The Odyssey: The Full Journey · chapter 9 of 10
Home at Last
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Odysseus wakes on a beach and does not know it is his own island. A goddess turns him into a beggar, and an old dog is the first to know him.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 船又快又稳。奥德修斯睡着了，醒来的时候，船已经不见了。海边很安静。
Chuán yòu kuài yòu wěn. Àodéxiūsī shuìzháo le, xǐnglái de shíhòu, chuán yǐjīng bújiàn le. Hǎibiān hěn ānjìng.
The ship was fast and steady. Odysseus fell asleep, and when he woke, the ship was gone. The shore was quiet.
- Odysseus 这是哪儿？他们把我放在这儿就走了？我的家到底在哪儿？我怎么一点也不认识？
Zhè shì nǎr? Tāmen bǎ wǒ fàngzài zhèr jiù zǒu le? Wǒ de jiā dàodǐ zài nǎr? Wǒ zěnme yìdiǎn yě bú rènshí?
Where is this? They left me here and sailed away? Where is my home?
- Athena 这里就是伊萨卡，奥德修斯。你回家了。
Zhèlǐ jiùshì Yīsàkǎ, Àodéxiūsī. Nǐ huíjiā le.
This is Ithaca, Odysseus. You are home.
Chapter 9 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.
- Odysseus 你是……雅典娜？
Nǐ shì… Yǎdiǎnnà?
You are... Athena?
- Athena 是我。你家里有一百多个客人，他们都想娶你的太太。你一个人，打不过他们。
Shì wǒ. Nǐ jiālǐ yǒu yìbǎi duō gè kèrén, tāmen dōu xiǎng qǔ nǐ de tàitai. Nǐ yí gè rén, dǎ búguò tāmen.
It is I. Your house is full of more than a hundred guests, and they all want to marry your wife. Alone, you cannot beat them.
- Odysseus 那我该怎么办？
Nà wǒ gāi zěnme bàn?
Then what should I do?
- Athena 我让你变成一个老乞丐。这样，谁是朋友，谁是坏人，你都能看清楚。
Wǒ ràng nǐ biànchéng yí gè lǎo qǐgài. Zhèyàng, shéi shì péngyǒu, shéi shì huàirén, nǐ dōu néng kànqīngchǔ.
I will turn you into an old beggar. That way, you can see clearly who is a friend and who is a bad man.
- Odysseus 我的手……好老。我的背……弯了！这样真的有用吗？
Wǒ de shǒu… hǎo lǎo. Wǒ de bèi… wān le! Zhèyàng zhēnde yǒuyòng ma?
My hands... so old. My back... bent! Will this really work?
- Athena 你看，连你自己都不认识自己。去找你的儿子吧，他也回来了，他在等你。
Nǐ kàn, lián nǐ zìjǐ dōu bú rènshí zìjǐ. Qù zhǎo nǐ de érzi ba, tā yě huílái le, tā zài děng nǐ.
See? Even you don't know yourself. Go and find your son. He is back too.
- Odysseus 我的儿子……他都长这么大了吗？我走的时候，他还是个孩子。
Wǒ de érzi… tā dōu zhǎng zhème dà le ma? Wǒ zǒu de shíhòu, tā háishì gè háizi.
My son... he has grown that tall already? When I left, he was only a baby.
- Odysseus 就是这个门……二十年了。那边躺着的，是阿尔戈斯？我的狗？
Jiùshì zhè gè mén… èrshí nián le. Nàbiān tǎng zhe de, shì Ā'ěrgēsī? Wǒ de gǒu?
This is the gate... twenty years. That one lying there, is it Argos? My dog?
- Odysseus 好孩子，你还活着……你还记得我。可是别叫，别让他们知道。
Hǎo háizi, nǐ hái huózhe… nǐ hái jìde wǒ. Kěshì bié jiào, bié ràng tāmen zhīdào.
Good boy, you're still alive... you remember me. But don't bark. Don't let them know.
- Telemachus 老人家，你在哭吗？你一定饿了。进来吧，我给你面包。
Lǎorénjiā, nǐ zài kū ma? Nǐ yídìng è le. Jìnlái ba, wǒ gěi nǐ miànbāo.
Old man, are you crying? You must be hungry. Come in, I'll give you some bread.
