The Odyssey · chapter 3 of 29
The Lotus-Eaters
吃花的人
Odysseus sends three men to find out where the wind has carried them, and they don't come back.

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- Narrator 第十天,奥德修斯的船来到了吃花的人那儿。
Dì shí tiān, Àodéxiūsī de chuán láidào le chī huā de rén nàr.
On the tenth day, Odysseus's ships came to the land of the lotus-eaters.
- Odysseus 你们三个,去看看这儿住着什么人。
Nǐmen sān gè, qù kànkan zhèr zhùzhe shénme rén.
You three, go and see what kind of people live here.
- Odysseus 他们怎么还不回来?我去找他们。
Tāmen zěnme hái bù huílai? Wǒ qù zhǎo tāmen.
Why aren't they back yet? I'll go and find them.
- Odysseus 你们在这儿!你们在干什么?
Nǐmen zài zhèr! Nǐmen zài gàn shénme?
There you are! What are you doing?
- A Sailor 奥德修斯,这儿的人很好,给我们吃花。
Àodéxiūsī, zhèr de rén hěn hǎo, gěi wǒmen chī huā.
Odysseus, the people here are so kind. They gave us flowers to eat.
- Odysseus 你们吃了什么?
Nǐmen chī le shénme?
What did you eat?
- A Sailor 这花真甜。吃了它,我就不想回家了。
Zhè huā zhēn tián. Chī le tā, wǒ jiù bù xiǎng huí jiā le.
This flower is so sweet. Once I ate it, I didn't want to go home anymore.
- Odysseus 什么?你们忘了伊萨卡吗?
Shénme? Nǐmen wàng le Yīsàkǎ ma?
What? Have you forgotten Ithaca?
- A Sailor 伊萨卡?那是哪儿?
Yīsàkǎ? Nà shì nǎr?
Ithaca? Where's that?
- Odysseus 不行!你们跟我回去!
Bù xíng! Nǐmen gēn wǒ huíqu!
No! You're coming back with me!
- A Sailor 不!我不走!这花太甜了!
Bù! Wǒ bù zǒu! Zhè huā tài tián le!
No! I won't go! These flowers are so sweet!
- Odysseus 他们不走,就绑在船上!你们快上船!
Tāmen bù zǒu, jiù bǎng zài chuán shang! Nǐmen kuài shàng chuán!
If they won't come, tie them up on the ship! All of you, aboard, quickly!
- Narrator 又过了几天,他们来到一座岛。岛的旁边,是独眼巨人的地方。
Yòu guò le jǐ tiān, tāmen láidào yí zuò dǎo. Dǎo de pángbiān, shì dúyǎn jùrén de dìfang.
A few days later, they came to an island. Right beside it lay the land of the Cyclops.
- Narrator 独眼巨人很大,一个人一只眼睛。他们谁的话也不听。
Dúyǎn jùrén hěn dà, yí gè rén yì zhī yǎnjing. Tāmen shéi de huà yě bù tīng.
Each Cyclops was huge, with a single eye, and none of them listened to anyone.
- A Sailor 你们看,这个岛有很多羊!
Nǐmen kàn, zhège dǎo yǒu hěn duō yáng!
Look, this island is full of goats!
- The Crew 今天有肉吃了!
Jīntiān yǒu ròu chī le!
Meat today!
- Odysseus 一条船九只羊。我的船,十只!
Yì tiáo chuán jiǔ zhī yáng. Wǒ de chuán, shí zhī!
Nine goats a ship. My ship gets ten!
- A Sailor 你的船怎么多一只?
Nǐ de chuán zěnme duō yì zhī?
How come your ship gets one more?
- Odysseus 我是国王啊!
Wǒ shì guówáng a!
I'm the king!
- The Crew 国王真聪明!
Guówáng zhēn cōngming!
What a clever king!
- Odysseus 你们看那边,有烟。
Nǐmen kàn nàbiān, yǒu yān.
Look over there. Smoke.
- A Sailor 还有羊叫!有烟,就有人。
Hái yǒu yáng jiào! Yǒu yān, jiù yǒu rén.
And sheep calling! Where there's smoke, there are people.
- Odysseus 明天,我带十二个人过去。老人送的酒,也带着。
Míngtiān, wǒ dài shí'èr gè rén guòqù. Lǎorén sòng de jiǔ, yě dàizhe.
Tomorrow I'll take twelve men across. We'll bring the old man's wine too.
- A Sailor 带酒干什么?
Dài jiǔ gàn shénme?
What's the wine for?
- Odysseus 那边住的,可能是巨人。酒会有用的。
Nàbiān zhù de, kěnéng shì jùrén. Jiǔ huì yǒuyòng de.
Whoever lives over there may be a giant. The wine will be useful.
- Narrator 第二天下午,他们走上山,来到一个大山洞。
Dì èr tiān xiàwǔ, tāmen zǒu shàng shān, láidào yí gè dà shāndòng.
The next afternoon, they climbed the hill and came to a great cave.
- A Sailor 有人吗?
Yǒu rén ma?
Anyone here?
- Odysseus 没有人。主人不在家。
Méiyǒu rén. Zhǔrén bú zài jiā.
Nobody. The owner isn't home.
- A Sailor 你们看,这么多吃的!还有小羊!
Nǐmen kàn, zhème duō chī de! Hái yǒu xiǎo yáng!
Look at all this food! And lambs!
- Odysseus 这么大的山洞……主人一定是个巨人。我们在这儿等他。
Zhème dà de shāndòng… zhǔrén yídìng shì gè jùrén. Wǒmen zài zhèr děng tā.
A cave this big... its owner must be a giant. We'll wait here for him.
What changed in the story?
- What do the kind people give the three sailors?
“给我们吃花”……“这花真甜”
- What happens to the sailor after he eats the flower?
“吃了它,我就不想回家了”
- How many goats does Odysseus's own ship get?
“我的船,十只”
- What tells Odysseus and his men that someone lives across the water?
“有烟”……“还有羊叫”
- What does Odysseus decide to do in the empty cave?
“我们在这儿等他”