The Odyssey · chapter 6 of 6
The Great Bow
大弓
One old beggar asks to try the great bow that no guest can bend. And one queen has a last question about a bed.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Penelope 老人家，你也睡不着吗？我也睡不着。
Lǎorénjiā, nǐ yě shuìbùzhe ma? Wǒ yě shuìbùzhe.
Old man, can't you sleep either? I can't sleep either.
- Odysseus 太太，你在织什么？
Tàitai, nǐ zài zhī shénme?
Madam, what are you weaving?
- Penelope 一块布。我对他们说：布织好了，我就选一个人。
Yíkuài bù. Wǒ duì tāmen shuō: bùzhī hǎo le, wǒ jiù xuǎn yígè rén.
A cloth. I told them: when the cloth is done, I'll choose one of them.
- Penelope 白天我织，晚上我拆了它。三年了，布还是没织好！
Báitiān wǒzhī, wǎnshang wǒ chāi le tā. Sānnián le, bù háishi méizhī hǎo!
I weave by day, and at night I take it apart. Three years, and the cloth is still not done!
- Odysseus 你白天织，晚上拆！他们不知道吗？
Nǐ báitiān zhī, wǎnshang chāi! Tāmen bù zhīdào ma?
You weave by day and undo it by night! Don't they know?
- Penelope 他们以前不知道我拆布。现在知道了，我没有办法了。
Tāmen yǐqián bù zhīdào wǒ chāibù. Xiànzài zhīdào le, wǒ méiyǒu bànfǎ le.
They didn't know before that I undid it. Now they do, and I have no way left.
- Penelope 你说，我的丈夫还会回来吗？
Nǐ shuō, wǒ de zhàngfu háihuì huílái ma?
Tell me, will my husband still come back?
- Odysseus 会的。我想，他很快就会回来。
Huì de. Wǒ xiǎng, tā hěnkuài jiù huì huílái.
He will. I think he will be back very soon.
- Antinous 让开！我第一个拉！
Ràngkāi! Wǒ dìyígè lā!
Out of my way! I'll go first!
- Antinous 啊……好重！弓不动！
A… hǎozhòng! Gōngbúdòng!
Aah... so heavy! It won't move!
- Antinous 我的手好疼！今天不比了！
Wǒ de shǒu hǎo téng! Jīntiān bùbǐ le!
My hands hurt! No more contest today!
- Odysseus 年轻人，请让我试一试。
Niánqīngrén, qǐng ràng wǒ shìyíshì.
Young man, please let me try.
- Antinous 你？一个老乞丐？哈哈哈！
Nǐ? Yígè lǎoqǐgài? Hāhāhā!
You? An old beggar? Ha ha ha!
- Antinous 去喝你的水吧，别在这儿说了！
Qù hē nǐ de shuǐba, bié zài zhè'ér shuō le!
Go drink your water and stop talking nonsense!
- Telemachus 这是我爸爸的弓，这是我的家。我说，让他试！
Zhè shì wǒ bàba de gōng, zhè shì wǒ de jiā. Wǒ shuō, ràng tāshì!
This is my father's bow, and this is my home. I say, let him try!
- Odysseus 谢谢你，孩子。
Xièxie nǐ, háizi.
Thank you, my boy.
- Odysseus 我的手很老，可是还行。
Wǒ de shǒu hěn lǎo, kěshì hái xíng.
These hands are old, but they still work.
- Narrator 弓开了。箭飞出去，一下就过了十二个环。
Gōngkāi le. Jiàn fēichūqù, yíxià jiù guò le shí'èrgèhuán.
The bow opened. The arrow flew out and went straight through all twelve rings.
- Antinous 什么？这不可能……
Shénme? Zhè bù kěnéng…
What? That's impossible...
- Odysseus 我不是乞丐！我是奥德修斯！我回来了！
Wǒ búshì qǐgài! Wǒ shì Àodéxiūsī! Wǒ huílái le!
I am no beggar! I am Odysseus! I'm back!
- Telemachus 爸爸！爸爸！我等了你好多年！
Bàba! Bàba! Wǒ děng le nǐ hǎoduōnián!
Father! Father! I waited for you for so many years!
- Odysseus 你们吃我的，喝我的，二十年！现在，离开我的家！
Nǐmen chī wǒ de, hē wǒ de, èrshínián! Xiànzài, líkāi wǒ de jiā!
You have eaten and drunk my food for twenty years! Now leave my house!
- Antinous 对……对不起！我们走！我们马上走！
Duì… duìbùqǐ! Wǒmen zǒu! Wǒmen mǎshàng zǒu!
S-sorry! We're going! We'll go right now!
- Penelope 你说，你是奥德修斯？我怎么知道？
Nǐ shuō, nǐ shì Àodéxiūsī? Wǒ zěnme zhīdào?
You say you are Odysseus? How do I know?
- Penelope 好。请你把我们的床搬到外面去。
Hǎo. Qǐng nǐ bǎ wǒmen de chuáng bān dào wàimiàn qù.
Fine. Please move our bed outside.
- Odysseus 搬床？太太，那张床搬不了！床的一只脚，是一棵活的树！
Bānchuáng? Tàitai, nà zhāngchuáng bān bùliǎo! Chuáng de yìzhī jiǎo, shì yìkē huó de shù!
Move the bed? Madam, that bed can't be moved! One of its legs is a living tree!
- Penelope 只有我们两个人知道……你真的回来了！
Zhǐyǒu wǒmen liǎnggè rén zhīdào… nǐ zhēnde huílái le!
Only the two of us know that... You really are back!
- Odysseus 佩涅洛佩，二十年了。我每天都想你。
Pèinièluòpèi, èrshínián le. Wǒ měitiān dōu xiǎng nǐ.
Penelope, twenty years. I thought of you every day.
- Penelope 我也是！你怎么这么慢！
Wǒ yě shì! Nǐ zěnme zhème màn!
Me too! What took you so long!
- Odysseus 慢？我看了一个大世界。我慢慢讲给你听，好吗？
Màn? Wǒ kàn le yígè dà shìjiè. Wǒ mànmàn jiǎng gěi nǐ tīng, hǎo ma?
Slow? I saw a whole wide world. I'll tell you all of it, slowly. All right?
What changed in the story?
- How did Penelope keep the guests waiting for three years?
“白天我织，晚上我拆了它。”
- Why does Antinous stop trying the bow?
“我的手好疼！”
- Who speaks up for the beggar?
“我说，让他试！”
- What does Odysseus do with the bow?
“箭飞出去，一下就过了十二个环。”
- How does Penelope know he is Odysseus?
“床的一只脚，是一棵活的树！”