- Odysseus 谢谢你，好心的年轻人。你叫什么名字？
Xièxie nǐ, hǎoxīn de niánqīngrén. Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
Thank you, young man. What is your name?
- Telemachus 我叫忒勒马科斯。我的父亲是奥德修斯。我刚从远方回来。
Wǒ jiào Tèlèmǎkēsī. Wǒ de fùqīn shì Àodéxiūsī. Wǒ gāng cóng yuǎnfāng huílái.
I am Telemachus. My father is Odysseus. I have just come back from far away.
- Odysseus 你的父亲……一定会为你骄傲。
Nǐ de fùqīn… yídìng huì wèi nǐ jiāo'ào.
Your father... will surely be proud of you.
- Narrator 老狗看着他，尾巴轻轻动了一下，然后闭上眼睛，安静地睡着了。
Lǎo gǒu kànzhe tā, wěiba qīngqīng dòng le yíxià, ránhòu bìshàng yǎnjīng, ānjìng de shuìzháo le.
The old dog looked at him, wagged his tail a little, then closed his eyes and fell peacefully asleep.
- Antinous 看！又来了一个乞丐！老头，你会做什么？给我们唱歌吗？
Kàn! Yòu lái le yí gè qǐgài! Lǎotóu, nǐ huì zuò shénme? Gěi wǒmen chànggē ma?
Look! Another beggar! Old man, what can you do? Sing for us?
- Odysseus 我只会一样：等。等好东西来。
Wǒ zhǐ huì yíyàng: děng. Děng hǎo dōngxi lái.
I can only do one thing: wait. Wait for good things to come.
- Telemachus 安提诺奥斯，他是我的客人！
Āntínuò'àosī, tā shì wǒ de kèrén!
Antinous, he is my guest!
- Penelope 各位，别吵了。老人家，你从远方来，你有没有听到我丈夫的消息？
Gèwèi, biéchǎo le. Lǎorénjiā, nǐ cóng yuǎnfāng lái, nǐ yǒu méi yǒu tīngdào wǒ zhàngfū de xiāoxī?
Everyone, stop arguing. Old man, you come from far away. Have you heard any news of my husband?
- Odysseus 王后，我听说，他很快就会回家。
Wánghòu, wǒ tīngshuō, tā hěnkuài jiù huì huíjiā.
Your Majesty, I have heard he will come home very soon.
- Penelope 每个人都这样说，可是他一直没有回来。
Měigè rén dōu zhèyàng shuō, kěshì tā yìzhí méiyǒu huílái.
Everyone says that, but he has never come back.
- Penelope 各位，我想了一个办法。明天，谁能拉开我丈夫的大弓，射过十二个铁环，我就嫁给他。
Gèwèi, wǒ xiǎng le yí gè bànfǎ. Míngtiān, shéi néng lākāi wǒ zhàngfū de dàgōng, shè guò shí'èr gè tiěhuán, wǒ jiù jiàgěi tā.
Everyone, I have thought of a way. Tomorrow, whoever can string my husband's great bow and shoot through twelve iron rings, I will marry him.
- Antinous 拉弓？这么简单！我明天就赢了！
Lāgōng? Zhème jiǎndān! Wǒ míngtiān jiù yíng le!
String a bow? That's so easy! I'll win tomorrow!
- Telemachus 妈妈……你真的要这样吗？
Māma… nǐ zhēnde yào zhèyàng ma?
Mother... do you really want to do this?
- Penelope 我已经等了二十年，孩子。也许，该有个结果了。
Wǒ yǐjīng děng le èrshí nián, háizi. Yěxǔ, gāi yǒu gè jiéguǒ le.
I've waited twenty years, my child. Maybe it's time for an answer.
- Odysseus 明天……明天一定会很有意思。
Míngtiān… míngtiān yídìng huì hěn yǒuyìsi.
Tomorrow... tomorrow will be very interesting.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who tells Odysseus he is in Ithaca?
“这里就是伊萨卡，奥德修斯。你回家了。”
- Why does Athena turn Odysseus into an old beggar?
“这样，谁是朋友，谁是坏人，你都能看清楚。”
- Who is the first to know Odysseus at the gate?
“好孩子，你还活着……你还记得我。”
- What does Antinous do when the beggar comes in?
“看！又来了一个乞丐！”
- What contest does Penelope announce?
“明天，谁能拉开我丈夫的大弓，射过十二个铁环，我就嫁给他。”