The Magic Lotus Lantern · chapter 1 of 6
A Poem on the Wall
墙上的诗
On a rainy night, a soaked young scholar stumbles into the temple of Sanshengmu, the lonely goddess of Mount Hua, who hasn't laughed in a hundred years.
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 很久很久以前，华山上住着一位女神仙，她叫三圣母。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Huà Shān shang zhùzhe yí wèi nǚ shénxiān, tā jiào Sānshèngmǔ.
Long, long ago, a goddess lived on Mount Hua. Her name was Sanshengmu.
- Sanshengmu 宝莲灯啊宝莲灯，又下雨了。今天，还是没有人来。
Bǎolián Dēng a Bǎolián Dēng, yòu xià yǔ le. Jīntiān, háishi méiyǒu rén lái.
Oh, Lotus Lantern, my Lotus Lantern, it's raining again. And still nobody came today.
- Sanshengmu 一百年了，我天天跟你说话，你一次也不回答我。
Yìbǎi nián le, wǒ tiāntiān gēn nǐ shuōhuà, nǐ yí cì yě bù huídá wǒ.
For a hundred years I've talked to you every day, and you've never once answered me.
- Sanshengmu 你说，山下的人，天天都在做什么？我真想去看看！
Nǐ shuō, shān xià de rén, tiāntiān dōu zài zuò shénme? Wǒ zhēn xiǎng qù kànkan!
Tell me, what do the people down the mountain do all day? I'd so love to go and see!
- Liu Yanchang 好大的雨！有人吗？我能进来吗？
Hǎo dà de yǔ! Yǒu rén ma? Wǒ néng jìnlái ma?
What a downpour! Is anyone here? May I come in?
- Sanshengmu 有人来了！是一个年轻的读书人。
Yǒu rén lái le! Shì yí gè niánqīng de dúshūrén.
Someone's here! It's a young scholar.
- Liu Yanchang 三圣母，对不起。我叫刘彦昌，是去京城考试的。我能在您的庙里住一个晚上吗？
Sānshèngmǔ, duìbuqǐ. Wǒ jiào Liú Yànchāng, shì qù jīngchéng kǎoshì de. Wǒ néng zài nín de miào li zhù yí gè wǎnshang ma?
Excuse me, Sanshengmu. My name is Liu Yanchang, and I'm on my way to the capital for the exams. May I stay the night in your temple?
- Liu Yanchang 哎呀，我的书！全是水！我还怎么考试啊？
Āiyā, wǒ de shū! Quán shì shuǐ! Wǒ hái zěnme kǎoshì a?
Oh no, my books! They're soaked through! How am I supposed to take the exams now?
- Sanshengmu 宝莲灯，亮起来！帮帮他。
Bǎolián Dēng, liàng qǐlai! Bāngbang tā.
Lotus Lantern, shine! Help him.
- Narrator 宝莲灯亮了，又亮又热。书很快就干了。
Bǎolián Dēng liàng le, yòu liàng yòu rè. Shū hěn kuài jiù gān le.
The Lotus Lantern lit up, bright and warm, and the books were dry in no time.
- Liu Yanchang 书干了？这个灯没有油，怎么这么亮？
Shū gān le? Zhège dēng méiyǒu yóu, zěnme zhème liàng?
My books are dry? This lamp has no oil. How can it shine so bright?
- Sanshengmu 因为它不是一般的灯呀。
Yīnwèi tā bú shì yìbān de dēng ya.
Because it's no ordinary lamp.
- Liu Yanchang 谁？谁在说话？
Shéi? Shéi zài shuōhuà?
Who's there? Who said that?
- Sanshengmu 哎呀，他听见了！
Āiyā, tā tīngjiàn le!
Oops, he heard me!
- Liu Yanchang 一定是三圣母在帮我。我没有钱，就给她写一首诗吧！
Yídìng shì Sānshèngmǔ zài bāng wǒ. Wǒ méiyǒu qián, jiù gěi tā xiě yì shǒu shī ba!
It must be Sanshengmu helping me. I have no money to give her, so I'll write her a poem!
- Narrator 刘彦昌拿起笔，在墙上写了四句诗。
Liú Yànchāng náqǐ bǐ, zài qiáng shang xiě le sì jù shī.
Liu Yanchang picked up his brush and wrote four lines of poetry on the wall.
- Liu Yanchang “华山雨很大，书生冷又饿。谢谢三圣母，灯比火还热！”
“Huà Shān yǔ hěn dà, shūshēng lěng yòu è. Xièxie Sānshèngmǔ, dēng bǐ huǒ hái rè!”
