The Odyssey: The Full Journey · chapter 7 of 10
The Son Who Went Looking
出海找爸爸
Back in Ithaca, Odysseus's son Telemachus is tired of the rude guests eating his house empty. When a strange shepherd says his father is alive, he sets out to find him.
Read what you hear
- Telemachus 又是那些客人……天天吃我们家的饭，喝我们家的酒。爸爸，你到底在哪儿？
Yòu shì nàxiē kèrén… tiāntiān chī wǒmen jiā de fàn, hē wǒmen jiā de jiǔ. Bàba, nǐ dàodǐ zài nǎr?
Those guests again... eating our food every single day. Father, where on earth are you?
- Athena 年轻人，你在为你的父亲难过吗？
Niánqīngrén, nǐ zài wèi nǐ de fùqīn nánguò ma?
Young man, are you sad about your father?
- Telemachus 你是谁？你怎么知道我在想什么？
Nǐ shì shéi? Nǐ zěnme zhīdào wǒ zài xiǎng shénme?
Who are you? How do you know what I'm thinking?
Chapter 7 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.
- Athena 我是你父亲的一个老朋友。他没有死，只是被困在一个岛上，回不来。
Wǒ shì nǐ fùqīn de yí gè lǎopéngyǒu. Tā méiyǒu sǐ, zhǐshì bèikùn zài yí gè dǎoshàng, huí bù lái.
I'm an old friend. Your father is not dead. He is stuck on an island and cannot come back.
- Telemachus 真的吗？他还活着？
Zhēnde ma? Tā hái huózhe?
Really? He's still alive?
- Athena 去问问那些见过他的国王吧。你先去斯巴达，找墨涅拉奥斯国王。
Qù wènwen nàxiē jiàn guò tā de guówáng ba. Nǐ xiān qù Sībādá, zhǎo Mònièlā'àosī guówáng.
Go and ask the kings who have seen him. Start in Sparta, and find Menelaus.
- Telemachus 斯巴达很远吧？我从来没有一个人坐过船，我能到吗？
Sībādá hěn yuǎn ba? Wǒ cónglái méiyǒu yí gè rén zuò guò chuán, wǒ néng dào ma?
Sparta is far, isn't it? Can I get there alone?
- Athena 海会很长，可是风会帮你。你已经不是小孩子了，勇敢一点。
Hǎi huì hěn zhǎng, kěshì fēng huì bāng nǐ. Nǐ yǐjīng búshì xiǎoháizi le, yǒnggǎn yìdiǎn.
The sea is long, but the wind will help you. You're not a child anymore. Be brave.
- Telemachus 好。我去！我明天一早就走！
Hǎo. Wǒ qù! Wǒ míngtiān yì zǎojiù zǒu!
All right. I'll go!
- Antinous 小王子怎么不喝酒？你在外面偷偷哭吗？哈哈哈！
Xiǎowángzǐ zěnme bù hējiǔ? Nǐ zài wàimiàn tōutōu kū ma? Hāhāhā!
Why isn't the little prince drinking? Were you out there crying in secret? Ha ha ha!
- Telemachus 你们都听好！我要坐船去找我的父亲。我回来的时候，你们都要走！
Nǐmen dōu tīng hǎo! Wǒ yào zuòchuánqù zhǎo wǒ de fùqīn. Wǒ huílái de shíhòu, nǐmen dōu yào zǒu!
Listen, all of you! I'm taking a ship to find my father. When I come back, you all have to leave!
- Antinous 哈哈！小孩子要去航海！海那么大，你会回不来的。
Hāhā! Xiǎoháizi yào qù hánghǎi! Hǎi nàme dà, nǐ huì huí bù lái de.
Ha! A child wants to go sailing! The sea is so big, you'll never come back.
- Penelope 孩子，你真的要走吗？我已经等了一个人二十年，我不想再等第二个。
Háizi, nǐ zhēnde yào zǒu ma? Wǒ yǐjīng děng le yí gè rén èrshí nián, wǒ bùxiǎng zài děng dì'èr gè.
My child, are you really leaving? I have already waited twenty years for one man. I don't want to wait for a second.
- Telemachus 妈妈，我会小心的。你等我回来，好吗？
Māma, wǒ huì xiǎoxīn de. Nǐ děng wǒ huílái, hǎo ma?
Mother, I'll be careful. Wait for me to come back.
