The Picture in the Box

Māma, māma, nǐ zài nǎr?

Mother, Mother, where are you?

Mèngjiāo, hái méi fàngxué, nǐ zěnme jiù huílái le? Hái kū le?

Mengjiao, school isn't out yet. Why are you home already? And crying?

Tóngxué shuō, wǒ māma shì yāoguài, shì yì tiáo báishé!

A classmate said my mother is a demon, a white snake!

Wǒ shì yāoguài? Yāoguài huì gěi nǐ zuò fàn, zuò yīfu ma? Bié tīng nàge háizi de!

Me, a demon? Does a demon cook your meals and make your clothes? Don't listen to that boy!

Nà wǒ wèn nǐ, bàba jiào Lǐ Gōngfǔ, wǒ jiào Xǔ Mèngjiāo. Wǒmen wèishénme bú shì yí gè xìng?

Then answer me this. Father is Li Gongfu, and I'm Xu Mengjiao. Why don't we have the same family name?

Qī nián le, mèimei zài Léifēng Tǎ xià, dìdi yě zǒu le. Zhè yì tiān, háishi lái le.

Seven years now. My brother's wife under Leifeng Pagoda, my brother gone too. And this day has come after all.

Nǐmen bú shì wǒ de bàba māma! Wǒ yào chūqù, zhǎo wǒ zìjǐ de bàba māma!

You're not my father and mother! I'm going out to find my own father and mother!

Bié zǒu! Hǎo, wǒ gàosu nǐ, gēn wǒ dào lóu shàng lái.

Don't go! All right, I'll tell you. Come upstairs with me.

Zhège xiāngzi, qī nián méiyǒu dǎkāi le. Nǐ kàn, zhèlǐ yǒu yì zhāng huà.

This box hasn't been opened in seven years. Look, there's a painting in here.

Zhè zhāng huà shàng yǒu yí gè niánqīng de nánrén, hái yǒu yí gè hěn piàoliang de nǚrén. Tāmen shì shéi?

In this painting there's a young man, and a very beautiful woman. Who are they?

Tā shì wǒ de dìdi, Xǔ Xiān. Tā jiù shì nǐ de bàba.

He's my little brother, Xu Xian. He is your father.

Tā jiào Bái Sùzhēn, shì nǐ de māma. Wǒ ne, shì nǐ de gūgu.

She's Bai Suzhen, your mother. And I am your aunt.

Gūgu? Nà wǒ māma shì yāoguài ma?

My aunt? Then is my mother a demon?

Tā shì yì tiáo báishé, xiūxíng le yìqiān duō nián. Kěshì, tā de xīn hěn hǎo.

She's a white snake who has practiced for more than a thousand years. But she has a good heart.

Nà nián Qīngmíngjié, xiàzhe dà yǔ. Nǐ bàba zài Xī Hú biān, jiè gěi tā yì bǎ sǎn.

One Qingming, in pouring rain, your father lent her an umbrella by West Lake.

Hòulái, tāmen jiéhūn le. Tā tōu guo yínzi, yě qù Jīnshān Sì dǎ guo héshang.

Later they married. She once stole silver, and she even went to Jinshan Temple and fought the monks.

Nà wǒ māma xiànzài zài nǎr?

Then where is my mother now?

Nǐ yí gè yuè dà de shíhou, Jīnshān Sì de héshang Fǎhǎi lái le.

When you were one month old, Fahai, a monk from Jinshan Temple, came.

Tā yòng jīnbō zhuā le nǐ māma, bǎ tā yā zài Léifēng Tǎ xià.

He caught your mother with his golden bowl and pressed her under Leifeng Pagoda.

Nà wǒ bàba ne, tā qù nǎr le?

And my father? Where did he go?

Tā jiǎn le tóufa, dāng le héshang, yí gè rén zǒu le. Qù le nǎr, méiyǒu rén zhīdào.

He cut off his hair, became a monk and went away alone. Where he went, nobody knows.

Fǎhǎi, wǒ zhǎngdà le, yídìng yào zhǎo nǐ! Nǐ huán wǒ māma!

Fahai, when I grow up, I'll find you! Give me back my mother!

Hǎo háizi, bié kū le. Nǐ yào zhǎo Fǎhǎi, xiān yào hǎohǎo dúshū.

Good boy, don't cry. If you want to find Fahai, first you have to study hard.

Wǒ huì hǎohǎo dúshū. Wǒ yào dāng zhuàngyuan, jiù wǒ māma!

I'll study hard. I'm going to be top scholar and save my mother!

Nà tiān wǎnshang, Mèngjiāo shuì bu zháo.

That night, Mengjiao couldn't sleep.

Yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ. Wǒ de xiǎo xiāngzi lǐ, yǒu wǔ gè qián.

One, two, three, four, five. There are five coins in my little box.

Gūgu, duìbuqǐ. Māma, nǐ děngzhe wǒ, wǒ xiànzài jiù qù Xī Hú!

Aunt, I'm sorry. Mother, wait for me. I'm going to West Lake right now!