The Odyssey: The Full Journey · chapter 4 of 10
Circe's Cup
喀耳刻的杯子
Odysseus goes alone to save his friends from a goddess with a magic cup. A stranger hands him a tiny white flower, and it turns out to be the best weapon he has.
Read what you hear
- Odysseus 我的朋友们都在那个房子里，我不能不去。可是我该怎么进去呢？
Wǒ de péngyǒumen dōu zài nà gè fángzi lǐ, wǒ bù néng bú qù. Kěshì wǒ gāi zěnme jìnqù ne?
My friends are all in that house. I can't not go.
- Hermes 等一等，旅人！一个人走上那座山，可不太聪明。
Děng yì děng, lǚrén! Yí gè rén zǒushàng nà zuò shān, kě bú tài cōngmíng.
Wait a moment, traveler! Going up the hill alone isn't very smart.
- Odysseus 你是谁？你怎么知道我要去哪儿？
Nǐ shì shéi? Nǐ zěnme zhīdào wǒ yào qù nǎr?
Who are you? How do you know where I'm going?
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Odyssey: The Full Journey 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 and Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing from start to finish.
- Hermes 我是赫尔墨斯，神的信使。我还知道，那个女人有一个魔法杯。
Wǒ shì Hè'ěrmòsī, shén de xìnshǐ. Wǒ hái zhīdào, nà gè nǚrén yǒu yí gè mófǎ bēi.
I'm Hermes, messenger of the gods. I also know that woman has a magic cup.
- Hermes 她叫喀耳刻。喝了她杯子里的东西，人就会变成猪。
Tā jiào Kā'ěrkè. Hē le tā bēizi lǐ de dōngxi, rén jiù huì biànchéng zhū.
Her name is Circe. Anyone who drinks from her cup turns into a pig.
- Odysseus 那我该怎么办？我的朋友们已经在里面很久了。
Nà wǒ gāi zěnme bàn? Wǒ de péngyǒumen yǐjīng zài lǐmiàn hěn jiǔ le.
Then what should I do? My friends are already in there.
- Hermes 拿着这朵白花，它会保护你，让魔法没有用。然后你就拔出剑，她会怕你的。
Ná zhe zhè duǒ báihuā, tā huì bǎohù nǐ, ràng mófǎ méiyǒu yòng. Ránhòu nǐ jiù báchū jiàn, tā huì pà nǐ de.
Take this white flower. It will protect you. When her magic fails, draw your sword.
- Odysseus 一朵小花？它看起来一点也不像武器。
Yì duǒ xiǎohuā? Tā kànqǐlái yìdiǎn yě bú xiàng wǔqì.
A little flower? It doesn't look like a weapon at all.
- Hermes 好东西，从来都不大声说话。快去吧！
Hǎo dōngxi, cónglái dōu bú dàshēng shuōhuà. Kuài qù ba!
The best things never speak loudly. Go on!
- Circe 欢迎，勇敢的旅人。你走了很远的路，一定累了。来，喝一杯吧，这是我最好的酒。
Huānyíng, yǒnggǎn de lǚrén. Nǐ zǒu le hěn yuǎn de lù, yídìng lèi le. Lái, hē yì bēi ba, zhè shì wǒ zuìhǎo de jiǔ.
Welcome, brave traveler. You must be tired. Come, have a drink.
- Odysseus 谢谢你，夫人。
Xièxie nǐ, fūrén.
Thank you, my lady.
- Circe 现在，去猪圈里和你的朋友们住吧！
Xiànzài, qù zhūquān lǐ hé nǐ de péngyǒumen zhù ba!
Now go and live in the pigpen with your friends!
- Odysseus 我还是我。你的魔法对我没有用。
Wǒ háishì wǒ. Nǐ de mófǎ duì wǒ méiyǒu yòng.
I am still myself. Your magic doesn't work on me.
- Circe 什么？你怎么没有变？
Shénme? Nǐ zěnme méiyǒu biàn?
What? Why haven't you changed?
- Odysseus 快让我的朋友们变回来，不然……我的剑可不喜欢等。
Kuài ràng wǒ de péngyǒumen biànhuílái, bùrán… wǒ de jiàn kě bù xǐhuān děng.
Change my friends back at once, or else... my sword doesn't like to wait.
