The Odyssey · chapter 28 of 29
A Secret Only Two Know
两个人知道的事
The old nurse brings Penelope the news she has waited twenty years for, but a clever queen won't believe a stranger's face so easily.
Read what you hear
- The Old Nurse 孩子，快起来！奥德修斯回来了！
Háizi, kuài qǐlai! Àodéxiūsī huílai le!
Child, get up, quick! Odysseus is home!
- Penelope 奶妈，神让你变成小孩子了吗？
Nǎimā, shén ràng nǐ biànchéng xiǎo háizi le ma?
Nurse, have the gods turned you into a little child?
- The Old Nurse 是真的！那个乞丐就是他！
Shì zhēn de! Nàge qǐgài jiù shì tā!
It's true! That beggar is him!
Chapter 28 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.
- The Old Nurse 我看见了他的伤疤，就认出他了！
Wǒ kànjiàn le tā de shāngbā, jiù rènchū tā le!
I saw his scar, and I knew him!
- Penelope 那些求婚的人呢？
Nàxiē qiúhūn de rén ne?
And the suitors?
- The Old Nurse 都死了！他拉开了大弓！
Dōu sǐ le! Tā lākāi le dà gōng!
All dead! He drew the great bow!
- Penelope 那是一个神……奥德修斯，他回不来了。
Nà shì yí gè shén… Àodéxiūsī, tā huí bu lái le.
That was a god... Odysseus isn't coming back.
- Narrator 佩涅洛佩到了楼下，坐在火的那边，看着他，不说话。
Pèinièluòpèi dào le lóuxià, zuò zài huǒ de nàbiān, kànzhe tā, bù shuōhuà.
Penelope came downstairs, sat on the far side of the fire, looked at him and said nothing.
- Telemachus 妈妈，您怎么像一块石头？爸爸回来了！
Māma, nín zěnme xiàng yí kuài shítou? Bàba huílai le!
Mother, how can you be like a stone? Father's home!
- Penelope 孩子，有的事，就我们两个人知道。他如果是你爸爸，就会知道。
Háizi, yǒu de shì, jiù wǒmen liǎng gè rén zhīdào. Tā rúguǒ shì nǐ bàba, jiù huì zhīdào.
Child, some things only the two of us know. If he's your father, he'll know them.
- Odysseus 孩子，让你妈妈慢慢看吧。我先去洗个澡。
Háizi, ràng nǐ māma mànmàn kàn ba. Wǒ xiān qù xǐ ge zǎo.
Son, let your mother take her time. I'll go and have a bath first.
- Telemachus 爸爸，雅典娜又让您变年轻了！
Bàba, Yǎdiǎnnà yòu ràng nín biàn niánqīng le!
Father, Athena has made you young again!
- Odysseus 年轻了，你妈妈还是不跟我说话。
Niánqīng le, nǐ māma háishi bù gēn wǒ shuōhuà.
Young again, and your mother still won't talk to me.
- Odysseus 奶妈，给我一张床吧。我一个人睡。
Nǎimā, gěi wǒ yì zhāng chuáng ba. Wǒ yí gè rén shuì.
Nurse, give me a bed. I'll sleep alone.
- Penelope 奶妈，把他做的那张床，放在房间外边。
Nǎimā, bǎ tā zuò de nà zhāng chuáng, fàng zài fángjiān wàibian.
Nurse, take the bed he made and put it outside the room.
- Odysseus 什么？谁动了我的床？
Shénme? Shéi dòng le wǒ de chuáng?
What? Who moved my bed?
- Odysseus 我的床，谁也动不了！床的一条腿，就是一棵活着的橄榄树！
Wǒ de chuáng, shéi yě dòng bu liǎo! Chuáng de yì tiáo tuǐ, jiù shì yì kē huózhe de gǎnlǎnshù!
Nobody can move my bed! One of its legs is a living olive tree!
- Penelope 奥德修斯……是你！
Àodéxiūsī… shì nǐ!
Odysseus... it's you!
- Penelope 别生气。我太怕了，怕有人来骗我。
Bié shēngqì. Wǒ tài pà le, pà yǒu rén lái piàn wǒ.
Don't be angry. I was so afraid that someone would come and trick me.
- Odysseus 佩涅洛佩，你比我还聪明。
Pèinièluòpèi, nǐ bǐ wǒ hái cōngming.
Penelope, you're even cleverer than I am.
- Narrator 他们抱在一起，像船坏了的人游到了岛上一样。
Tāmen bào zài yìqǐ, xiàng chuán huài le de rén yóu dào le dǎo shang yíyàng.
They held each other like shipwrecked men who have swum to an island.
- Penelope 二十年了……
Èrshí nián le…
Twenty years...
- Narrator 那天夜里，雅典娜让太阳晚一点儿出来。
Nà tiān yèli, Yǎdiǎnnà ràng tàiyáng wǎn yìdiǎnr chūlai.
That night, Athena made the sun come up a little later.
- Odysseus 天亮了。那些人的家人，会带着剑来的。我得先去看我爸爸！
Tiān liàng le. Nàxiē rén de jiārén, huì dàizhe jiàn lái de. Wǒ děi xiān qù kàn wǒ bàba!
It's getting light. Those men's families will come with swords. But first, I have to see my father!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Penelope ask when the old nurse says Odysseus is home?
“奶妈，神让你变成小孩子了吗？”
- Who does Penelope think killed the suitors?
“那是一个神……”
- What does Penelope tell the nurse to do with the bed?
“把他做的那张床，放在房间外边”
- Why can't anyone move Odysseus's bed?
“床的一条腿，就是一棵活着的橄榄树！”
- Why did Penelope wait so long to believe Odysseus?
“我太怕了，怕有人来骗我”