The Odyssey · chapter 22 of 29
The Old Beggar
老乞丐
Odysseus wakes on a shore he doesn't know, a young shepherd has news for him, and at the end of the road a swineherd's fierce dogs are waiting.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 天亮了，船到了伊萨卡。水手们把睡着的奥德修斯放在橄榄树下边。
Tiān liàng le, chuán dào le Yīsàkǎ. Shuǐshǒumen bǎ shuìzháo de Àodéxiūsī fàng zài gǎnlǎnshù xiàbian.
At dawn the ship reached Ithaca. The sailors laid Odysseus, still asleep, under an olive tree.
- Narrator 回去的时候，他们的船被海神变成了石头。
Huíqu de shíhou, tāmen de chuán bèi hǎishén biànchéng le shítou.
On their way back, the sea god turned their ship to stone.
- Odysseus 这是哪儿？我睡得太好了！
Zhè shì nǎr? Wǒ shuì de tài hǎo le!
Where is this? I slept far too well!
Chapter 22 is part of SayMei Stories Unlimited ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapters 1–3 of The Odyssey are free, and The Second Cup of Tea, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, The Kitchen God, Little Red Riding Hood, The Ugly Duckling, Chang'e and the Moon, Alice in Wonderland and Judge Dee's Cases are free from start to finish.
- Narrator 一个带着羊的年轻人走了过来。这是雅典娜。
Yí gè dàizhe yáng de niánqīngrén zǒu le guòlai. Zhè shì Yǎdiǎnnà.
A young man with sheep came walking up. It was Athena.
- Odysseus 年轻人，请问这是什么地方？
Niánqīngrén, qǐngwèn zhè shì shénme dìfang?
Young man, may I ask what place this is?
- Athena 你不知道？这是伊萨卡啊！
Nǐ bù zhīdào? Zhè shì Yīsàkǎ a!
You don't know? This is Ithaca!
- Odysseus 伊萨卡？……我是开船的，从很远的地方来。
Yīsàkǎ?… Wǒ shì kāi chuán de, cóng hěn yuǎn de dìfang lái.
Ithaca?... I'm a sailor, from a land far away.
- Athena 你又在骗人了！是我，雅典娜！
Nǐ yòu zài piàn rén le! Shì wǒ, Yǎdiǎnnà!
Telling tales again! It's me, Athena!
- Odysseus 雅典娜！这里真的是伊萨卡吗？
Yǎdiǎnnà! Zhèlǐ zhēn de shì Yīsàkǎ ma?
Athena! Is this really Ithaca?
- Athena 是伊萨卡！礼物先放在那个山洞里。
Shì Yīsàkǎ! Lǐwù xiān fàng zài nàge shāndòng li.
It is Ithaca! Put your gifts in that cave for now.
- Athena 你家里有一百多个求婚的人，三年了，天天吃你的猪！
Nǐ jiā li yǒu yìbǎi duō gè qiúhūn de rén, sān nián le, tiāntiān chī nǐ de zhū!
There are more than a hundred suitors in your house. For three years they've been eating your pigs every day!
- Odysseus 佩涅洛佩呢？她还在等我吗？
Pèinièluòpèi ne? Tā hái zài děng wǒ ma?
And Penelope? Is she still waiting for me?
- Athena 她天天在等你。你儿子去了斯巴达，我会带他回来。
Tā tiāntiān zài děng nǐ. Nǐ érzi qù le Sībādá, wǒ huì dài tā huílai.
She waits for you every day. Your son has gone to Sparta, and I'll bring him back.
- Athena 现在，你先变成一个老乞丐吧！
Xiànzài, nǐ xiān biànchéng yí gè lǎo qǐgài ba!
For now, you're going to become an old beggar!
- Odysseus 我的手这么老……我的头上，什么都没有了！
Wǒ de shǒu zhème lǎo… wǒ de tóu shang, shénme dōu méiyǒu le!
My hands are so old... and there's nothing left on my head!
- Athena 这根木头，这个袋子，都给你。
Zhè gēn mùtou, zhège dàizi, dōu gěi nǐ.
This stick and this bag are yours.
- Athena 先去找欧迈俄斯，你的猪都在他那儿。他是好人。
Xiān qù zhǎo Ōumài'ésī, nǐ de zhū dōu zài tā nàr. Tā shì hǎorén.
First go and find Eumaeus. He keeps all your pigs. He is a good man.
- Narrator 晚上，奥德修斯来到了欧迈俄斯的家。
Wǎnshang, Àodéxiūsī láidào le Ōumài'ésī de jiā.
In the evening, Odysseus came to Eumaeus's home.
- Eumaeus 快回去，别叫了！老人家，您没事吧？
Kuài huíqu, bié jiào le! Lǎorénjiā, nín méi shì ba?
Get back, stop barking! Old friend, are you all right?
- Eumaeus 快进来坐！我给您杀两头小猪。
Kuài jìnlai zuò! Wǒ gěi nín shā liǎng tóu xiǎo zhū.
Come in and sit down! I'll kill two little pigs for you.
- Odysseus 谢谢你，朋友。你为什么对乞丐这么好？
Xièxie nǐ, péngyou. Nǐ wèishénme duì qǐgài zhème hǎo?
Thank you, friend. Why are you so kind to a beggar?
- Eumaeus 客人是宙斯送来的。我的国王以前也是这样。
Kèrén shì Zhòusī sònglai de. Wǒ de guówáng yǐqián yě shì zhèyàng.
Strangers come from Zeus. My king was like that too.
- Eumaeus 可是他走了二十年，一定死在外边了。
Kěshì tā zǒu le èrshí nián, yídìng sǐ zài wàibian le.
But he left twenty years ago. He must have died somewhere far away.
- Eumaeus 那些坏人，天天来吃他的猪，喝他的酒！
Nàxiē huàirén, tiāntiān lái chī tā de zhū, hē tā de jiǔ!
Those bad men come every day to eat his pigs and drink his wine!
- Eumaeus 他的儿子坐船去找消息了。那些人在路上等着杀他！
Tā de érzi zuò chuán qù zhǎo xiāoxi le. Nàxiē rén zài lù shang děngzhe shā tā!
And his son has gone to sea for news. Those men are waiting on his way home to kill him!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Where is the sleeping Odysseus left in Ithaca?
“水手们把睡着的奥德修斯放在橄榄树下边”
- What does Odysseus tell the young man with the sheep?
“我是开船的，从很远的地方来”
- What does Athena turn Odysseus into?
“你先变成一个老乞丐吧”
- Why is Eumaeus kind to the beggar?
“客人是宙斯送来的”
- What does Eumaeus say those men are waiting to do?
“那些人在路上等着杀他”