- Circe 别、别用剑！你就是那个聪明的奥德修斯吧？我早就听说你会来。
Bié, bié yòng jiàn! Nǐ jiùshì nà gè cōngmíng de Àodéxiūsī ba? Wǒ zǎojiù tīngshuō nǐ huì lái.
D-don't use the sword! You are the clever Odysseus, aren't you? I was told long ago you would come.
- Odysseus 我的朋友在哪儿？
Wǒ de péngyǒu zài nǎr?
Where are my friends?
- Circe 我这就让他们变回来。对不起，我错了。
Wǒ zhè jiùràng tāmen biànhuílái. Duìbùqǐ, wǒ cuò le.
I'll change them back right now. I'm sorry, I was wrong.
- The Sailor 我又有手了！我又有腿了！奥德修斯，我以后再也不吃猪肉了！
Wǒ yòu yǒu shǒu le! Wǒ yòu yǒu tuǐ le! Àodéxiūsī, wǒ yǐhòu zàiyě bùchī zhūròu le!
I have hands again! I have legs again! Odysseus, I'll never eat pork again!
- Narrator 喀耳刻请大家住下。一年过去了，大家每天吃得好，睡得好，还常常笑。
Kā'ěrkè qǐng dàjiā zhù xià. Yì nián guòqù le, dàjiā měitiān chī de hǎo, shuì de hǎo, hái chángcháng xiào.
Circe asked them all to stay. A year went by, and everyone ate well and slept well.
- The Sailor 奥德修斯，这里真好。可是……我有点想家了。
Àodéxiūsī, zhèlǐ zhēn hǎo. Kěshì… wǒ yǒudiǎn xiǎng jiā le.
Odysseus, it's so nice here. But... I'm a little homesick.
- Odysseus 我也是。喀耳刻，谢谢你的好意，可是我们要走了。
Wǒ yě shì. Kā'ěrkè, xièxie nǐ de hǎoyì, kěshì wǒmen yào zǒu le.
Me too. Circe, we have to go now.
- Circe 我知道。可是回家以前，你们要先去一个很远的地方：死人的世界。
Wǒ zhīdào. Kěshì huíjiā yǐqián, nǐmen yào xiān qù yí gè hěn yuǎn de dìfāng: sǐ rén de shìjiè.
I know. But before you go home, you must visit one place: the world of the dead.
- The Sailor 死人的世界？！我不去！我什么都不怕，就怕这个！
Sǐ rén de shìjiè?! Wǒ bú qù! Wǒ shénme dōu búpà, jiù pà zhè gè!
The world of the dead?! I'm not going!
- Circe 你们要去问一个已经死去的先知，他叫特瑞西阿斯。只有他知道回家的路，也知道以后会发生什么。
Nǐmen yào qù wèn yí gè yǐjīng sǐqù de xiānzhī, tā jiào Tèruìxī'āsī. Zhǐyǒu tā zhīdào huíjiā de lù, yě zhīdào yǐhòu huì fāshēng shénme.
You must ask a prophet who has died, named Tiresias. Only he knows the road home.
- Odysseus 去问死人……好吧。朋友们，我们去。
Qù wèn sǐ rén… hǎo ba. Péngyǒumen, wǒmen qù.
Asking the dead... all right. Friends, we'll go.
- Circe 我给你们一阵好风。别怕，先知不会伤害你们。
Wǒ gěi nǐmen yí zhèn hǎo fēng. Biépà, xiānzhī búhuì shānghài nǐmen.
I'll give you a good wind. Don't be afraid, the prophet won't hurt you.
- The Sailor 只要不再有猪，我什么地方都去。
Zhǐyào búzài yǒu zhū, wǒ shénme dìfāng dōu qù.
As long as there are no more pigs, I'll go anywhere.
- Odysseus 朋友们，上船吧。今天我们要去的地方，太阳从来不去。
Péngyǒumen, shàngchuán ba. Jīntiān wǒmen yào qù de dìfāng, tàiyáng cóngláibú qù.
Friends, board the ship. Today we're going to a place the sun never visits.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Hermes give Odysseus?
“拿着这朵白花，它会保护你。”
- What does Circe's magic cup do?
“喝了她杯子里的东西，人就会变成猪。”
- Why is Circe afraid of Odysseus?
“我还是我。你的魔法对我没有用。”……“别、别用剑！”
- Why does the sailor want to leave after a year on Circe's island?
“可是……我有点想家了。”
- Where must Odysseus go before he can get home?
“回家以前，你们要先去一个很远的地方：死人的世界。”