The Odyssey · chapter 24 of 29
The Old Dog
老狗
Odysseus walks to his own house as an old beggar: on the road and in the hall men hit him, he must not hit back, and at the gate someone has been waiting.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 第二天早上，欧迈俄斯带着老乞丐，去奥德修斯的家。
Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, Ōumài'ésī dàizhe lǎo qǐgài, qù Àodéxiūsī de jiā.
The next morning, Eumaeus took the old beggar to Odysseus's house.
- Eumaeus 放羊的！你怎么打人？他是一个老人！
Fàngyáng de! Nǐ zěnme dǎ rén? Tā shì yí gè lǎorén!
Goatherd! How dare you hit him? He's an old man!
- Odysseus 我想打他……可是，现在还不行。
Wǒ xiǎng dǎ tā… kěshì, xiànzài hái bù xíng.
I want to hit him... but not yet.
Chapter 24 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.
- Eumaeus 这个坏人！宙斯都看见了！
Zhège huàirén! Zhòusī dōu kànjiàn le!
That wicked man! Zeus saw it all!
- Narrator 门口有一条老狗。它看见老乞丐，尾巴动了动，可是站不起来。
Ménkǒu yǒu yì tiáo lǎo gǒu. Tā kànjiàn lǎo qǐgài, wěiba dòng le dòng, kěshì zhàn bu qǐlai.
By the gate lay an old dog. When it saw the old beggar, it wagged its tail, but it couldn't get up.
- Odysseus 阿尔戈斯……你还认识我。
Ā'ěrgēsī… nǐ hái rènshi wǒ.
Argos... you still know me.
- Eumaeus 您看，它很久没有动尾巴了！
Nín kàn, tā hěn jiǔ méiyǒu dòng wěiba le!
Look! He hasn't wagged his tail in a long time!
- Odysseus 欧迈俄斯，这条狗是谁的？
Ōumài'ésī, zhè tiáo gǒu shì shéi de?
Eumaeus, whose dog is this?
- Eumaeus 这就是国王的狗。国王走了，就没有人要它了。
Zhè jiù shì guówáng de gǒu. Guówáng zǒu le, jiù méiyǒu rén yào tā le.
That's the king's own dog. When the king left, nobody wanted him anymore.
- Narrator 阿尔戈斯看了主人最后一眼，就静静地死了。
Ā'ěrgēsī kàn le zhǔrén zuìhòu yì yǎn, jiù jìngjìng de sǐ le.
Argos looked at his master one last time, and quietly died.
- Odysseus 阿尔戈斯，你等了我二十年……
Ā'ěrgēsī, nǐ děng le wǒ èrshí nián…
Argos, you waited twenty years for me...
- Odysseus 这是我的家……我的银杯子，都在他们手里。
Zhè shì wǒ de jiā… wǒ de yín bēizi, dōu zài tāmen shǒu li.
This is my house... and my silver cups are all in their hands.
- Telemachus 老人家，这块肉给您。吃吧。
Lǎorénjiā, zhè kuài ròu gěi nín. Chī ba.
Here, sir, this meat is for you. Eat.
- Antinous 老乞丐，走开！
Lǎo qǐgài, zǒukāi!
Old beggar, get away!
- Odysseus 您吃的是国王的猪，也给我一点儿吧。
Nín chī de shì guówáng de zhū, yě gěi wǒ yìdiǎnr ba.
You're eating the king's pigs. Give me a little too.
- Antinous 国王的猪？国王早就死了！
Guówáng de zhū? Guówáng zǎo jiù sǐ le!
The king's pigs? The king died long ago!
- Narrator 安提诺奥斯拿起小椅子，扔到了他的背上。
Āntínuò'àosī ná qǐ xiǎo yǐzi, rēng dào le tā de bèi shang.
Antinous grabbed a small footstool and threw it. It struck the beggar's back.
- Odysseus 谢谢您的椅子。我不累，站着就好。
Xièxie nín de yǐzi. Wǒ bú lèi, zhànzhe jiù hǎo.
Thank you for the stool. I'm not tired. I'll stand.
- Telemachus 爸爸像一块石头，一动也不动……我也不能动。
Bàba xiàng yí kuài shítou, yí dòng yě bú dòng… wǒ yě bù néng dòng.
Father is like a rock. He doesn't move at all... and I can't move either.
- Penelope 一个乞丐被安提诺奥斯打了？在我的家里？
Yí gè qǐgài bèi Āntínuò'àosī dǎ le? Zài wǒ de jiā li?
Antinous struck a beggar? In my house?
- Penelope 欧迈俄斯，带他来见我。他可能有奥德修斯的消息。
Ōumài'ésī, dài tā lái jiàn wǒ. Tā kěnéng yǒu Àodéxiūsī de xiāoxi.
Eumaeus, bring him to me. He may have news of Odysseus.
- Eumaeus 老人家，国王的妻子要见您！
Lǎorénjiā, guówáng de qīzi yào jiàn nín!
Old friend, the king's wife wants to see you!
- Odysseus 现在不行，求婚的人太多了。晚上吧。
Xiànzài bù xíng, qiúhūn de rén tài duō le. Wǎnshang ba.
Not now. There are too many suitors. Tonight.
- Odysseus 二十年了……今天晚上，我就要见到她了。可是，不能让她知道是我。
Èrshí nián le… jīntiān wǎnshang, wǒ jiù yào jiàndào tā le. Kěshì, bù néng ràng tā zhīdào shì wǒ.
Twenty years... Tonight I'll finally see her. But I can't let her know it's me.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Odysseus do when the goatherd hits him?
“我想打他……可是，现在还不行”
- What does the old dog do when it sees the beggar?
“它看见老乞丐，尾巴动了动”
- Who does Eumaeus say the old dog belongs to?
“这就是国王的狗”
- What does Antinous throw at the beggar?
“安提诺奥斯拿起小椅子，扔到了他的背上”
- Why does Penelope want to see the beggar?
“他可能有奥德修斯的消息”