The Great Race: The Twelve Animals · chapter 4 of 5
The Snake and the Raft
蛇和木筏
Horse gallops in with a secret passenger, three friends float up on a raft, and only two places are left. But where is Cat?
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Read what you hear
- Horse 啊！蛇！我的脚上有一条蛇！
A! Shé! Wǒ de jiǎo shang yǒu yì tiáo shé!
Aaah! A snake! There's a snake on my hoof!
- Snake 别怕，别怕。我……先走了。
Bié pà, bié pà. Wǒ… xiān zǒu le.
Don't be scared, don't be scared. I'll just… go on ahead.
- Narrator 马跳了起来。蛇就先到了玉帝的前边。
Mǎ tiào le qǐlái. Shé jiù xiān dào le Yùdì de qiánbian.
Horse leaped into the air, and Snake slid in ahead of him, right in front of the Jade Emperor.
- The Jade Emperor 蛇，第六！马，第七！我写一下……
Shé, dì liù! Mǎ, dì qī! Wǒ xiě yíxià…
Snake, sixth! Horse, seventh! Let me write that down…
- Horse 蛇！你一直在我的脚上？从河那边到这边？
Shé! Nǐ yìzhí zài wǒ de jiǎo shang? Cóng hé nàbiān dào zhèbiān?
Snake! You were on my hoof the whole time? All the way across the river?
- Snake 对。你跑得真快，谢谢你！
Duì. Nǐ pǎo de zhēn kuài, xièxie nǐ!
That's right. You run so fast. Thank you!
- Horse 我跑得最快，我是第七？
Wǒ pǎo de zuì kuài, wǒ shì dì qī?
I'm the fastest runner of all, and I'm seventh?
- Rat 蛇，你的办法，和我的一样！
Shé, nǐ de bànfǎ, hé wǒ de yíyàng!
Snake, your trick is just like mine!
- Narrator 河里来了一个木筏。木筏上有羊、猴子和公鸡。
Hé lǐ lái le yí gè mùfá. Mùfá shang yǒu Yáng, Hóuzi hé Gōngjī.
Then a raft came floating down the river. On it were Goat, Monkey and Rooster.
- Rooster 玉帝！玉帝！我们来了！是我先看见这个木筏的！
Yùdì! Yùdì! Wǒmen lái le! Shì wǒ xiān kànjiàn zhège mùfá de!
Your Majesty! Your Majesty! We're here! I'm the one who spotted this raft!
- Monkey 是我推的！推了很久很久！
Shì wǒ tuī de! Tuī le hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ!
And I'm the one who pushed it! I pushed for ages and ages!
- Goat 水里有很多草。是我把草拉走的……也吃了一点儿。
Shuǐ lǐ yǒu hěn duō cǎo. Shì wǒ bǎ cǎo lā zǒu de… yě chī le yìdiǎnr.
There were lots of weeds in the water. I pulled them out of the way… and ate a few.
- The Jade Emperor 好！你们三个是一起过的河！真好！
Hǎo! Nǐmen sān gè shì yìqǐ guò de hé! Zhēn hǎo!
Wonderful! The three of you crossed the river together! How lovely!
- The Jade Emperor 可是，我要一个一个写。你们一个一个来！
Kěshì, wǒ yào yí gè yí gè xiě. Nǐmen yí gè yí gè lái!
But I write names one at a time. So off you come, one at a time!
- Goat 对不起，请让一让……我先下了。
Duìbuqǐ, qǐng ràng yi ràng… wǒ xiān xià le.
Excuse me, pardon me… I'll get off first.
- Monkey 我第二个！跳！
Wǒ dì èr gè! Tiào!
Me next! Jump!
- Rooster 我们到了，我们到了！我要唱一个歌……
Wǒmen dào le, wǒmen dào le! Wǒ yào chàng yí gè gē…
We made it, we made it! This calls for a song…
- Rooster 你们都走了？等一等！
Nǐmen dōu zǒu le? Děng yi děng!
Wait, you've all gone? Hold on!
- The Jade Emperor 羊，第八。猴子，第九。公鸡，第十。我写一下……
Yáng, dì bā. Hóuzi, dì jiǔ. Gōngjī, dì shí. Wǒ xiě yíxià…
Goat, eighth. Monkey, ninth. Rooster, tenth. Let me write that down…
- Rooster 第十？可是木筏是我先看见的！
Dì shí? Kěshì mùfá shì wǒ xiān kànjiàn de!
Tenth? But I'm the one who spotted the raft!
- The Jade Emperor 你是最后一个！你在唱歌！
Nǐ shì zuìhòu yí gè! Nǐ zài chànggē!
You were the last one off! You were busy singing!
- Rooster 我……我唱得很好听……
Wǒ… wǒ chàng de hěn hǎotīng…
But… but I sing so beautifully…
- Narrator 太阳往西边走了。十个动物都到了。
Tàiyáng wǎng xībian zǒu le. Shí gè dòngwù dōu dào le.
The sun moved on toward the west. Ten animals had arrived.
- The Jade Emperor 一、二、三……十。还有两个！谁是第十一？谁是第十二？
Yī, èr, sān… shí. Hái yǒu liǎng gè! Shéi shì dì shíyī? Shéi shì dì shí'èr?
One, two, three… ten. Two places left! Who will be eleventh? Who will be twelfth?
- Ox 老鼠，猫还没有来。你真的叫她了吗？
Lǎoshǔ, Māo hái méiyǒu lái. Nǐ zhēnde jiào tā le ma?
Rat, Cat still isn't here. Did you really wake her?
- Rat 我……我叫了啊。
Wǒ… wǒ jiào le a.
I… I did call her.
- Rat 还有两个……猫，你能来吗？
Hái yǒu liǎng gè… Māo, nǐ néng lái ma?
Two places left… Cat, can you make it?
- Narrator 这时候，猫还没有过河。她在河边走来走去，不知道怎么办。
Zhè shíhou, Māo hái méiyǒu guò hé. Tā zài hébiān zǒu lái zǒu qù, bù zhīdào zěnme bàn.
At that moment, Cat still hadn't crossed the river. She paced up and down the bank, not knowing what to do.
- Cat 这么大的河……我不会游泳！
Zhème dà de hé… wǒ bú huì yóuyǒng!
A river this big… and I can't swim!
- Cat 可是，我一定要过去！老鼠，你等着！
Kěshì, wǒ yídìng yào guòqù! Lǎoshǔ, nǐ děngzhe!
But I'm getting across, no matter what! Rat, you just wait!
What changed in the story?
- How does Snake get across the river?
“蛇！你一直在我的脚上？从河那边到这边？”
- Why does Horse come seventh?
“马跳了起来。蛇就先到了玉帝的前边。”
- How did Goat help the raft across?
“是我把草拉走的……也吃了一点儿。”
- Why is Rooster tenth?
“你是最后一个！你在唱歌！”
- What does Cat decide at the end of the chapter?
“可是，我一定要过去！老鼠，你等着！”