The Gingerbread Man · chapter 2 of 3
Nobody Can Catch Me
谁也追不到我
A slow, polite cow and a proud white horse both want a bite of the runaway cookie. Then the road ends at a wide river, and someone friendly is waiting in the grass.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 姜饼人跑啊跑，跑到了一片大草地。
Jiāngbǐng rén pǎo a pǎo, pǎo dào le yí piàn dà cǎodì.
The gingerbread man ran and ran, until he came to a big green meadow.
- 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 Cow 你好，小姜饼人……你身上好香啊。
Nǐ hǎo, xiǎo Jiāngbǐng rén… nǐ shēnshang hǎo xiāng a.
Hello there, little gingerbread man… My, you smell yummy.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Gingerbread Man 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 and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- The Gingerbread Man 又是“好香”？你是谁？
Yòu shì “hǎo xiāng”? Nǐ shì shéi?
“Yummy” again? Who are you?
- The Cow 我是奶牛。我天天吃草，草不好吃。
Wǒ shì nǎiniú. Wǒ tiāntiān chī cǎo, cǎo bù hǎochī.
I'm a cow. I eat grass every day, and grass isn't very tasty.
- The Cow 你这么香……我可以吃你一口吗？就一口。
Nǐ zhème xiāng… wǒ kěyǐ chī nǐ yì kǒu ma? Jiù yì kǒu.
And you smell so yummy… May I have a bite of you? Just one.
- The Gingerbread Man 吃我？不行！老奶奶追不到，老爷爷追不到，奶牛也追不到！
Chī wǒ? Bù xíng! Lǎo nǎinai zhuī bú dào, lǎo yéye zhuī bú dào, nǎiniú yě zhuī bú dào!
Eat me? No way! The old woman can't catch me, the old man can't catch me, and the cow can't catch me either!
- The Cow 等等……等等我……我来了……
Děngdeng… děngdeng wǒ… wǒ lái le…
Wait… wait for me… here I come…
- Narrator 奶牛跑得很慢很慢。姜饼人很快就跑远了。
Nǎiniú pǎo de hěn màn hěn màn. Jiāngbǐng rén hěn kuài jiù pǎo yuǎn le.
The cow ran very, very slowly, and soon the gingerbread man was far ahead.
- The White Horse 站住！谁在这儿跑？我是白马，我跑得最快！
Zhànzhù! Shéi zài zhèr pǎo? Wǒ shì báimǎ, wǒ pǎo de zuì kuài!
Halt! Who's that running around here? I'm the white horse, and I'm the fastest there is!
- The Gingerbread Man 你最快？不对，我最快！
Nǐ zuì kuài? Bú duì, wǒ zuì kuài!
You're the fastest? Wrong! I'm the fastest!
- The White Horse 小东西，你好香啊！我可以吃一口吗？
Xiǎo dōngxi, nǐ hǎo xiāng a! Wǒ kěyǐ chī yì kǒu ma?
Well, little thing, you smell yummy! May I have a bite?
- The Gingerbread Man 老奶奶、老爷爷、奶牛，都追不到我！白马，你也追不到！
Lǎo nǎinai, lǎo yéye, nǎiniú, dōu zhuī bú dào wǒ! Báimǎ, nǐ yě zhuī bú dào!
The old woman, the old man, the cow: none of them can catch me! And you can't either, White Horse!
- The White Horse 追不到？我是白马，我马上就追上你！
Zhuī bú dào? Wǒ shì báimǎ, wǒ mǎshàng jiù zhuī shàng nǐ!
Can't catch you? I'm the white horse! I'll catch you any second now!
- Narrator 白马跑得很快很快，姜饼人跑不过他。
Báimǎ pǎo de hěn kuài hěn kuài, Jiāngbǐng rén pǎo bú guò tā.
The white horse ran very, very fast, and the gingerbread man couldn't outrun him.
- The Gingerbread Man 不好，他比我快！怎么办？
Bù hǎo, tā bǐ wǒ kuài! Zěnme bàn?
Uh-oh! He's faster than me! What do I do?
- The White Horse 奶牛，你看！我马上就追上他了！我是第一名！
Nǎiniú, nǐ kàn! Wǒ mǎshàng jiù zhuī shàng tā le! Wǒ shì dì yī míng!
Hey, Cow, look at me! Any second now I'll have him! I'm number one!
- The Cow 白马，别说了……他跑远了……
Báimǎ, bié shuō le… tā pǎo yuǎn le…
White Horse, stop talking… he's getting away…
- Narrator 姜饼人跑啊跑，跑到了一条大河边。
Jiāngbǐng rén pǎo a pǎo, pǎo dào le yì tiáo dà hé biān.
The gingerbread man ran and ran, all the way to the bank of a big river.
- The Gingerbread Man 好大的河！我不会游泳……怎么办？
Hǎo dà de hé! Wǒ bú huì yóuyǒng… zěnme bàn?
What a big river! I can't swim… What do I do?
- The White Horse 姜饼人，你在哪儿？我马上就到！
Jiāngbǐng rén, nǐ zài nǎr? Wǒ mǎshàng jiù dào!
Gingerbread Man! Where are you? I'll be there any second now!
- Narrator 这时候，河边的草里走出来一只狐狸。
Zhè shíhou, hé biān de cǎo lǐ zǒu chūlái yì zhī húli.
Just then, a fox stepped out of the tall grass by the river.
- The Fox 小朋友，你好。你要过河吗？
Xiǎopéngyǒu, nǐ hǎo. Nǐ yào guò hé ma?
Hello there, little friend. Do you need to get across the river?
- The Gingerbread Man 你是谁？你也想吃我吗？
Nǐ shì shéi? Nǐ yě xiǎng chī wǒ ma?
Who are you? Do you want to eat me too?
- The Fox 吃你？不不不。我不饿，我一点儿也不饿。
Chī nǐ? Bù bù bù. Wǒ bú è, wǒ yìdiǎnr yě bú è.
Eat you? No, no, no. I'm not hungry. Not one bit.
- The Gingerbread Man 那你叫什么名字？
Nà nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
Then what's your name?
- The Fox 我？我是你的好朋友！你不会游泳？没关系，我会！
Wǒ? Wǒ shì nǐ de hǎo péngyou! Nǐ bú huì yóuyǒng? Méi guānxi, wǒ huì!
Me? I'm your good friend! You can't swim? Never mind, I can!
- The Fox 来，坐到我的尾巴上。我带你过河。
Lái, zuò dào wǒ de wěiba shang. Wǒ dài nǐ guò hé.
Come, sit on my tail, and I'll carry you across the river.
- The Gingerbread Man 白马要来了……我不会游泳……好吧！谢谢你，好朋友！
Báimǎ yào lái le… wǒ bú huì yóuyǒng… hǎo ba! Xièxie nǐ, hǎo péngyou!
The horse is coming… and I can't swim… All right! Thank you, good friend!
- The Fox 好，好……今天的晚饭来了。
Hǎo, hǎo… jīntiān de wǎnfàn lái le.
Good, good… Tonight's dinner has arrived.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why would the cow like a bite of the gingerbread man?
“我天天吃草，草不好吃。”
- Why is it easy to get away from the cow?
“奶牛跑得很慢很慢。”
- How does the gingerbread man get away from the white horse?
“奶牛，你看！我马上就追上他了！……白马，别说了……他跑远了……”
- Why does the gingerbread man stop at the river?
“我不会游泳……怎么办？”
- Who does the fox say he is?
“我是你的好朋友！”