The Jungle Book · chapter 4 of 5
The Red Flower
红花
Bagheera says the pack is turning on Mowgli, and sends him to the human village for a weapon the whole jungle fears: the Red Flower.
Read what you hear
- Bagheera 毛克利，听我说。狼群不要你了。
Máokèlì, tīng wǒ shuō. Lángqún bú yào nǐ le.
Mowgli, listen to me. The pack doesn't want you anymore.
- Mowgli 什么？我是狼的孩子！
Shénme? Wǒ shì láng de háizi!
What? I'm a child of the wolves!
- Bagheera 阿克拉没有抓到鹿。他老了，谢尔汗就对小狼们说话。
Ākèlā méiyǒu zhuādào lù. Tā lǎo le, Xiè'ěrhàn jiù duì xiǎo lángmen shuōhuà.
Akela missed his deer. He is old, so Shere Khan talks to the young wolves.
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Jungle Book 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.
- Mowgli 那是谢尔汗的话！我才不信他说的话！
Nà shì Xiè'ěrhàn de huà! Wǒ cái bú xìn tā shuō de huà!
Those are Shere Khan's words! I don't believe him!
- Bagheera 我也不信他。可是小狼们信。
Wǒ yě bú xìn tā. Kěshì xiǎo lángmen xìn.
I don't believe him either. But the young wolves do.
- Bagheera 你要去人的村子，拿红花。
Nǐ yào qù rén de cūnzi, ná hóng huā.
You must go to the human village and get the Red Flower.
- Mowgli 红花？我在森林里没有见过。那是什么花？
Hóng huā? Wǒ zài sēnlín lǐ méiyǒu jiànguo. Nà shì shénme huā?
The Red Flower? I have never seen one in the jungle. What kind of flower is it?
- Bagheera 是人的火。森林里的动物，都怕它。
Shì rén de huǒ. Sēnlín lǐ de dòngwù, dōu pà tā.
It's the fire of men. Every animal in the jungle fears it.
- Mowgli 红花在哪儿？我怎么拿？
Hóng huā zài nǎr? Wǒ zěnme ná?
Where is the Red Flower? How do I carry it?
- Bagheera 村子里，每家的门口都有。用一个泥罐子拿。
Cūnzi lǐ, měi jiā de ménkǒu dōu yǒu. Yòng yí gè níguànzi ná.
In the village, there is one at every door. Carry it in a clay pot.
- Mowgli 好，我去。你在这儿等我。
Hǎo, wǒ qù. Nǐ zài zhèr děng wǒ.
All right, I'll go. Wait for me here.
- Bagheera 小心。人也不都是好人。
Xiǎoxīn. Rén yě bù dōu shì hǎorén.
Be careful. Not all humans are good.
- Messua 谁在那儿？啊……是一个孩子！
Shéi zài nàr? À… shì yí gè háizi!
Who's there? Oh... it's a child!
- Mowgli 我从森林来。我要红花。
Wǒ cóng sēnlín lái. Wǒ yào hóng huā.
I come from the jungle. I need the Red Flower.
- Messua 红花？你是冷了吧？孩子，快进来，屋里有火。
Hóng huā? Nǐ shì lěng le ba? Háizi, kuài jìnlái, wū lǐ yǒu huǒ.
The Red Flower? Are you cold? Come in quickly, child, there's a fire inside.
- Mowgli 这就是红花……它很热，也很亮。
Zhè jiù shì hóng huā… Tā hěn rè, yě hěn liàng.
So this is the Red Flower... It's hot and bright.
- Messua 你很像我的儿子。他很小的时候，被老虎带走了。
Nǐ hěn xiàng wǒ de érzi. Tā hěn xiǎo de shíhou, bèi lǎohǔ dàizǒu le.
You look so much like my son. When he was very small, a tiger took him away.
- Mowgli 老虎……我认识一只老虎。
Lǎohǔ… Wǒ rènshi yì zhī lǎohǔ.
A tiger... I know a tiger.
- Messua 你要火吗？拿去吧。小心，别烧到手。
Nǐ yào huǒ ma? Ná qù ba. Xiǎoxīn, bié shāo dào shǒu.
Do you want fire? Take it. Careful, don't burn your hands.
- Mowgli 谢谢您。我会回来看您的。
Xièxie nín. Wǒ huì huílái kàn nín de.
Thank you. I will come back to see you.
- Shere Khan 狼群的朋友们！人的孩子来了。他现在是我的了！
Lángqún de péngyoumen! Rén de háizi lái le. Tā xiànzài shì wǒ de le!
Friends of the pack! The human child has come. He is mine now!
- Akela 毛克利……我老了，不能再帮你了。
Máokèlì… wǒ lǎo le, bù néng zài bāng nǐ le.
Mowgli... I am old. I can't help you anymore.
- Mowgli 谢尔汗，你想要我吗？来吧！我给你带了一个礼物。
Xiè'ěrhàn, nǐ xiǎng yào wǒ ma? Lái ba! Wǒ gěi nǐ dài le yí gè lǐwù.
Shere Khan, do you want me? Come and get me! I brought you a present.
- Mowgli 阿克拉，你不用帮我。我有红花。
Ākèlā, nǐ bú yòng bāng wǒ. Wǒ yǒu hóng huā.
Akela, you don't need to help me. I have the Red Flower.
- Shere Khan 那是什么？拿开！快拿开！
Nà shì shénme? Ná kāi! Kuài ná kāi!
What is that? Take it away! Take it away!
- Mowgli 谢尔汗，走开！不然红花会咬你的脸！
Xiè'ěrhàn, zǒu kāi! Bùrán hóng huā huì yǎo nǐ de liǎn!
Shere Khan, go away! Or the Red Flower will bite your face!
- Shere Khan 我不怕一个小孩……啊！好痛！我的脸！
Wǒ bú pà yí gè xiǎohái… À! Hǎo tòng! Wǒ de liǎn!
I'm not afraid of a little boy... Ah! It hurts! My face!
- Akela 你救了我，也救了狼群。谢谢你，孩子。
Nǐ jiù le wǒ, yě jiù le lángqún. Xièxie nǐ, háizi.
You saved me, and you saved the pack. Thank you, child.
- Mowgli 阿克拉，我要走了。我想去人的村子里住一住。
Ākèlā, wǒ yào zǒu le. Wǒ xiǎng qù rén de cūnzi lǐ zhù yí zhù.
Akela, I have to go. I want to try living in the human village.
- Mowgli 我的脸湿了……眼睛里有水。这是什么？
Wǒ de liǎn shī le… yǎnjing lǐ yǒu shuǐ. Zhè shì shénme?
My face is wet... there's water in my eyes. What is this?
- Akela 那是眼泪，孩子。人才会有。
Nà shì yǎnlèi, háizi. Rén cái huì yǒu.
Those are tears, child. Only humans have them.
- Akela 去吧。可是小心，谢尔汗没有走远。他会等你。
Qù ba. Kěshì xiǎoxīn, Xiè'ěrhàn méiyǒu zǒu yuǎn. Tā huì děng nǐ.
Go. But be careful. Shere Khan hasn't gone far. He will be waiting for you.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is the Red Flower?
“是人的火。森林里的动物，都怕它。”
- Why does Bagheera say the pack is turning on Mowgli?
“他老了，谢尔汗就对小狼们说话。”
- Why does Messua feel close to Mowgli?
“你很像我的儿子。”
- How does Mowgli make Shere Khan back away?
“谢尔汗，走开！不然红花会咬你的脸！”
- What warning does Akela give at the end?
“谢尔汗没有走远。他会等你。”