The Gingerbread Man · chapter 1 of 3
A Voice in the Oven
烤箱里的声音
An old woman bakes a gingerbread man and wishes he could be her child. Then a voice starts shouting inside the oven, and the old man says one word too many.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久以前，一个老奶奶做了一个姜饼人，放进了烤箱。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yí gè lǎo nǎinai zuò le yí gè Jiāngbǐng rén, fàng jìn le kǎoxiāng.
Long ago, an old woman made a gingerbread man and put him in the oven.
- The Old Woman 我们老了，没有孩子……姜饼人，你做我们的孩子吧！
Wǒmen lǎo le, méiyǒu háizi… Jiāngbǐng rén, nǐ zuò wǒmen de háizi ba!
We're old now, and we never had a child… Oh, gingerbread man, be our little boy!
- The Gingerbread Man 好热，好热！快开门，让我出去！
Hǎo rè, hǎo rè! Kuài kāi mén, ràng wǒ chūqù!
Hot, so hot! Open the door, quick, let me out!
- The Old Woman 老头子，快来！烤箱在说话！
Lǎotóuzi, kuài lái! Kǎoxiāng zài shuōhuà!
Old man! Come quick! The oven is talking!
- The Old Man 烤箱会说话？不会吧！
Kǎoxiāng huì shuōhuà? Bú huì ba!
A talking oven? Oh, come on!
- The Gingerbread Man 我不是烤箱！我在烤箱里！快开门！
Wǒ bú shì kǎoxiāng! Wǒ zài kǎoxiāng lǐ! Kuài kāi mén!
I'm not the oven! I'm IN the oven! Open the door!
- Narrator 老奶奶打开烤箱。一个小姜饼人跳了出来，跳到了桌子上。
Lǎo nǎinai dǎkāi kǎoxiāng. Yí gè xiǎo Jiāngbǐng rén tiào le chūlái, tiào dào le zhuōzi shang.
The old woman opened the oven. Out jumped a little gingerbread man, right onto the table.
- The Gingerbread Man 我出来了！这是哪儿？你们是谁？
Wǒ chūlái le! Zhè shì nǎr? Nǐmen shì shéi?
I'm out! Where am I? And who are you two?
- The Old Woman 这是你的家！你是我们的孩子！老头子，我们有孩子了！
Zhè shì nǐ de jiā! Nǐ shì wǒmen de háizi! Lǎotóuzi, wǒmen yǒu háizi le!
This is your home! You're our child! Oh, old man, we finally have a child!
- The Gingerbread Man 家？那门外边是什么？我要去看看！
Jiā? Nà mén wàibian shì shénme? Wǒ yào qù kànkan!
Home? So what's out there, past the door? I want to go and see!
- The Old Woman 不行！外边很大，你还很小！
Bù xíng! Wàibian hěn dà, nǐ hái hěn xiǎo!
Oh no, you don't! It's a big world out there, and you're very small!
- The Gingerbread Man 我很小，可是我跑得很快！你们看！
Wǒ hěn xiǎo, kěshì wǒ pǎo de hěn kuài! Nǐmen kàn!
I may be small, but I'm really fast! Watch!
- The Old Man 好孩子，好孩子！你身上怎么这么香啊？
Hǎo háizi, hǎo háizi! Nǐ shēnshang zěnme zhème xiāng a?
Good boy, good boy! My, why do you smell so yummy?
- The Gingerbread Man 香？“香”是什么意思？
Xiāng? “Xiāng” shì shénme yìsi?
Yummy? What does “yummy” mean?
- The Old Man “香”是说，你很好吃！我可以吃一口吗？
“Xiāng” shì shuō, nǐ hěn hǎochī! Wǒ kěyǐ chī yì kǒu ma?
“Yummy” means you'd be very good to eat! Can I have just one bite?
- The Old Woman 老头子，他是孩子，不是饭！
Lǎotóuzi, tā shì háizi, bú shì fàn!
Old man! He's a child, not dinner!
- The Gingerbread Man 吃我？一口也不行！我走了！
Chī wǒ? Yì kǒu yě bù xíng! Wǒ zǒu le!
Eat me? Not one bite! I'm out of here!
- Narrator 姜饼人跳下桌子，跑出了门。
Jiāngbǐng rén tiào xià zhuōzi, pǎo chū le mén.
The gingerbread man jumped down from the table and ran out the door.
- The Gingerbread Man 跑跑跑，快快跑！谁也追不到！我是姜饼人！
Pǎo pǎo pǎo, kuài kuài pǎo! Shéi yě zhuī bú dào! Wǒ shì Jiāngbǐng rén!
Run, run, run, quick as can be! Nobody, nobody can catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!
- The Old Woman 姜饼人，站住！快回来，我们不吃你！
Jiāngbǐng rén, zhànzhù! Kuài huílái, wǒmen bù chī nǐ!
Gingerbread Man, stop! Come back! We won't eat you!
- The Old Man 慢一点儿，慢一点儿！我老了，跑不快……
Màn yìdiǎnr, màn yìdiǎnr! Wǒ lǎo le, pǎo bú kuài…
Slow down! Slow down! I'm old, I can't run fast…
- The Old Man 我不吃你……我就闻一闻，好吗？
Wǒ bù chī nǐ… wǒ jiù wén yi wén, hǎo ma?
I won't eat you… I just want one little sniff, all right?
- The Gingerbread Man 闻一闻也不行！老奶奶追不到，老爷爷也追不到！哈哈！
Wén yi wén yě bù xíng! Lǎo nǎinai zhuī bú dào, lǎo yéye yě zhuī bú dào! Hāhā!
Not even a sniff! The old woman can't catch me, and the old man can't catch me either! Ha ha!
- Narrator 姜饼人跑得太快了。老奶奶和老爷爷都追不上他。
Jiāngbǐng rén pǎo de tài kuài le. Lǎo nǎinai hé lǎo yéye dōu zhuī bú shàng tā.
The gingerbread man was far too fast. Neither the old woman nor the old man could catch up with him.
- The Old Man 不行了，不行了……我要坐一会儿。
Bù xíng le, bù xíng le… Wǒ yào zuò yíhuìr.
I can't… I can't go on… I have to sit down for a minute.
- The Old Woman 都是你！你为什么说“吃一口”？
Dōu shì nǐ! Nǐ wèishénme shuō “chī yì kǒu”?
This is all your fault! Why did you have to say “one bite”?
- The Old Man 我……我是说着玩儿的！
Wǒ… wǒ shì shuō zhe wánr de!
I… I was only joking!
- The Old Woman 姜饼人，别去河边！河边有狐狸！
Jiāngbǐng rén, bié qù hé biān! Hé biān yǒu húli!
Gingerbread Man! Stay away from the river! There's a fox by the river!
- The Gingerbread Man 狐狸？狐狸是什么？他跑得有我快吗？
Húli? Húli shì shénme? Tā pǎo de yǒu wǒ kuài ma?
A fox? What's a fox? Can he run as fast as me?
- The Old Man 狐狸不用跑得快……狐狸很聪明。
Húli búyòng pǎo de kuài… Húli hěn cōngming.
A fox doesn't need to run fast… A fox is clever.
What changed in the story?
- Why does the old woman want the gingerbread man to be her child?
“我们老了，没有孩子……”
- Where is the gingerbread man when he first starts shouting?
“我不是烤箱！我在烤箱里！”
- What does the old man say that makes the gingerbread man run away?
“我可以吃一口吗？”
- Why can't the old man catch the gingerbread man?
“我老了，跑不快……”
- What does the old woman warn the gingerbread man about?
“别去河边！河边有狐狸！”