The Odyssey · chapter 9 of 29
Circe's House
喀耳刻的家
Smoke rises in the woods, maybe from a friend and maybe from another giant, and Odysseus's men draw stones to see who must go.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 两天两夜，他们坐在海边，一直在哭。
Liǎng tiān liǎng yè, tāmen zuò zài hǎibiān, yìzhí zài kū.
For two days and two nights they sat on the shore and wept.
- Odysseus 朋友们，别哭了。你们看，我带回来什么了？
Péngyoumen, bié kū le. Nǐmen kàn, wǒ dài huílai shénme le?
Friends, stop crying. Look what I've brought back!
- A Sailor 好大的动物！够我们吃一天了！
Hǎo dà de dòngwù! Gòu wǒmen chī yì tiān le!
What a huge animal! That's enough to feed us all day!
Chapter 9 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.
- Narrator 第二天，他们分了两组，用石头来选，看哪组去。
Dì èr tiān, tāmen fēn le liǎng zǔ, yòng shítou lái xuǎn, kàn nǎ zǔ qù.
The next day they split into two groups and drew stones to see which one would go.
- Odysseus 欧律罗科斯，是你这组。去看看那边的烟吧。
Ōulǜluókēsī, shì nǐ zhè zǔ. Qù kànkan nàbiān de yān ba.
Eurylochus, it's your group. Go and see about that smoke.
- Eurylochus 好吧。二十二个人，跟我走。
Hǎo ba. Èrshí'èr gè rén, gēn wǒ zǒu.
All right. Twenty-two men, follow me.
- A Sailor 你们看，石头房子！门口有狼……还有狮子！
Nǐmen kàn, shítou fángzi! Ménkǒu yǒu láng… hái yǒu shīzi!
Look, a stone house! There are wolves by the door... and lions!
- Eurylochus 等等……它们不吃我们？
Děngdeng… tāmen bù chī wǒmen?
Wait... they're not eating us?
- A Sailor 它们像小狗一样，很喜欢我们！
Tāmen xiàng xiǎo gǒu yíyàng, hěn xǐhuan wǒmen!
They're like puppies. They like us!
- Narrator 这是女神喀耳刻的家。她在里边唱歌。
Zhè shì nǚshén Kǎ'ěrkè de jiā. Tā zài lǐbian chànggē.
This was the home of the goddess Circe. She was singing inside.
- A Sailor 真好听！是女人，还是女神？我们喊她吧！
Zhēn hǎotīng! Shì nǚrén, háishi nǚshén? Wǒmen hǎn tā ba!
How lovely! Is it a woman or a goddess? Let's call to her!
- Eurylochus 我觉得不对。你们进去吧，我在外边等。
Wǒ juéde bú duì. Nǐmen jìnqu ba, wǒ zài wàibian děng.
Something's not right. You go in. I'll wait outside.
- Circe 客人们，请进！你们累了吧？
Kèrénmen, qǐng jìn! Nǐmen lèi le ba?
Come in, my guests! You must be tired.
- Circe 来，吃吧，喝吧。这酒是甜的。
Lái, chī ba, hē ba. Zhè jiǔ shì tián de.
Come, eat and drink. This wine is sweet.
- A Sailor 好甜！我们好久没喝这么好的酒了！
Hǎo tián! Wǒmen hǎojiǔ méi hē zhème hǎo de jiǔ le!
So sweet! We haven't had wine this good in ages!
- Narrator 酒里有药。喀耳刻碰了碰他们，他们都变成了猪。
Jiǔ li yǒu yào. Kǎ'ěrkè pèng le pèng tāmen, tāmen dōu biànchéng le zhū.
There was a drug in the wine. Circe touched them, and they all turned into pigs.
- A Sailor 我的手呢？怎么是猪的脚？可是，我还记得我是谁！
Wǒ de shǒu ne? Zěnme shì zhū de jiǎo? Kěshì, wǒ hái jìde wǒ shì shéi!
Where are my hands? Why do I have pig's feet? But I still know who I am!
- Circe 去吧，小猪们。你们的家在那边。
Qù ba, xiǎo zhūmen. Nǐmen de jiā zài nàbiān.
Off you go, little pigs. Your home is over there.
- Eurylochus 天快黑了……他们怎么还不出来？
Tiān kuài hēi le… tāmen zěnme hái bù chūlai?
It's getting dark... why aren't they coming out?
- Eurylochus 奥德修斯！他们进去了，就没有再出来！
Àodéxiūsī! Tāmen jìnqu le, jiù méiyǒu zài chūlai!
Odysseus! They went in, and they never came out!
- Odysseus 在哪儿？慢慢说，欧律罗科斯。
Zài nǎr? Mànmàn shuō, Ōulǜluókēsī.
Where? Slow down, Eurylochus.
- Eurylochus 树中间有座石头房子。门口有狼，有狮子……
Shù zhōngjiān yǒu zuò shítou fángzi. Ménkǒu yǒu láng, yǒu shīzi…
There's a stone house in the trees. Wolves by the door, lions...
- Odysseus 我带上剑。欧律罗科斯，带我去！
Wǒ dàishàng jiàn. Ōulǜluókēsī, dài wǒ qù!
I'm taking my sword. Eurylochus, take me there!
- Eurylochus 不！我不回去！你救不了他们！我们快开船走吧！
Bù! Wǒ bù huíqu! Nǐ jiù bu liǎo tāmen! Wǒmen kuài kāi chuán zǒu ba!
No! I'm not going back! You can't save them! Let's sail away, now!
- Odysseus 你留在船上。他们是我的人，我一个人去救他们！
Nǐ liú zài chuán shang. Tāmen shì wǒ de rén, wǒ yí gè rén qù jiù tāmen!
You stay with the ship. They're my men. I'll go alone and save them!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Odysseus bring back for his crying men?
“好大的动物！够我们吃一天了”
- How do the men decide which group goes to the smoke?
“用石头来选，看哪组去”
- What do the wolves and lions do when the men arrive?
“它们像小狗一样，很喜欢我们”
- Why does Eurylochus stay outside the stone house?
“我觉得不对……我在外边等”
- What happens to the men after they drink Circe's wine?
“他们都变成了猪……我还记得我是谁”