- Penelope 好。我等你，我的孩子。你要小心，要早点回来。
Hǎo. Wǒ děng nǐ, wǒ de háizi. Nǐ yào xiǎoxīn, yào zǎodiǎn huílái.
Yes. I'll wait for you, my child.
- Menelaus 欢迎，欢迎！你和你的父亲长得一模一样，我一看就知道你是谁。
Huānyíng, huānyíng! Nǐ hé nǐ de fùqīn zhǎng de yì mú yí yàng, wǒ yí kàn jiù zhīdào nǐ shì shéi.
Welcome, welcome! You look just like your father.
- Telemachus 大王，请问，你知道我父亲现在在哪儿吗？
Dàwáng, qǐngwèn, nǐ zhīdào wǒ fùqīn xiànzài zài nǎr ma?
Great king, may I ask, do you know where he is?
- Menelaus 慢慢来，先吃点东西。你这么瘦，你母亲一定很担心你。
Mànmàn lái, xiān chī diǎn dōngxi. Nǐ zhème shòu, nǐ mǔqīn yídìng hěn dānxīn nǐ.
Take it easy, eat something first. You're so thin, your mother must be very worried.
- Telemachus 我吃不下，大王。我只想知道我父亲的消息。
Wǒ chī bú xià, dàwáng. Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng zhīdào wǒ fùqīn de xiāoxī.
I can't eat, sir. I only want news of my father.
- Menelaus 好，好。我在海边遇到过一位很老的海神，他什么都知道，什么都看得见。
Hǎo, hǎo. Wǒ zài hǎibiān yùdào guò yí wèi hěn lǎo de hǎishén, tā shénme dōu zhīdào, shénme dōu kàn de jiàn.
All right, all right. I once met a very old sea god on the shore, and he knows everything.
- Telemachus 他说了什么？快告诉我！
Tā shuō le shénme? Kuài gàosù wǒ!
What did he say?
- Menelaus 他说，你的父亲还活着，他很想回家。
Tā shuō, nǐ de fùqīn hái huózhe, tā hěn xiǎng huíjiā.
He said your father is still alive.
- Telemachus 他活着！我爸爸真的活着！
Tā huózhe! Wǒ bàba zhēnde huózhe!
He's alive! My father is alive!
- Menelaus 他在一座岛上，是卡吕普索女神不让他走。已经七年了。
Tā zài yí zuò dǎoshàng, shì Kǎlǚpǔsuǒ nǚshén búràng tā zǒu. Yǐjīng qī nián le.
He is on an island, and the goddess Calypso won't let him leave. It's been seven years.
- Telemachus 七年……七年了！大王，你为什么这么帮我？
Qī nián… qī nián le! Dàwáng, nǐ wèishénme zhème bāng wǒ?
Seven years... Great king, why are you helping me?
- Menelaus 因为你父亲想出了木马的主意，我们才能回家。
Yīnwèi nǐ fùqīn xiǎng chū le mùmǎ de zhǔyì, wǒmen cáinéng huíjiā.
Because your father thought of the wooden horse, and that's why we could go home.
- Telemachus 木马？他从来没有告诉过我这件事！
Mùmǎ? Tā cónglái méiyǒu gàosù guò wǒ zhèjiàn shì!
The wooden horse? He never told me!
- Menelaus 哈哈哈，等他回来，让他自己说吧！
Hāhāhā, děng tā huílái, ràng tā zìjǐ shuō ba!
Ha ha ha, when he comes back, let him tell you himself!
- Telemachus 好！我现在就回家告诉妈妈。爸爸，你一定要回来！我在家等你！
Hǎo! Wǒ xiànzài jiù huíjiā gàosù māma. Bàba, nǐ yídìng yào huílái! Wǒ zàijiā děng nǐ!
Yes! I'm going home right now to tell Mother. Father, you have to come back!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Who tells Telemachus that his father is alive?
“他没有死，只是被困在一个岛上，回不来。”
- Why is Telemachus's mother worried when he says he will leave?
“我已经等了一个人二十年，我不想再等第二个。”
- How does Antinous react to Telemachus's plan?
“小孩子要去航海！海那么大，你会回不来的。”
- What does Menelaus say about Odysseus?
“你的父亲还活着。”……“是卡吕普索女神不让他走。已经七年了。”
- Why does Menelaus help Telemachus?
“因为你父亲想出了木马的主意，我们才能回家。”