The Gingerbread Man · chapter 3 of 3
The Fox at the River
河边的狐狸
The fox wades into the river with the gingerbread man on his tail. The water keeps rising, the fox keeps smiling, and soon there's only one place left to climb: his nose.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 姜饼人坐在狐狸的尾巴上。狐狸走进河里，走得很慢很慢。
Jiāngbǐng rén zuò zài húli de wěiba shang. Húli zǒu jìn hé lǐ, zǒu de hěn màn hěn màn.
The gingerbread man sat on the fox's tail, and the fox walked into the river, very, very slowly.
- The Gingerbread Man 老奶奶、老爷爷、奶牛、白马，都追不到我！
Lǎo nǎinai, lǎo yéye, nǎiniú, báimǎ, dōu zhuī bú dào wǒ!
The old woman, the old man, the cow, the white horse: none of them can catch me!
- The Fox 对，对……他们谁也追不到你了。
Duì, duì… tāmen shéi yě zhuī bú dào nǐ le.
That's right, that's right… none of them will ever catch you now.
Chapter 3 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 Fox 小朋友，水很深了。别坐在尾巴上了，到我的背上来吧。
Xiǎopéngyǒu, shuǐ hěn shēn le. Bié zuò zài wěiba shang le, dào wǒ de bèi shang lái ba.
Little friend, the water's getting deep. Get off my tail and climb up onto my back.
- The Gingerbread Man 好的！好朋友，你走得太慢了，快一点儿！
Hǎo de! Hǎo péngyou, nǐ zǒu de tài màn le, kuài yìdiǎnr!
Okay! But, good friend, you're walking so slowly. Hurry up!
- The Fox 别急，别急。水太深了，你到我的头上来吧。
Bié jí, bié jí. Shuǐ tài shēn le, nǐ dào wǒ de tóu shang lái ba.
No rush, no rush. The water's too deep now. Climb up onto my head.
- Narrator 这时候，狐狸的肚子叫了一声。
Zhè shíhou, húli de dùzi jiào le yì shēng.
Just then, the fox's stomach gave a loud rumble.
- The Gingerbread Man 好朋友，那是什么声音？
Hǎo péngyou, nà shì shénme shēngyīn?
Good friend, what was that noise?
- The Fox 那是……那是河水的声音！我一点儿也不饿！
Nà shì… nà shì héshuǐ de shēngyīn! Wǒ yìdiǎnr yě bú è!
That's… that's just the river! And I'm not hungry. Not one bit!
- The Fox 水太深了！聪明的姜饼人，快到我的鼻子上来吧！
Shuǐ tài shēn le! Cōngming de Jiāngbǐng rén, kuài dào wǒ de bízi shang lái ba!
The water's much too deep! Clever little gingerbread man, hop up onto my nose, quick!
- The Gingerbread Man 我到他的鼻子上了……他的嘴好大，好大……
Wǒ dào tā de bízi shang le… tā de zuǐ hǎo dà, hǎo dà…
Now I'm up on his nose… and his mouth is so big… so very big…
- The Gingerbread Man 好朋友，你……你叫什么名字？
Hǎo péngyou, nǐ… nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
Good friend… wh-what's your name?
- The Fox 我的名字？我是狐狸！
Wǒ de míngzi? Wǒ shì húli!
My name? Why, I'm the fox!
- The Gingerbread Man 狐狸？！老奶奶说过，河边有狐狸！
Húli?! Lǎo nǎinai shuō guo, hé biān yǒu húli!
The fox?! The old woman told me there's a fox by the river!
- Narrator 狐狸张开了大嘴。姜饼人用力一跳……
Húli zhāngkāi le dà zuǐ. Jiāngbǐng rén yònglì yí tiào…
The fox opened his great big mouth. The gingerbread man jumped with all his might…
- Narrator 狐狸走得很慢，他们还在河边。姜饼人跳回了草地上。
Húli zǒu de hěn màn, tāmen hái zài hé biān. Jiāngbǐng rén tiào huí le cǎodì shang.
The fox had walked so slowly that they were still near the bank. The gingerbread man landed safe on the grass.
- The Fox 我的晚饭！我的晚饭跑了！
Wǒ de wǎnfàn! Wǒ de wǎnfàn pǎo le!
My dinner! My dinner's getting away!
- Narrator 狐狸什么也没吃到，他掉进了水里。
Húli shénme yě méi chī dào, tā diào jìn le shuǐ lǐ.
The fox didn't get a single crumb, and he tumbled into the water.
- The Gingerbread Man 你不是我的好朋友！你想吃我！
Nǐ bú shì wǒ de hǎo péngyou! Nǐ xiǎng chī wǒ!
You're not my good friend! You wanted to eat me!
- The Fox 我……我不饿！我一点儿也不饿！
Wǒ… wǒ bú è! Wǒ yìdiǎnr yě bú è!
I… I'm not hungry! Not one bit!
- The Gingerbread Man 老奶奶说得对……我要回家！
Lǎo nǎinai shuō de duì… wǒ yào huí jiā!
The old woman was right… I'm going home!
- Narrator 姜饼人跑啊跑，一直跑回了小房子。
Jiāngbǐng rén pǎo a pǎo, yìzhí pǎo huí le xiǎo fángzi.
The gingerbread man ran and ran, all the way back to the little house.
- The Old Woman 姜饼人！你回来了！
Jiāngbǐng rén! Nǐ huílái le!
Gingerbread Man! You came back!
- The Gingerbread Man 奶奶，爷爷，对不起！河边真的有狐狸……
Nǎinai, yéye, duìbuqǐ! Hé biān zhēn de yǒu húli…
Grandma, Grandpa, I'm sorry! There really was a fox by the river…
- The Old Man 狐狸？狐狸很聪明……你怎么跑回来的？
Húli? Húli hěn cōngming… nǐ zěnme pǎo huílái de?
A fox? But foxes are clever… How did you ever get away?
- The Gingerbread Man 我从狐狸的鼻子上跳回来了！我现在……聪明一点儿了。
Wǒ cóng húli de bízi shang tiào huílái le! Wǒ xiànzài… cōngming yìdiǎnr le.
I jumped off the fox's nose, right back to the bank! And now I'm… a little bit wiser.
- The Old Woman 你没事就好。这是你的家，你是我们的孩子。
Nǐ méi shì jiù hǎo. Zhè shì nǐ de jiā, nǐ shì wǒmen de háizi.
All that matters is that you're safe. This is your home, and you're our child.
- The Gingerbread Man 跑跑跑，快快跑！跑回家，最最好！
Pǎo pǎo pǎo, kuài kuài pǎo! Pǎo huí jiā, zuì zuì hǎo!
Run, run, run, quick as can be! Running home is the best for me!
- The Old Man 好孩子……你身上还是好香啊！
Hǎo háizi… nǐ shēnshang háishi hǎo xiāng a!
Good boy… you still smell awfully yummy!
- The Gingerbread Man 爷爷，闻一闻可以，吃一口不行！
Yéye, wén yi wén kěyǐ, chī yì kǒu bù xíng!
Grandpa, you can sniff me, but no bites!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the fox keep telling the gingerbread man to climb higher?
“水太深了，你到我的头上来吧。”
- What does the fox say the strange noise is?
“那是……那是河水的声音！”
- What makes the gingerbread man jump off the fox's nose?
“我是狐狸！……老奶奶说过，河边有狐狸！”
- Why can the gingerbread man jump back onto the grass?
“狐狸走得很慢，他们还在河边。”
- What does the gingerbread man tell the old man at the end?
“爷爷，闻一闻可以，吃一口不行！”