The Little Noodle Shop · chapter 8 of 8
Happy Birthday, Mama
妈妈，生日快乐
Xiao Hu's mother walks into the shop just as the birthday noodle is ready. What happens to the blue bowl, and to Boss Gao?
Read what you hear
- Xiao Hu's Mama 小虎！你在这儿！妈妈找你一天了！
Xiǎo Hǔ! Nǐ zài zhèr! Māma zhǎo nǐ yì tiān le!
Xiao Hu! You're here! Mama has been looking for you all day!
- Nainai 小虎妈妈，请坐，请坐！先喝茶！
Xiǎo Hǔ māma, qǐng zuò, qǐng zuò! Xiān hē chá!
Mrs. Hu, please sit, please sit! Have some tea first!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 谢谢。可是今天，你们店怎么这么热闹？
Xièxie. Kěshì jīntiān, nǐmen diàn zěnme zhème rènao?
Thank you. But why is your shop so lively today?
Chapter 8 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Little Noodle Shop 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.
- Nainai 今天有人过生日！
Jīntiān yǒurén guò shēngrì!
Someone is having a birthday today!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 谁的生日？
Shéi de shēngrì?
Whose birthday?
- Nainai 一会儿你就知道了。小虎，去吧！
Yíhuìr nǐ jiù zhīdào le. Xiǎo Hǔ, qù ba!
You'll know soon. Xiao Hu, go!
- Xiao Hu 妈妈，你别看！数到三！
Māma, nǐ bié kàn! Shǔ dào sān!
Mama, don't look! Count to three!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 好，好。一、二、三……
Hǎo, hǎo. Yī, èr, sān…
All right, all right. One, two, three…
- Xiao Hu 妈妈，生日快乐！这是我做的面！
Māma, shēngrì kuàilè! Zhè shì wǒ zuò de miàn!
Mama, happy birthday! I made these noodles!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 这是……一条面？这么长！
Zhè shì… yì tiáo miàn? Zhème cháng!
This is… one single noodle? So long!
- Xiao Hu 它没有断！我做了三天！
Tā méiyǒu duàn! Wǒ zuò le sān tiān!
It didn't break! I worked on it for three days!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 我知道了！你的鞋上，有白色的面粉！
Wǒ zhīdào le! Nǐ de xié shang, yǒu báisè de miànfěn!
Now I understand! There was white flour on your shoes!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 小虎……谢谢你。这是我最好的生日。
Xiǎo Hǔ… xièxie nǐ. Zhè shì wǒ zuì hǎo de shēngrì.
Xiao Hu… thank you. This is my best birthday ever.
- Nainai 看，用的是蓝碗。谁饿了，谁就能用它。今天，它是你的。
Kàn, yòng de shì lán wǎn. Shéi è le, shéi jiù néng yòng tā. Jīntiān, tā shì nǐ de.
Look, it's the blue bowl. Anyone who's hungry can use it. Today, it's yours.
- Lao Wang 生日快乐！我也要吃长寿面！
Shēngrì kuàilè! Wǒ yě yào chī chángshòu miàn!
Happy birthday! I want longevity noodles too!
- Xiao Mei 老王，你已经吃了四碗了！
Lǎo Wáng, nǐ yǐjīng chī le sì wǎn le!
Old Wang, you've already had four bowls!
- Lao Wang 长寿面不一样！吃了它，我可以再活一百岁！
Chángshòu miàn bù yíyàng! Chī le tā, wǒ kěyǐ zài huó yìbǎi suì!
Longevity noodles are different! Eat them and I'll live another hundred years!
- Baba (Old Lin) 大家都有！我做了很多长面！
Dàjiā dōu yǒu! Wǒ zuò le hěn duō cháng miàn!
Everyone gets some! I made lots of long noodles!
- Boss Gao 我的第一条面，断了十次！可是我没有哭。
Wǒ de dì yī tiáo miàn, duàn le shí cì! Kěshì wǒ méiyǒu kū.
My first noodle broke ten times! But I did not cry.
- Lao Wang 你哭了！我看见了！
Nǐ kū le! Wǒ kànjiàn le!
You cried! I saw you!
- Boss Gao 那是……面粉进了眼睛！
Nà shì… miànfěn jìn le yǎnjing!
That was… flour in my eyes!
- Teacher Li 我的衣服上，面粉比你的眼睛里还多！
Wǒ de yīfu shang, miànfěn bǐ nǐ de yǎnjing lǐ hái duō!
There's more flour on my clothes than in your eyes!
- Xiao Mei 小虎，你想每个星期天都来吗？
Xiǎo Hǔ, nǐ xiǎng měi gè xīngqītiān dōu lái ma?
Xiao Hu, do you want to come every Sunday?
- Xiao Hu 想！可以吗？
Xiǎng! Kěyǐ ma?
Yes! Can I?
- Baba (Old Lin) 可以！蓝碗在这儿，等你。
Kěyǐ! Lán wǎn zài zhèr, děng nǐ.
Of course! The blue bowl will be here, waiting for you.
- Nainai 好了，好了，吃吧！面要凉了！小虎，你也吃！
Hǎo le, hǎo le, chī ba! Miàn yào liáng le! Xiǎo Hǔ, nǐ yě chī!
All right, all right, eat! The noodles are getting cold!
- Xiao Hu's Mama 大家，谢谢你们。我今天真高兴。
Dàjiā, xièxie nǐmen. Wǒ jīntiān zhēn gāoxìng.
Everyone, thank you. I am so happy today.
- Xiao Hu 妈妈，明年我还给你做长面！
Māma, míngnián wǒ hái gěi nǐ zuò cháng miàn!
Mama, next year I'll make you long noodles again!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Xiao Hu tell his mother before she looks?
“妈妈，你别看！数到三！”
- What has Xiao Hu made?
“它没有断！我做了三天！”
- What does Grandma say about the blue bowl?
“谁饿了，谁就能用它。”
- What does Gao Laoban say about his first noodle?
“我的第一条面，断了十次！”
- What does Xiao Hu promise at the end?
“明年我还给你做长面！”