The Odyssey · chapter 8 of 29
A Rain of Stones
石头雨
Odysseus wakes to see what his men have done, and the calm harbor ahead looks far safer than it is.
Read what you hear
- A Sailor 风！袋子里都是风！
Fēng! Dàizi li dōu shì fēng!
Wind! The bag is full of wind!
- Odysseus 谁动了那根线？伊萨卡就在那儿啊！
Shéi dòng le nà gēn xiàn? Yīsàkǎ jiù zài nàr a!
Who touched that string? Ithaca was right there!
- The Crew 我们以为，里边是金子！
Wǒmen yǐwéi, lǐbian shì jīnzi!
We thought there was gold inside!
Chapter 8 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of The Odyssey (chapters 1–4) is free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Odysseus 金子？你们害了我们大家！
Jīnzi? Nǐmen hài le wǒmen dàjiā!
Gold? You've ruined us all!
- Narrator 大风吹着他们的船，一直吹回了风神的岛。
Dà fēng chuīzhe tāmen de chuán, yìzhí chuī huí le fēngshén de dǎo.
The great wind drove their ships all the way back to Aeolus's island.
- Odysseus 风神，是我们。请您再帮我们一次！
Fēngshén, shì wǒmen. Qǐng nín zài bāng wǒmen yí cì!
Aeolus, it's us. Please help us one more time!
- Aeolus 你又回来了？走！神不喜欢的人，我不帮！
Nǐ yòu huílai le? Zǒu! Shén bù xǐhuan de rén, wǒ bù bāng!
You're back again? Go! I don't help a man the gods dislike!
- Narrator 六天六夜，没有风，他们自己开船。
Liù tiān liù yè, méiyǒu fēng, tāmen zìjǐ kāi chuán.
For six days and nights there was no wind, and they rowed on by themselves.
- A Sailor 第七天了！你们看，这里的水真平，四边都是高山。
Dì qī tiān le! Nǐmen kàn, zhèlǐ de shuǐ zhēn píng, sìbiān dōu shì gāo shān.
The seventh day! Look, the water's so calm here, with high cliffs all around.
- The Crew 我们进去吧！
Wǒmen jìnqu ba!
Let's go in!
- Odysseus 好，别的船进去吧。我的船不进去，绑在外边的石头上。
Hǎo, bié de chuán jìnqu ba. Wǒ de chuán bú jìnqu, bǎng zài wàibian de shítou shang.
All right, the other ships go in. Mine stays out, tied to a rock outside.
- Odysseus 你们三个，去看看这里住着什么人。
Nǐmen sān gè, qù kànkan zhèlǐ zhùzhe shénme rén.
You three, go and see who lives here.
- A Sailor 奥德修斯，快走！这里的国王是个巨人！
Àodéxiūsī, kuài zǒu! Zhèlǐ de guówáng shì gè jùrén!
Odysseus, get away! The king here is a giant!
- Odysseus 你们三个人去，怎么就回来两个？
Nǐmen sān gè rén qù, zěnme jiù huílai liǎng gè?
Three of you went. Why have only two come back?
- A Sailor 国王的女儿带我们去了她家。她妈妈像一座山那么大！
Guówáng de nǚ'ér dài wǒmen qù le tā jiā. Tā māma xiàng yí zuò shān nàme dà!
The king's daughter took us to her home. Her mother was as big as a mountain!
- A Sailor 国王抓了他……这些巨人，也吃人！
Guówáng zhuā le tā… zhèxiē jùrén, yě chī rén!
The king grabbed him... These giants eat men too!
- The Crew 山上的巨人在扔石头，像下雨一样！
Shān shang de jùrén zài rēng shítou, xiàng xià yǔ yíyàng!
Giants on the cliffs are throwing rocks, like rain!
- A Sailor 他们抓我们的人，像抓鱼一样！
Tāmen zhuā wǒmen de rén, xiàng zhuā yú yíyàng!
They're catching our men like fish!
- Odysseus 我们救不了他们……快，剑给我！
Wǒmen jiù bu liǎo tāmen… kuài, jiàn gěi wǒ!
We can't save them... Quick, give me my sword!
- Odysseus 好了！朋友们，快开船！
Hǎo le! Péngyoumen, kuài kāi chuán!
There! Friends, get the ship moving, fast!
- Narrator 十二条船，就他的船出来了。
Shí'èr tiáo chuán, jiù tā de chuán chūlai le.
Of twelve ships, only his got out.
- A Sailor 那十一条船上的朋友……都死了。
Nà shíyī tiáo chuán shang de péngyou… dōu sǐ le.
Our friends on those eleven ships... all dead.
- Odysseus 我们还活着。走吧，朋友们。
Wǒmen hái huózhe. Zǒu ba, péngyoumen.
We're still alive. Let's go, friends.
- Narrator 几天以后，他们到了一座岛。
Jǐ tiān yǐhòu, tāmen dào le yí zuò dǎo.
A few days later, they reached an island.
- A Sailor 大树中间有烟。那里住着谁？又是巨人吗？
Dà shù zhōngjiān yǒu yān. Nàlǐ zhùzhe shéi? Yòu shì jùrén ma?
There's smoke among the big trees. Who lives there? More giants?
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What comes out when the men open the bag?
“风！袋子里都是风”
- What does Aeolus say when Odysseus asks for help again?
“神不喜欢的人，我不帮”
- Where does Odysseus leave his own ship?
“我的船不进去，绑在外边的石头上”
- What are the giants on the cliffs doing?
“山上的巨人在扔石头，像下雨一样”
- What do the men see on the new island?
“大树中间有烟”