The White Snake · chapter 3 of 3
The Pagoda Falls
雷峰塔倒了
A flood against a temple, a reunion on the Broken Bridge, and a monk with a golden bowl who is not finished yet.
Read what you hear
- Xu Xian 师父，你为什么把我关在金山寺里？放我回家吧！
Shīfu, nǐ wèishénme bǎ wǒ guān zài Jīnshān Sì lǐ? Fàng wǒ huí jiā ba!
Master, why have you locked me up in Jinshan Temple? Let me go home!
- Fahai 你的娘子是一条白蛇。你就留在这里做和尚吧，这是为你好。
Nǐ de niángzǐ shì yì tiáo bái shé. Nǐ jiù liú zài zhèlǐ zuò héshang ba, zhè shì wèi nǐ hǎo.
Your wife is a white snake. You will stay here and become a monk. It's for your own good.
- Xu Xian 我不做和尚！白蛇也好，妖怪也好，她都是我的娘子！
Wǒ bú zuò héshang! Bái shé yěhǎo, yāoguài yěhǎo, tā dōu shì wǒ de niángzǐ!
I won't be a monk! Snake or demon, she's still my wife!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The White Snake 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 and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Bai Suzhen 法海！把我的相公还给我！
Fǎhǎi! Bǎ wǒ de xiànggong huán gěi wǒ!
Fahai! Give me back my husband!
- Fahai 白蛇，人和妖怪，不能在一起。你走吧！
Bái shé, rén hé yāoguài, bù néng zài yìqǐ. Nǐ zǒu ba!
White snake, humans and demons cannot be together. Go away!
- Bai Suzhen 我没有害过一个人。我只爱过一个人！
Wǒ méiyǒu hài guo yí gè rén. Wǒ zhǐ ài guo yí gè rén!
I have never harmed a single person. I have only ever loved one!
- Bai Suzhen 你不放他，我就叫江水来！江水，起来吧！
Nǐ bú fàng tā, wǒ jiù jiào jiāngshuǐ lái! Jiāngshuǐ, qǐlái ba!
If you won't let him go, I'll call up the river! River, rise!
- Narrator 大水冲向了金山寺。这就是有名的“水漫金山”。
Dà shuǐ chōng xiàng le Jīnshān Sì. Zhè jiù shì yǒumíng de “Shuǐ màn Jīnshān”.
A great flood surged toward Jinshan Temple. This was the famous Flooding of Jinshan.
- Fahai 白蛇，你的法力没有我大。水，退下！
Bái shé, nǐ de fǎlì méiyǒu wǒ dà. Shuǐ, tuì xià!
White snake, your magic is no match for mine. Waters, fall back!
- Bai Suzhen 水退了……我受了伤，一点儿力气也没有了。先回西湖吧。
Shuǐ tuì le… wǒ shòu le shāng, yìdiǎnr lìqi yě méiyǒu le. Xiān huí Xī Hú ba.
The water is falling back… I'm hurt, and I have no strength left. I'll go back to West Lake for now.
- Xu Xian 娘子！大水来的时候，我跑出来了！原来你在断桥上！
Niángzǐ! Dà shuǐ lái de shíhou, wǒ pǎo chūlái le! Yuánlái nǐ zài Duàn Qiáo shang!
My dear! When the flood came, I got away! So this is where you are, on the Broken Bridge!
- Xu Xian 娘子，都是我不好。端午节那天，我不该让你喝那杯雄黄酒。
Niángzǐ, dōu shì wǒ bù hǎo. Duānwǔjié nà tiān, wǒ bù gāi ràng nǐ hē nà bēi xiónghuángjiǔ.
My dear, it's all my fault. I never should have made you drink that realgar wine at the Dragon Boat Festival.
- Bai Suzhen 相公，我们在西湖边认识，今天又在西湖边见面。这就够了。
Xiànggong, wǒmen zài Xī Hú biān rènshi, jīntiān yòu zài Xī Hú biān jiànmiàn. Zhè jiù gòu le.
My husband, we met by West Lake, and today we've found each other by West Lake again. That's enough for me.
- Narrator 几个月以后，他们的儿子出生了。可是没过多久，法海拿着金钵又来了。
Jǐ gè yuè yǐhòu, tāmen de érzi chūshēng le. Kěshì méi guò duō jiǔ, Fǎhǎi názhe jīnbō yòu lái le.
A few months later, their son was born. But before long, Fahai came again, carrying a golden bowl.
- Fahai 白蛇，今天你跑不了了！金钵，收！
Bái shé, jīntiān nǐ pǎo bù liǎo le! Jīnbō, shōu!
White snake, today you won't get away! Golden bowl, take her!
- Xu Xian 娘子！不要！师父，求求你，把金钵拿开！
Niángzǐ! Bú yào! Shīfu, qiúqiu nǐ, bǎ jīnbō ná kāi!
My dear! No! Master, I beg you, take that bowl away!
- Bai Suzhen 相公，别怕……好好照顾我们的儿子，别忘了我！
Xiànggong, bié pà… hǎohǎo zhàogù wǒmen de érzi, bié wàng le wǒ!
Don't be afraid, my husband… Take good care of our son. Don't forget me!
- Fahai 我要把你压在雷峰塔下。除非西湖的水干了，雷峰塔倒了，你才能出来！
Wǒ yào bǎ nǐ yā zài Léifēng Tǎ xià. Chúfēi Xī Hú de shuǐ gān le, Léifēng Tǎ dǎo le, nǐ cái néng chūlái!
I will seal you beneath Leifeng Pagoda. Not until West Lake runs dry and the pagoda falls will you ever come out!
- Xu Xian 儿子，别哭。以后，我们每天都来塔下看妈妈。
Érzi, bié kū. Yǐhòu, wǒmen měi tiān dōu lái tǎ xià kàn māma.
Don't cry, little one. From now on, we'll come to the pagoda every day to see Mama.
- Bai Suzhen 相公，我听见了。西湖的水不会干……可是这座塔，总有一天会倒的。
Xiànggong, wǒ tīngjiàn le. Xī Hú de shuǐ bú huì gān… kěshì zhè zuò tǎ, zǒng yǒu yì tiān huì dǎo de.
I can hear you, my husband. West Lake will never run dry… but one day, this pagoda will fall.
- Narrator 很多很多年过去了。一九二四年，雷峰塔真的倒了。
Hěn duō hěn duō nián guòqù le. Yī jiǔ èr sì nián, Léifēng Tǎ zhēn de dǎo le.
Many, many years went by. Then, in 1924, Leifeng Pagoda really did fall.
- Narrator 人们都说，白娘子终于出来了。今天下雨的时候，还有很多人撑着伞，走过西湖的断桥。
Rénmen dōu shuō, Bái Niángzǐ zhōngyú chūlái le. Jīntiān xià yǔ de shíhou, hái yǒu hěn duō rén chēngzhe sǎn, zǒu guò Xī Hú de Duàn Qiáo.
People said Lady White was free at last. And today, when it rains, many people still cross West Lake's Broken Bridge under umbrellas.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Bai Suzhen tell Fahai at the temple?
“我没有害过一个人。我只爱过一个人！”
- What happens when Bai Suzhen calls up the river?
“大水冲向了金山寺。”
- Where does Xu Xian find Bai Suzhen after he escapes?
“原来你在断桥上！”
- What must happen before Bai Suzhen can come out, according to Fahai?
“除非西湖的水干了，雷峰塔倒了，你才能出来！”
- What really happened in 1924?
“一九二四年，雷峰塔真的倒了。”