The Nine-Tailed Fox · chapter 3 of 4
The Wedding at Tushan
涂山的婚礼
Yu tells the truth to a worried father, and a village throws a wedding feast under the stars. Then Boyi comes running with news that cuts the happiness short.
Read what you hear
- Nüjiao 爸爸，我回来了！这是大禹。他帮了我。
Bàba, wǒ huílái le! Zhè shì Dà Yǔ. Tā bāng le wǒ.
Father, I'm home! This is Yu. He helped me.
- The Chief of Tushan 大禹？那个不怕大水的大禹吗？
Dà Yǔ? Nàge bú pà dàshuǐ de Dà Yǔ ma?
Yu? The Yu who is not afraid of the great water?
- Yu 老人家，您好。我叫大禹，今年三十岁。
Lǎorenjia, nín hǎo. Wǒ jiào Dà Yǔ, jīnnián sānshí suì.
Respected sir, hello. My name is Yu, and I am thirty years old.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Nine-Tailed Fox 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.
- The Chief of Tushan 三十岁了，还没有家？为什么？
Sānshí suì le, hái méiyǒu jiā? Wèi shénme?
Thirty, and still no family? Why?
- Boyi 因为水！他天天和水说话！
Yīnwèi shuǐ! Tā tiāntiān hé shuǐ shuōhuà!
Because of the water! He talks to the water every day!
- Yu 因为我天天在外边，和大水在一起。
Yīnwèi wǒ tiāntiān zài wàibian, hé dàshuǐ zài yìqǐ.
Because I am outside every day, with the great water.
- The Chief of Tushan 你想有家，可是你天天不在家。女娇怎么办？
Nǐ xiǎng yǒu jiā, kěshì nǐ tiāntiān bú zài jiā. Nǚjiāo zěnme bàn?
You want a family, but you are never at home. What about Nüjiao?
- Yu 老人家，我不会说好听的话。我会走，走得很远。
Lǎorenjia, wǒ bú huì shuō hǎotīng de huà. Wǒ huì zǒu, zǒu de hěn yuǎn.
Sir, I am no good at sweet words. I will go away, and I will go far.
- Boyi 大禹！别说这个！
Dà Yǔ! Bié shuō zhège!
Yu! Don't say that!
- Yu 可是我不说假话。我走了，一定回来。
Kěshì wǒ bù shuō jiǎhuà. Wǒ zǒu le, yídìng huílái.
But I do not tell lies. When I go, I will come back. I promise.
- The Chief of Tushan 好……女娇，你怎么说？
Hǎo… Nǚjiāo, nǐ zěnme shuō?
Hmm… Nüjiao, what do you say?
- Nüjiao 我喜欢他。他不说大话，还说自己叫水！
Wǒ xǐhuan tā. Tā bù shuō dàhuà, hái shuō zìjǐ jiào Shuǐ!
I like him. He doesn't brag, and he even told me his name was Water!
- The Chief of Tushan 好，好，好！大禹，你要对女娇好。
Hǎo, hǎo, hǎo! Dà Yǔ, nǐ yào duì Nǚjiāo hǎo.
Good, good, good! Yu, you must be good to Nüjiao.
- Yu 我一定对她好。我不会忘记她。
Wǒ yídìng duì tā hǎo. Wǒ bú huì wàngjì tā.
I will. I will never forget her.
- Narrator 三天以后的晚上，涂山的人都来了。
Sān tiān yǐhòu de wǎnshang, Túshān de rén dōu lái le.
Three days later, in the evening, all the people of Tushan came together.
- Boyi 有米饭，有菜，有肉……还有鱼！又是鱼！
Yǒu mǐfàn, yǒu cài, yǒu ròu… hái yǒu yú! Yòu shì yú!
There's rice, vegetables, meat… and fish! Fish again!
- Nüjiao 伯益，你不喜欢鱼吗？
Bó Yì, nǐ bù xǐhuan yú ma?
Boyi, don't you like fish?
- Boyi 喜欢！可是鱼也太喜欢我了！
Xǐhuan! Kěshì yú yě tài xǐhuan wǒ le!
I do! But the fish like me too much!
- Xiaobai 我来晚了！大禹，女娇，你们真好看！
Wǒ lái wǎn le! Dà Yǔ, Nǚjiāo, nǐmen zhēn hǎokàn!
I'm late! Yu, Nüjiao, you both look wonderful!
- Nüjiao 小白，你送我们什么？
Xiǎo Bái, nǐ sòng wǒmen shénme?
Xiaobai, what will you give us?
- Xiaobai 我是九尾狐。九条尾巴，九个好运。今天，我给你们八个！
Wǒ shì jiǔ wěi hú. Jiǔ tiáo wěiba, jiǔ gè hǎoyùn. Jīntiān, wǒ gěi nǐmen bā gè!
I'm the nine-tailed fox. Nine tails, nine bits of good luck. Today I give you eight!
- Yu 八个？还有一个呢？
Bā gè? Hái yǒu yí gè ne?
Eight? What about the last one?
- Xiaobai 最后一个，我先留着。
Zuìhòu yí gè, wǒ xiān liúzhe.
The last one, I'll keep for now.
- Nüjiao 大禹，谢谢你来涂山。
Dà Yǔ, xièxie nǐ lái Túshān.
Yu, thank you for coming to Tushan.
- Yu 女娇，我从来没有这么高兴。
Nǚjiāo, wǒ cónglái méiyǒu zhème gāoxìng.
Nüjiao, I have never been this happy.
- Boyi 大禹！不好了！
Dà Yǔ! Bù hǎo le!
Yu! Terrible news!
- Yu 怎么了，伯益？
Zěnme le, Bó Yì?
What is it, Boyi?
- Boyi 我去山下看了。东边的洪水又大了！四天以后，水就到山下了！
Wǒ qù shān xià kàn le. Dōngbian de hóngshuǐ yòu dà le! Sì tiān yǐhòu, shuǐ jiù dào shān xià le!
I went down the mountain to look. The flood in the east is rising again! In four days the water will reach the foot of the mountain!
- Yu 四天……女娇，对不起。
Sì tiān… Nǚjiāo, duìbuqǐ.
Four days… Nüjiao, I'm so sorry.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Nüjiao's father worry about?
“你想有家，可是你天天不在家”
- What does Yu promise the old man?
“我走了，一定回来”
- What upsets Boyi at the wedding feast?
“还有鱼……又是鱼”
- How many good lucks does Xiaobai give the couple?
“九个好运……我给你们八个”
- What bad news does Boyi bring?
“东边的洪水又大了……四天以后，水就到山下了”