“The rain on Mount Hua pours, the scholar's cold and hungry. Thank you, Sanshengmu: your lamp is hotter than fire!”
- Sanshengmu 哈哈哈！“灯比火还热”？
Hāhāhā! “Dēng bǐ huǒ hái rè”?
Ha ha ha! “Your lamp is hotter than fire”?
- Narrator 宝莲灯的光里，三圣母笑着走了出来。
Bǎolián Dēng de guāng lǐ, Sānshèngmǔ xiàozhe zǒu le chūlái.
Out of the Lotus Lantern's light stepped Sanshengmu, laughing.
- Liu Yanchang 啊！您……您是三圣母？
À! Nín… nín shì Sānshèngmǔ?
Ah! Are you... are you Sanshengmu?
- Sanshengmu 别怕。刘彦昌，你的诗……写得不太好。
Bié pà. Liú Yànchāng, nǐ de shī… xiě de bú tài hǎo.
Don't be afraid. Liu Yanchang, your poem... isn't very good.
- Liu Yanchang 不太好？那……我再写一首？
Bú tài hǎo? Nà… wǒ zài xiě yì shǒu?
Not very good? Then... shall I write you another one?
- Sanshengmu 不用了！一百年了，我第一次笑得这么高兴。你给我讲讲山下的事吧！
Búyòng le! Yìbǎi nián le, wǒ dì yī cì xiào de zhème gāoxìng. Nǐ gěi wǒ jiǎngjiang shān xià de shì ba!
No need! That's the first time in a hundred years I've laughed like that. Now tell me about the world down the mountain!
- Liu Yanchang 好！山下正月十五有灯会，一千个灯，都很亮！
Hǎo! Shān xià zhēngyuè shíwǔ yǒu dēnghuì, yìqiān gè dēng, dōu hěn liàng!
Gladly! On the fifteenth of the first month there's a lantern fair down there: a thousand lanterns, all shining bright!
- Sanshengmu 一千个灯？没有一个比我的宝莲灯亮吧？
Yìqiān gè dēng? Méiyǒu yí gè bǐ wǒ de Bǎolián Dēng liàng ba?
A thousand lanterns? I bet not one of them is brighter than my Lotus Lantern.
- Liu Yanchang 灯……都没有它亮。人……也都没有您好看。
Dēng… dōu méiyǒu tā liàng. Rén… yě dōu méiyǒu nín hǎokàn.
Not one lantern is as bright as yours. And not one person... is as lovely as you.
- Narrator 他们说了一个晚上的话。天亮了，雨也停了。
Tāmen shuō le yí gè wǎnshang de huà. Tiān liàng le, yǔ yě tíng le.
They talked all night long. When morning came, the rain had stopped.
- Sanshengmu 天亮了。你该去京城了。
Tiān liàng le. Nǐ gāi qù jīngchéng le.
It's morning. You should be on your way to the capital.
- Liu Yanchang 我不去了！考试三年就有一次，三圣母只有一个！
Wǒ bú qù le! Kǎoshì sān nián jiù yǒu yí cì, Sānshèngmǔ zhǐyǒu yí gè!
I'm not going! The exams come around every three years, but there's only one Sanshengmu!
- Sanshengmu 你这个书生……可是，神仙和人，不能在一起。这是天条。
Nǐ zhège shūshēng… kěshì, shénxiān hé rén, bù néng zài yìqǐ. Zhè shì tiāntiáo.
Oh, you silly scholar... But gods and humans can't be together. It's heaven's law.
- Liu Yanchang 天条？天上的人，怎么会知道？
Tiāntiáo? Tiānshàng de rén, zěnme huì zhīdào?
Heaven's law? How would anyone up in heaven ever find out?
- Sanshengmu 他们会知道的。我的二哥……有三只眼睛。他什么都能看见。
Tāmen huì zhīdào de. Wǒ de èrgē… yǒu sān zhī yǎnjing. Tā shénme dōu néng kànjiàn.
They'll find out. My big brother... has three eyes. He sees everything.
What changed in the story?
- What does Sanshengmu wish she could do?
“山下的人，天天都在做什么？我真想去看看！”
- Why is Liu Yanchang upset when he comes in?
“我的书！全是水！我还怎么考试啊？”
- How do Liu's books get dry?
“宝莲灯亮了，又亮又热。书很快就干了。”
- What does Sanshengmu think of Liu's poem?
“你的诗……写得不太好。”……“我第一次笑得这么高兴。”
- Why does Sanshengmu say she and Liu can't be together?
“神仙和人，不能在一起。这是天条。”