don't want to leave!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who says Xiao He is too small to push?
“小朋友，石头很大。你太小了。”
- How do they move the stone?
“我们大家一起来！”
- What does Grandpa say when Xiao He asks if he is crying?
“没有！是水到我脸上了。”
- What happens after the rice is planted?
“下雨了！爷爷，下雨了！”……“爷爷，稻长高了！”
- What surprises Xiao He at the end?
“五只羊……它们不想走！”