The Last Leaf · chapter 3 of 3
Behrman's Masterpiece
贝尔曼的杰作
After another stormy night, Johnsy asks Sue to open the shade one more time. Then the doctor brings news from downstairs.
Read what you hear
- Sue 亲爱的，你不为自己想，也为我想想吧。你走了，我怎么办？
Qīn'ài de, nǐ bú wèi zìjǐ xiǎng, yě wèi wǒ xiǎngxiang ba. Nǐ zǒu le, wǒ zěnme bàn?
Sweetheart, even if you don't care about yourself, care about me a little. What would I do without you?
- Narrator 琼西没有回答。那一天过得很慢很慢，天黑的时候，那片叶子还在墙上。
Qióngxī méiyǒu huídá. Nà yì tiān guò de hěn màn hěn màn, tiān hēi de shíhou, nà piàn yèzi hái zài qiáng shang.
Johnsy didn't answer. The day went by very, very slowly. When darkness fell, the leaf was still on the wall.
- Narrator 夜里，北风又吹起来了，大雨一直打在窗户上。
Yèlǐ, běifēng yòu chuī qǐlái le, dàyǔ yìzhí dǎ zài chuānghu shang.
In the night, the north wind rose again, and heavy rain beat against the window without stopping.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Last Leaf 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.
- Johnsy 天亮了。苏，把窗帘拉开。
Tiān liàng le. Sū, bǎ chuānglián lā kāi.
It's morning. Sue, open the shade.
- Sue 又是一夜大风大雨……小叶子，求求你，你一定要还在……
Yòu shì yí yè dàfēng dàyǔ… xiǎo yèzi, qiúqiu nǐ, nǐ yídìng yào hái zài…
Another night of wind and rain… Please, little leaf, please still be there…
- Sue 琼西，它还在！那片叶子还在墙上！
Qióngxī, tā hái zài! Nà piàn yèzi hái zài qiáng shang!
Johnsy, it's still there! The leaf is still on the wall!
- Johnsy 两夜的大风大雨，它为什么还不掉？这么小的一片叶子，还那么用力地抓着墙。
Liǎng yè de dàfēng dàyǔ, tā wèishénme hái bú diào? Zhème xiǎo de yí piàn yèzi, hái nàme yònglì de zhuāzhe qiáng.
Two nights of wind and rain, and it still hasn't fallen. Why? Such a tiny leaf, still clinging to the wall with all its strength.
- Johnsy 它都不放手，我呢？我就这样躺着，等着死吗？
Tā dōu bú fàngshǒu, wǒ ne? Wǒ jiù zhèyàng tǎngzhe, děngzhe sǐ ma?
It won't let go… So what about me? Am I just going to lie here and wait to die?
- Johnsy 苏苏，我是个坏孩子。那片叶子留在那儿，是要让我看看，我有多坏。想死，是不对的。
Sūsū, wǒ shì gè huài háizi. Nà piàn yèzi liú zài nàr, shì yào ràng wǒ kànkan, wǒ yǒu duō huài. Xiǎng sǐ, shì bú duì de.
Sudie, I've been awful. That leaf stayed up there so I could see how badly I've behaved. Wanting to die is wrong.
- Johnsy 给我一点儿汤吧，再来一点儿牛奶……不，先给我一面镜子。我要坐起来，看你做饭。
Gěi wǒ yìdiǎnr tāng ba, zài lái yìdiǎnr niúnǎi… bù, xiān gěi wǒ yí miàn jìngzi. Wǒ yào zuò qǐlái, kàn nǐ zuò fàn.
Could I have a little soup? And some milk… No, bring me a mirror first. I want to sit up and watch you cook.
- Sue 镜子？我们的琼西又爱漂亮了！好，马上就来！鸡汤也快好了！
Jìngzi? Wǒmen de Qióngxī yòu ài piàoliang le! Hǎo, mǎshàng jiù lái! Jītāng yě kuài hǎo le!
A mirror? Our Johnsy wants to look pretty again! Coming right up! And the chicken soup's almost ready!
- Narrator 过了一个小时，琼西又开口了。
Guò le yí gè xiǎoshí, Qióngxī yòu kāikǒu le.
An hour later, Johnsy spoke again.
- Johnsy 苏苏，有一天，我要去画那不勒斯海湾。
Sūsū, yǒu yì tiān, wǒ yào qù huà Nàbùlèsī Hǎiwān.
Sudie, one day I'm going to paint the Bay of Naples.
- Narrator 下午，医生来了。他走的时候，苏送他到了门外。
Xiàwǔ, yīshēng lái le. Tā zǒu de shíhou, Sū sòng tā dào le mén wài.
In the afternoon, the doctor came. When he left, Sue saw him out the door.
- Doctor 现在是一半对一半了。好好照顾她，你会赢的。
Xiànzài shì yíbàn duì yíbàn le. Hǎohǎo zhàogù tā, nǐ huì yíng de.
It's fifty-fifty now. Take good care of her, and you'll win.
- Doctor 我还要去楼下看一个病人，叫贝尔曼，好像也是画画的。也是肺炎。
Wǒ hái yào qù lóuxià kàn yí gè bìngrén, jiào Bèi'ěrmàn, hǎoxiàng yě shì huà huà de. Yě shì fèiyán.
I've got another patient to see downstairs, a man called Behrman. A painter of some kind, I gather. He has pneumonia as well.
