The Pearl of West Lake · chapter 3 of 3
The Pearl Falls
西湖
The pearl is pulled in two directions and slips from every hand. Where it lands, something very big and very beautiful appears.
Read what you hear
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 还给我们！这是我们的珍珠！
Huán gěi wǒmen! Zhè shì wǒmen de zhēnzhū!
Give it back! This is our pearl!
- Queen Mother of the West 不给！它是我的！别追了！
Bù gěi! Tā shì wǒ de! Bié zhuī le!
No! It's mine! Stop chasing me!
- Jinfeng, the Golden Phoenix 您说明天再来！现在是晚上！
Nín shuō míngtiān zài lái! Xiànzài shì wǎnshang!
You said you'd come tomorrow! It's night now!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Pearl of West Lake is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Queen Mother of the West 我是娘娘！我想拿，就拿！
Wǒ shì niángniang! Wǒ xiǎng ná, jiù ná!
I'm the queen! If I want to take it, I take it!
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 金凤，我们一起拉！一，二，三！
Jīnfèng, wǒmen yìqǐ lā! Yī, èr, sān!
Jinfeng, let's pull together! One, two, three!
- Jinfeng, the Golden Phoenix 拉！我不怕累！
Lā! Wǒ bú pà lèi!
Pull! I'm not afraid of getting tired!
- Queen Mother of the West 哎呀！你们别拉了！我的手！
Āiyā! Nǐmen bié lā le! Wǒ de shǒu!
Ow! Stop pulling! My hands!
- Jinfeng, the Golden Phoenix 啊！珍珠掉下去了！
Ā! Zhēnzhū diào xiàqù le!
Ah! The pearl is falling!
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 它掉到地上去了！快看！
Tā diào dào dìshang qù le! Kuài kàn!
It's fallen to the earth! Look!
- Queen Mother of the West 我的珍珠……快去拿回来！
Wǒ de zhēnzhū... Kuài qù ná huílái!
My pearl... Go and get it back!
- Little Girl 爷爷！你看！好多水！
Yéye! Nǐ kàn! Hǎo duō shuǐ!
Grandpa! Look! So much water!
- Old Farmer 山下有一个湖！又大又美！这水是哪儿来的？
Shān xià yǒu yí gè hú! Yòu dà yòu měi! Zhè shuǐ shì nǎr lái de?
There's a lake at the foot of the hill! Big and beautiful! Where did all this water come from?
- Jinfeng, the Golden Phoenix 那是我们的珍珠！它变成了湖！
Nà shì wǒmen de zhēnzhū! Tā biànchéng le hú!
That's our pearl! It's turned into a lake!
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 湖里有光！你看，鱼也在笑！水也是亮的！
Hú lǐ yǒu guāng! Nǐ kàn, yú yě zài xiào! Shuǐ yě shì liàng de!
There's light in the lake! Look, even the fish are smiling! The water shines!
- Queen Mother of the West 怎么会这样……
Zěnme huì zhèyàng...
How did this happen...
- Little Girl 娘娘，湖好美！我们可以在这儿玩！
Niángniang, hú hǎo měi! Wǒmen kěyǐ zài zhèr wán!
Your Majesty, the lake is so pretty! We can play here!
- Queen Mother of the West 我看见了。你们真高兴。天上没有这样的笑。
Wǒ kànjiàn le. Nǐmen zhēn gāoxìng. Tiān shàng méiyǒu zhèyàng de xiào.
I see. You are all so happy. There are no smiles like this in the sky.
- Queen Mother of the West 对不起，玉龙，金凤。我错了。
Duìbuqǐ, Yùlóng, Jīnfèng. Wǒ cuò le.
I'm sorry, Yulong, Jinfeng. I was wrong.
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 娘娘，没关系。
Niángniang, méi guānxi.
It's all right, Your Majesty.
- Old Farmer 这个湖叫什么名字？
Zhè ge hú jiào shénme míngzi?
What is this lake called?
- Little Girl 它在我们家的西边。就叫西湖吧！
Tā zài wǒmen jiā de xībiān. Jiù jiào Xīhú ba!
It's west of our home. Let's call it West Lake!
- Queen Mother of the West 西湖……好名字。这个珍珠，就给人们吧。
Xīhú... hǎo míngzi. Zhè ge zhēnzhū, jiù gěi rénmen ba.
West Lake... a good name. Let this pearl belong to the people.
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 娘娘，我们不回天上了。我们想住在湖旁边。
Niángniang, wǒmen bù huí tiān shàng le. Wǒmen xiǎng zhù zài hú pángbiān.
Your Majesty, we won't go back to the sky. We want to live beside the lake.
- Queen Mother of the West 好。你们变成两座山吧，天天看着西湖。
Hǎo. Nǐmen biànchéng liǎng zuò shān ba, tiāntiān kànzhe Xīhú.
All right. Become two hills, and watch over West Lake every day.
- Narrator 太阳出来了。西湖旁边有了两座绿山。
Tàiyáng chūlái le. Xīhú pángbiān yǒu le liǎng zuò lǜ shān.
The sun came up. Beside West Lake stood two green hills.
- Little Girl 爷爷，你看！那是玉龙山和凤凰山！
Yéye, nǐ kàn! Nà shì Yùlóngshān hé Fènghuángshān!
Grandpa, look! That's Jade Dragon Hill and Phoenix Hill!
- Yulong, the Jade Dragon 金凤，你在吗？
Jīnfèng, nǐ zài ma?
Jinfeng, are you there?
- Jinfeng, the Golden Phoenix 我在这儿，玉龙。我们天天看着西湖。
Wǒ zài zhèr, Yùlóng. Wǒmen tiāntiān kànzhe Xīhú.
I'm here, Yulong. We'll watch over West Lake every day.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why do Yulong and Jinfeng pull on the pearl?
“还给我们！这是我们的珍珠！”
- What happens to the pearl?
“它掉到地上去了！”
- What does the pearl become?
“它变成了湖！”
- Why is it called West Lake?
“它在我们家的西边。就叫西湖吧！”
- What do Yulong and Jinfeng become?
“西湖旁边有了两座绿山。”