The Odyssey · chapter 14 of 29
The Cattle of the Sun
太阳神的牛
Odysseus wants to sail straight past the Sun god's island, but his tired, hungry men have other plans, and the wind will not let them go.
Read what you hear
- Odysseus 天黑了，可是我们不去这个岛。朋友们，往前开！
Tiān hēi le, kěshì wǒmen bú qù zhège dǎo. Péngyoumen, wǎng qián kāi!
It's dark, but we're not going to this island. Friends, keep sailing!
- Eurylochus 奥德修斯，你不累吗？你是石头做的吗？
Àodéxiūsī, nǐ bú lèi ma? Nǐ shì shítou zuò de ma?
Odysseus, aren't you tired? Are you made of stone?
- Eurylochus 我们是人！我们要下船，要吃饭，要睡觉！
Wǒmen shì rén! Wǒmen yào xià chuán, yào chīfàn, yào shuìjiào!
We're men! We need to go ashore, eat, and sleep!
Chapter 14 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 Crew 他说得对！我们累了！
Tā shuō de duì! Wǒmen lèi le!
He's right! We're tired!
- Odysseus 好吧……可是你们要说：“我们不碰太阳神的牛和羊。”
Hǎo ba… kěshì nǐmen yào shuō: “Wǒmen bú pèng tàiyángshén de niú hé yáng.”
All right... but you must say it: "We will not touch the Sun god's cows or sheep."
- The Crew 我们不碰！
Wǒmen bú pèng!
We won't touch them!
- Narrator 这个岛有三百五十头牛，三百五十只羊，都是太阳神的。
Zhège dǎo yǒu sānbǎi wǔshí tóu niú, sānbǎi wǔshí zhī yáng, dōu shì tàiyángshén de.
The island had three hundred fifty cows and three hundred fifty sheep, and they all belonged to the Sun god.
- Odysseus 又是南风……一个月了，我们走不了。
Yòu shì nánfēng… yí gè yuè le, wǒmen zǒu bu liǎo.
South wind again... A whole month, and we can't leave.
- The Crew 没有吃的了！鱼也没有了！
Méiyǒu chī de le! Yú yě méiyǒu le!
There's no food left! Even the fish are gone!
- Narrator 奥德修斯一个人走开，去找神帮忙，在没有风的地方睡着了。
Àodéxiūsī yí gè rén zǒukāi, qù zhǎo shén bāngmáng, zài méiyǒu fēng de dìfang shuìzháo le.
Odysseus went off alone to ask the gods for help, and fell asleep in a place out of the wind.
- Eurylochus 朋友们，听我说。人都会死，可是没有饭吃，死得最难受！
Péngyoumen, tīng wǒ shuō. Rén dōu huì sǐ, kěshì méiyǒu fàn chī, sǐ de zuì nánshòu!
Friends, listen to me. Every man dies, but dying with nothing to eat is the worst death of all!
- Eurylochus 我们杀几头最好的牛，先给神，再给我们自己。
Wǒmen shā jǐ tóu zuì hǎo de niú, xiān gěi shén, zài gěi wǒmen zìjǐ.
Let's kill a few of the best cows, first for the gods, then for ourselves.
- The Crew 太阳神会生气的……
Tàiyángshén huì shēngqì de…
The Sun god will be angry...
- Eurylochus 生气就生气！死在海里，也比在这儿等死好！
Shēngqì jiù shēngqì! Sǐ zài hǎi li, yě bǐ zài zhèr děng sǐ hǎo!
Then let him be angry! Better to die at sea than sit here waiting to die!
- Narrator 他们杀了太阳神最好的牛。
Tāmen shā le tàiyángshén zuì hǎo de niú.
They killed the Sun god's best cows.
- Odysseus 什么味道？是肉！
Shénme wèidào? Shì ròu!
What's that smell? Meat!
- Odysseus 你们杀了太阳神的牛？
Nǐmen shā le tàiyángshén de niú?
You killed the Sun god's cows?
- Odysseus 我又睡着了……跟袋子那次一样！
Wǒ yòu shuìzháo le… gēn dàizi nà cì yíyàng!
I fell asleep again... just like with the bag!
- The Crew 看！死了的牛还在动！火上的肉在叫！
Kàn! Sǐ le de niú hái zài dòng! Huǒ shang de ròu zài jiào!
Look! The dead cows are still moving! The meat on the fire is mooing!
- Narrator 太阳神都看见了。他去告诉了宙斯。
Tàiyángshén dōu kànjiàn le. Tā qù gàosu le Zhòusī.
The Sun god had seen it all, and he went and told Zeus.
- Eurylochus 吃了六天，风停了！我们走吧！
Chī le liù tiān, fēng tíng le! Wǒmen zǒu ba!
Six days of feasting, and now the wind has dropped! Let's go!
- Odysseus 天怎么黑了？风好大，浪也很大！
Tiān zěnme hēi le? Fēng hǎo dà, làng yě hěn dà!
Why has the sky gone dark? The wind is so strong, and the waves are huge!
- The Crew 船中间的木头倒了！
Chuán zhōngjiān de mùtou dǎo le!
The mast has fallen!
- Odysseus 是宙斯的雷！
Shì Zhòusī de léi!
It's Zeus's thunder!
- Narrator 雷打在船上，船坏了。水手们都掉进了海里，没有回来。
Léi dǎ zài chuán shang, chuán huài le. Shuǐshǒumen dōu diàojìn le hǎi li, méiyǒu huílai.
The thunderbolt struck the ship, and the ship broke apart. All the sailors fell into the sea, and none came back.
- Odysseus 朋友们！欧律罗科斯！你们在哪儿？
Péngyoumen! Ōulǜluókēsī! Nǐmen zài nǎr?
Friends! Eurylochus! Where are you?
- Odysseus 巨人说对了……我的人，一个也回不去了。
Jùrén shuō duì le… wǒ de rén, yí gè yě huí bu qù le.
The giant was right... Not one of my men will get home.
- Odysseus 中间的木头，下边的木头……我把它们绑在一起！
Zhōngjiān de mùtou, xiàbian de mùtou… wǒ bǎ tāmen bǎng zài yìqǐ!
The mast, the keel... I'll tie them together!
- Odysseus 风把我往回吹……往卡律布狄斯那儿吹！
Fēng bǎ wǒ wǎng huí chuī… wǎng Kǎlǜbùdísī nàr chuī!
The wind is blowing me back... back toward Charybdis!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does Eurylochus want to land on the island?
“我们要下船，要吃饭，要睡觉”
- What do the men promise Odysseus before they land?
“我们不碰太阳神的牛和羊……我们不碰”
- What is Odysseus doing when Eurylochus talks the men into killing the cows?
“奥德修斯一个人走开……在没有风的地方睡着了”
- What strange thing happens after the cows are killed?
“火上的肉在叫”
- What does Odysseus do to stay alive after the ship breaks?
“中间的木头，下边的木头……我把它们绑在一起”