- Doctor 他老了，身体也弱，病得很重。没有希望了，今天送他去医院，让他舒服一点儿。
Tā lǎo le, shēntǐ yě ruò, bìng de hěn zhòng. Méiyǒu xīwàng le, jīntiān sòng tā qù yīyuàn, ràng tā shūfu yìdiǎnr.
He's old and frail, and it's hit him very hard. There's no hope. He's going to the hospital today, where he'll be more comfortable.
- Sue 贝尔曼先生？他也……
Bèi'ěrmàn xiānsheng? Tā yě…
Mr. Behrman? He's ill too…?
- Narrator 第二天，医生又来了。
Dì èr tiān, yīshēng yòu lái le.
The next day, the doctor came again.
- Doctor 她没有危险了，你赢了！现在只要让她好好吃饭，好好休息。
Tā méiyǒu wēixiǎn le, nǐ yíng le! Xiànzài zhǐyào ràng tā hǎohǎo chī fàn, hǎohǎo xiūxi.
The danger's past. You won! Now she just needs good food and plenty of rest.
- Narrator 那天下午，琼西坐在床上，高高兴兴地织着一条很蓝很蓝的围巾。
Nà tiān xiàwǔ, Qióngxī zuò zài chuáng shang, gāogāoxìngxìng de zhīzhe yì tiáo hěn lán hěn lán de wéijīn.
That afternoon, Johnsy sat up in bed, happily knitting a very, very blue scarf.
- Sue 这条围巾好蓝啊！是给谁的？
Zhè tiáo wéijīn hǎo lán a! Shì gěi shéi de?
My, that scarf is blue! Who's it for?
- Johnsy 给你的！不好看吗？
Gěi nǐ de! Bù hǎokàn ma?
For you! Don't you think it's pretty?
- Sue 好看，很好看……琼西，我有一件事要告诉你。贝尔曼先生今天在医院里走了。
Hǎokàn, hěn hǎokàn… Qióngxī, wǒ yǒu yí jiàn shì yào gàosu nǐ. Bèi'ěrmàn xiānsheng jīntiān zài yīyuàn lǐ zǒu le.
It's lovely. Really lovely… Johnsy, there's something I have to tell you. Mr. Behrman passed away today, in the hospital.
- Johnsy 贝尔曼先生？他……怎么会？
Bèi'ěrmàn xiānsheng? Tā… zěnme huì?
Mr. Behrman? But… how?
- Sue 是肺炎，他只病了两天。第一天早上，看门人在他的房间里找到他，他已经起不来了。
Shì fèiyán, tā zhǐ bìng le liǎng tiān. Dì yī tiān zǎoshang, kānménrén zài tā de fángjiān lǐ zhǎo dào tā, tā yǐjīng qǐ bu lái le.
It was pneumonia. He was only sick for two days. On the first morning, the caretaker found him in his room, too ill to get up.
- Sue 他的鞋和衣服全湿了，冷得像冰一样。
Tā de xié hé yīfu quán shī le, lěng de xiàng bīng yíyàng.
His shoes and clothes were soaking wet and as cold as ice.
- Johnsy 那么大的风雨，他去了哪儿？
Nàme dà de fēngyǔ, tā qù le nǎr?
In all that wind and rain? Where had he gone?
- Sue 没有人知道。后来，大家在外面找到了一个还亮着的灯，一把梯子，还有几支画笔。
Méiyǒu rén zhīdào. Hòulái, dàjiā zài wàimiàn zhǎo dào le yí gè hái liàngzhe de dēng, yì bǎ tīzi, hái yǒu jǐ zhī huàbǐ.
Nobody knew. Then, outside, they found a lantern that was still lit, a ladder, and a few paintbrushes.
- Sue 画笔上，有绿色，也有黄色。
Huàbǐ shang, yǒu lǜsè, yě yǒu huángsè.
There was green paint on the brushes, and yellow.
- Johnsy 绿色……和黄色？
Lǜsè… hé huángsè?
Green… and yellow?
- Sue 你看看窗外那片叶子。风那么大，它为什么一动也不动？你没有想过吗？
Nǐ kànkan chuāngwài nà piàn yèzi. Fēng nàme dà, tā wèishénme yí dòng yě bú dòng? Nǐ méiyǒu xiǎng guo ma?
Look at that leaf out the window. The wind was so strong, yet it never stirred. Didn't you ever wonder why?
- Sue 亲爱的，那是贝尔曼先生的杰作。最后一片叶子掉下来的那天晚上，他在墙上画了这一片。
Qīn'ài de, nà shì Bèi'ěrmàn xiānsheng de jiézuò. Zuìhòu yí piàn yèzi diào xiàlái de nà tiān wǎnshang, tā zài qiáng shang huà le zhè yí piàn.
Darling, that's Mr. Behrman's masterpiece. The night the real last leaf came down, he painted this one on the wall.
- Johnsy 他总说，有一天要画一张杰作……他画了。他真的画了。
Tā zǒng shuō, yǒu yì tiān yào huà yì zhāng jiézuò… tā huà le. Tā zhēn de huà le.
He always said that one day he'd paint a masterpiece… And he did. He really did.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Johnsy ask for before the soup?
“不，先给我一面镜子。”
- What does Johnsy say she will do one day?
“有一天，我要去画那不勒斯海湾。”
- What does the doctor say about Mr. Behrman?
“也是肺炎……没有希望了”
- What was found outside after the stormy night?
“一个还亮着的灯，一把梯子，还有几支画笔。”
- What is the last leaf, really?
“那是贝尔曼先生的杰作……他在墙上画了这一片。”