The Magic Brocade · chapter 2 of 4
The Stone Horse
石马
Two brothers meet an old woman and a stone horse on the road east. One takes gold and goes home. Then A San arrives, and the horse begins to speak.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 大哥和二哥走了很多天，走到一条很长的路上。
Dàgē hé èrgē zǒu le hěn duō tiān, zǒu dào yì tiáo hěn cháng de lù shàng.
The two brothers walked for many days and came to a very long road.
- The Old Woman 孩子们，你们要去哪儿？
Háizimen, nǐmen yào qù nǎr?
Children, where are you going?
- Big Brother 老奶奶，我们去太阳山，找我们妈妈的锦。
Lǎo nǎinai, wǒmen qù Tàiyáng Shān, zhǎo wǒmen māma de jǐn.
Granny, we're going to Sun Mountain to find our mother's brocade.
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Magic Brocade 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.
- The Old Woman 路很难走。有一座火山，过了火山，还有一片冷海。
Lù hěn nán zǒu. Yǒu yí zuò huǒshān, guò le huǒshān, hái yǒu yí piàn lěng hǎi.
The road is hard. There is a fire mountain, and past it a freezing sea.
- The Old Woman 这匹石马会带人过去。可是人不能怕，也不能回头。
Zhè pǐ shímǎ huì dài rén guòqù. Kěshì rén bù néng pà, yě bù néng huí tóu.
This stone horse can carry a person across. But the rider can't be afraid, and can't look back.
- Second Brother 火？我最怕热了！大哥，你怕不怕？
Huǒ? Wǒ zuì pà rè le! Dàgē, nǐ pà bú pà?
Fire? I hate the heat! Big Brother, are you scared?
- Big Brother 我……我不怕。可是，那个火很大吗？
Wǒ… wǒ bú pà. Kěshì, nàge huǒ hěn dà ma?
I... I'm not scared. But, is the fire very big?
- The Old Woman 很大。你们也可以不去。我这里有金子，一个人一袋。
Hěn dà. Nǐmen yě kěyǐ bú qù. Wǒ zhèlǐ yǒu jīnzi, yí gè rén yí dài.
Very big. You don't have to go. I have gold here, one bag for each of you.
- Second Brother 金子？！好多金子！大哥，我们拿吧！
Jīnzi?! Hǎo duō jīnzi! Dàgē, wǒmen ná ba!
Gold?! So much gold! Big Brother, let's take it!
- Big Brother 可是妈妈的锦……不过，有了金子，我们可以买很多东西。
Kěshì māma de jǐn… Búguò, yǒu le jīnzi, wǒmen kěyǐ mǎi hěn duō dōngxi.
But Mama's brocade... Still, with gold we can buy lots of things.
- The Old Woman 你们想好了吗？拿了金子，就不能去太阳山了。
Nǐmen xiǎng hǎo le ma? Ná le jīnzi, jiù bù néng qù Tàiyáng Shān le.
Have you made up your minds? If you take the gold, you can't go to Sun Mountain.
- Second Brother 想好了！谢谢老奶奶！我们回家！
Xiǎng hǎo le! Xièxie lǎo nǎinai! Wǒmen huí jiā!
We have! Thank you, Granny! Let's go home!
- Big Brother 妈妈，我们回来了！你看，这么多金子！
Māma, wǒmen huílái le! Nǐ kàn, zhème duō jīnzi!
Mama, we're back! Look at all this gold!
- Mama 锦呢？你们找到锦了吗？
Jǐn ne? Nǐmen zhǎodào jǐn le ma?
Where is the brocade? Did you find it?
- Big Brother 没有。可是金子可以买很多锦！
Méiyǒu. Kěshì jīnzi kěyǐ mǎi hěn duō jǐn!
No. But gold can buy lots of brocade!
- Mama 别的锦，没有我梦里的村子。
Bié de jǐn, méiyǒu wǒ mèng lǐ de cūnzi.
Other brocade doesn't have the village from my dream.
- Big Brother 妈妈，火山那么热，海那么冷！我们没有办法！
Māma, huǒshān nàme rè, hǎi nàme lěng! Wǒmen méiyǒu bànfǎ!
Mama, the fire mountain is so hot and the sea is so cold! There was nothing we could do!
- Mama 我不要金子。我要我的锦……
Wǒ bú yào jīnzi. Wǒ yào wǒ de jǐn…
I don't want gold. I want my brocade...
- A San 妈妈，我去。大哥二哥回来了，现在该我去了。
Māma, wǒ qù. Dàgē èrgē huílái le, xiànzài gāi wǒ qù le.
Mama, I'll go. My brothers are back, so now it's my turn.
- Mama 火那么大，海那么冷……我怕你回不来。
Huǒ nàme dà, hǎi nàme lěng… wǒ pà nǐ huí bù lái.
The fire is so big and the sea so cold... I'm afraid you won't come back.
- A San 妈妈，我会回来的。我会带着锦回来。
Māma, wǒ huì huílái de. Wǒ huì dài zhe jǐn huílái.
Mama, I will come back. I'll bring the brocade with me.
- A San 老奶奶！请问，去太阳山怎么走？
Lǎo nǎinai! Qǐngwèn, qù Tàiyáng Shān zěnme zǒu?
Granny! Excuse me, how do I get to Sun Mountain?
- The Old Woman 又来一个孩子。你也想要金子吗？
Yòu lái yí gè háizi. Nǐ yě xiǎng yào jīnzi ma?
Another child. Do you want gold too?
- A San 不要。我要我妈妈的锦。
Bú yào. Wǒ yào wǒ māma de jǐn.
No. I want my mother's brocade.
- The Old Woman 前面有火，有冷海。你怕不怕？
Qiánmiàn yǒu huǒ, yǒu lěng hǎi. Nǐ pà bú pà?
Ahead there's fire and a freezing sea. Are you afraid?
- A San 我怕。可是我不会回头。
Wǒ pà. Kěshì wǒ bú huì huí tóu.
I am. But I won't look back.
- The Old Woman 很多人说不怕，可是走到火前，就回头了。
Hěn duō rén shuō bú pà, kěshì zǒu dào huǒ qián, jiù huí tóu le.
Many people say they aren't afraid, but when they reach the fire, they turn back.
- The Old Woman 好孩子。这就是石马要听的话。
Hǎo háizi. Zhè jiù shì shímǎ yào tīng de huà.
Good child. Those are the words the stone horse wanted to hear.
- The Stone Horse 上来吧，孩子。抓紧我，不要回头。
Shàng lái ba, háizi. Zhuā jǐn wǒ, bú yào huí tóu.
Climb up, child. Hold on tight, and don't look back.
- A San 石头……石头在说话！
Shítou… shítou zài shuōhuà!
The stone... the stone is talking!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the old woman say lies ahead?
“有一座火山，过了火山，还有一片冷海。”
- What do the two older brothers choose?
“想好了！谢谢老奶奶！我们回家！”
- Why is Mama sad when they bring the gold?
“我不要金子。我要我的锦……”
- What does A San say when the old woman asks if he is afraid?
“我怕。可是我不会回头。”
- What surprising thing happens at the end?
“上来吧，孩子。抓紧我，不要回头。”