The Monkey and the Crocodile · chapter 2 of 3
The Ride Across the River
河上的路
Monkey hops onto Crocodile's back for a visit across the river. Halfway there, Crocodile admits why he really invited him.
Read what you hear
- Monkey 鳄鱼！早上好！你今天来得真早！
Èyú! Zǎoshang hǎo! Nǐ jīntiān lái de zhēn zǎo!
Crocodile! Good morning! You're here so early today!
- Crocodile 猴子，早。我……想请你去我家玩。
Hóuzi, zǎo. Wǒ... xiǎng qǐng nǐ qù wǒ jiā wán.
Morning, Monkey. I... want to invite you to my home.
- Monkey 去你家？好啊！我从来没去过！
Qù nǐ jiā? Hǎo a! Wǒ cónglái méi qù guo!
Your home? Yes! I've never been!
Chapter 2 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Monkey and the Crocodile 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.
- Monkey 你家在哪儿？远不远？
Nǐ jiā zài nǎr? Yuǎn bù yuǎn?
Where is your home? Is it far?
- Crocodile 在河那边。有一点远。
Zài hé nà biān. Yǒu yìdiǎn yuǎn.
On the other side of the river. It's a little far.
- Monkey 那怎么去？我不会游泳。
Nà zěnme qù? Wǒ bú huì yóuyǒng.
Then how do I get there? I can't swim.
- Crocodile 坐我背上！我游得很快！
Zuò wǒ bèi shàng! Wǒ yóu de hěn kuài!
Sit on my back! I swim very fast!
- Monkey 你家有好吃的吗？
Nǐ jiā yǒu hǎochī de ma?
Do you have good things to eat at your house?
- Crocodile 有……有，有很多好吃的。
Yǒu... yǒu, yǒu hěn duō hǎochī de.
Yes... yes, there's lots of good food.
- Monkey 太好了！一，二，三，跳！
Tài hǎo le! Yī, èr, sān, tiào!
Great! One, two, three, jump!
- Monkey 哇！河好大！水好漂亮！坐在鳄鱼背上，真好玩！
Wā! Hé hǎo dà! Shuǐ hǎo piàoliang! Zuò zài èyú bèi shàng, zhēn hǎowán!
Wow! The river is so big! The water is so pretty! Riding on a crocodile is so much fun!
- Monkey 鳄鱼，你怎么不说话了？你今天很安静！
Èyú, nǐ zěnme bù shuōhuà le? Nǐ jīntiān hěn ānjìng!
Crocodile, why aren't you talking? You're so quiet today!
- Crocodile 猴子……我有一件事要对你说。
Hóuzi... wǒ yǒu yí jiàn shì yào duì nǐ shuō.
Monkey... I have something to tell you.
- Monkey 什么事？说吧，朋友！
Shénme shì? Shuō ba, péngyou!
What is it? Go on, friend!
- Crocodile 我太太病了。医生说，她要吃猴子的心。
Wǒ tàitai bìng le. Yīshēng shuō, tā yào chī hóuzi de xīn.
My wife is sick. The doctor says she must eat a monkey's heart.
- Monkey 我的心？！不要怕，不要怕。我要想一想。
Wǒ de xīn?! Bú yào pà, bú yào pà. Wǒ yào xiǎng yi xiǎng.
My heart?! Don't panic, don't panic. I need to think.
- Monkey 哎呀，鳄鱼！你为什么不早说？
Āiyā, èyú! Nǐ wèishénme bù zǎo shuō?
Oh no, Crocodile! Why didn't you say so earlier?
- Crocodile 什么？
Shénme?
What?
- Monkey 我的心不在身上！我把心放在树上了！
Wǒ de xīn bú zài shēnshang! Wǒ bǎ xīn fàng zài shù shàng le!
My heart isn't with me! I left it in the tree!
- Crocodile 树上？心在树上？
Shù shàng? Xīn zài shù shàng?
In the tree? Your heart is in the tree?
- Monkey 对啊！猴子的心，都放在树上。跳来跳去，心会疼！
Duì a! Hóuzi de xīn, dōu fàng zài shù shàng. Tiào lái tiào qù, xīn huì téng!
Of course! We monkeys keep our hearts in the trees. All that jumping around would make them hurt!
- Crocodile 树在哪儿？
Shù zài nǎr?
Where is the tree?
- Monkey 就在河边！你天天都看到它！
Jiù zài hébiān! Nǐ tiāntiān dōu kàndào tā!
Right by the river! You see it every day!
- Monkey 快回去拿吧！我也想帮你太太！
Kuài huí qù ná ba! Wǒ yě xiǎng bāng nǐ tàitai!
Quick, let's go back and get it! I want to help your wife too!
- Crocodile 真的吗？你真好！我们快回去！
Zhēn de ma? Nǐ zhēn hǎo! Wǒmen kuài huí qù!
Really? You're so kind! Let's hurry back!
- Monkey 快一点……再快一点……
Kuài yìdiǎn... zài kuài yìdiǎn...
Faster... a little faster...
- Monkey 到了！我的树！
Dào le! Wǒ de shù!
We're here! My tree!
- Monkey 哈！我上来了！
Hā! Wǒ shàng lái le!
Ha! I'm up!
- Crocodile 猴子，你的心呢？快拿下来！
Hóuzi, nǐ de xīn ne? Kuài ná xià lái!
Monkey, where's your heart? Quick, bring it down!
- Monkey 想要我的心？那就你自己上来拿吧！
Xiǎng yào wǒ de xīn? Nà jiù nǐ zìjǐ shàng lái ná ba!
You want my heart? Come up and get it yourself!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- How will the monkey cross the river?
“坐我背上！我游得很快！”
- What does the crocodile finally tell the monkey?
“她要吃猴子的心。”
- What does the monkey say about his heart?
“我把心放在树上了！”
- Why does the monkey say monkeys keep their hearts in trees?
“跳来跳去，心会疼！”
- What does the monkey say when he is safe in the tree?
“自己上来拿吧！”