The White Snake · chapter 7 of 25
The Sleeping Deer Boy
睡着的鹿童
Far up in the clouds, a sleepy boy guards the Old Immortal's gate. Bai Suzhen creeps past him toward the magic herb, but can she get out again?
Read what you hear
- Narrator 白素贞飞了很远很远，来到了云里的一座高山。
Bái Sùzhēn fēi le hěn yuǎn hěn yuǎn, láidào le yún lǐ de yí zuò gāoshān.
Bai Suzhen flew far, far away, and came to a high mountain in the clouds.
- Bai Suzhen 这就是南极仙翁的家吧？好大的门，好高的墙……
Zhè jiù shì Nánjí Xiānwēng de jiā ba? Hǎo dà de mén, hǎo gāo de qiáng…
This must be the home of the Old Immortal of the South Pole. Such a big gate, such high walls...
- Bai Suzhen 门口……有一个孩子？他睡在门口！
Ménkǒu… yǒu yí gè háizi? Tā shuì zài ménkǒu!
At the gate... a child? He's asleep right across the gateway!
Chapter 7 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Part 1 of The White Snake (chapters 1–5) 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.
- Deer Boy 鹿童没睡觉……鹿童在工作呢……
Lùtóng méi shuìjiào… Lùtóng zài gōngzuò ne…
Deer Boy's not asleep... Deer Boy's working...
- Bai Suzhen 在工作？你在睡觉呢！
Zài gōngzuò? Nǐ zài shuìjiào ne!
Working? You're fast asleep!
- Bai Suzhen 小青说，这儿有鹿童和鹤童两个人。鹤童呢？怎么不在？
Xiǎoqīng shuō, zhèr yǒu Lùtóng hé Hètóng liǎng gè rén. Hètóng ne? Zěnme bú zài?
Xiaoqing said there were two of them here, Deer Boy and Crane Boy. Where's Crane Boy? Why isn't he here?
- Bai Suzhen 轻轻地，轻轻地……别醒，别醒……
Qīngqīng de, qīngqīng de… bié xǐng, bié xǐng…
Gently, gently... don't wake up, don't wake up...
- Narrator 她从鹿童身上走了过去，进了院子。
Tā cóng Lùtóng shēnshang zǒu le guòqù, jìn le yuànzi.
She stepped over Deer Boy and went into the yard.
- Bai Suzhen 就是它，仙草！高高的，绿绿的叶子，红红的花……
Jiù shì tā, xiāncǎo! Gāogāo de, lǜlǜ de yèzi, hónghóng de huā…
That's it, the magic herb! Tall, with green leaves and a red flower...
- Bai Suzhen 我修行了一千多年，没有偷过神仙的东西……
Wǒ xiūxíng le yìqiān duō nián, méiyǒu tōu guo shénxiān de dōngxi…
In more than a thousand years of practice, I've never stolen from the immortals...
- Bai Suzhen 对不起了，仙翁。我只要两片叶子，两片就够了。
Duìbuqǐ le, Xiānwēng. Wǒ zhǐ yào liǎng piàn yèzi, liǎng piàn jiù gòu le.
Forgive me, Old Immortal. I only need two leaves. Two will be enough.
- Narrator 白素贞拿了两片叶子，轻轻地往外走。
Bái Sùzhēn ná le liǎng piàn yèzi, qīngqīng de wǎng wài zǒu.
Bai Suzhen took two leaves and crept back toward the gate.
- Deer Boy 谁？谁在那儿？
Shéi? Shéi zài nàr?
Who's that? Who's there?
- Deer Boy 你在偷仙草！仙翁说了，仙草谁也不能拿！
Nǐ zài tōu xiāncǎo! Xiānwēng shuō le, xiāncǎo shéi yě bù néng ná!
You're stealing the magic herb! The Old Immortal said nobody may take it!
- Deer Boy 你……你跪在地上做什么？
Nǐ… nǐ guì zài dìshang zuò shénme?
Wh-why are you kneeling on the ground?
- Bai Suzhen 求求你，让我走吧！我的丈夫死了，我只想救他！
Qiúqiu nǐ, ràng wǒ zǒu ba! Wǒ de zhàngfu sǐ le, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng jiù tā!
Please, let me go! My husband is dead, and I only want to save him!
- Bai Suzhen 我不是坏人……没有这两片叶子，他就醒不过来了……
Wǒ bú shì huàirén… méiyǒu zhè liǎng piàn yèzi, tā jiù xǐng bu guòlái le…
I'm not a bad person... without these two leaves, he'll never wake up...
- Deer Boy 你别哭啊……你的眼泪，掉到鹿童的手上了……
Nǐ bié kū a… nǐ de yǎnlèi, diào dào Lùtóng de shǒu shàng le…
Don't cry... your tears are falling on Deer Boy's hand...
- Deer Boy 你一哭，鹿童也想哭了……
Nǐ yì kū, Lùtóng yě xiǎng kū le…
When you cry, Deer Boy wants to cry too...
- Deer Boy 你的丈夫，真的死了？你没骗我？
Nǐ de zhàngfu, zhēn de sǐ le? Nǐ méi piàn wǒ?
Your husband is really dead? You're not fibbing?
- Bai Suzhen 真的，他的身体像冰一样冷。
Zhēn de, tā de shēntǐ xiàng bīng yíyàng lěng.
It's true, his body is as cold as ice.
- Deer Boy 好吧，好吧，你快走吧！鹤童马上就要回来了！
Hǎo ba, hǎo ba, nǐ kuài zǒu ba! Hètóng mǎshàng jiù yào huílái le!
All right, all right, go, quick! Crane Boy will be back any moment!
- Deer Boy 鹤童不像鹿童，他不爱睡觉。他看见你，你就危险了！
Hètóng bú xiàng Lùtóng, tā bú ài shuìjiào. Tā kànjiàn nǐ, nǐ jiù wēixiǎn le!
Crane Boy isn't like Deer Boy. He doesn't like sleeping. If he sees you, you're in danger!
- Bai Suzhen 谢谢你！你是个好孩子。
Xièxie nǐ! Nǐ shì gè hǎo háizi.
Thank you! You're a good boy.
- Deer Boy 快走吧！鹿童什么也没看见！
Kuài zǒu ba! Lùtóng shénme yě méi kànjiàn!
Hurry, go! Deer Boy didn't see a thing!
- Bai Suzhen 对，你什么也没看见。你一直在门口睡觉呢。
Duì, nǐ shénme yě méi kànjiàn. Nǐ yìzhí zài ménkǒu shuìjiào ne.
That's right, you didn't see a thing. You were asleep at the gate the whole time.
- Narrator 白素贞上了白云，很快就飞走了。
Bái Sùzhēn shàng le báiyún, hěn kuài jiù fēi zǒu le.
Bai Suzhen stepped onto her white cloud and was soon far away.
- Bai Suzhen 两片叶子，我拿到了！官人，你等着我，我马上回家！
Liǎng piàn yèzi, wǒ ná dào le! Guānrén, nǐ děngzhe wǒ, wǒ mǎshàng huí jiā!
Two leaves, I've got them! Wait for me, dear, I'm coming home!
- Bai Suzhen 天哪……好大的一只白鹤！它向我飞过来了！
Tiān na… hǎo dà de yì zhī báihè! Tā xiàng wǒ fēi guòlái le!
Oh, heavens... a huge white crane! It's flying straight at me!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Deer Boy doing when Bai arrives?
“有一个孩子？他睡在门口！”
- What does the magic herb look like?
“就是它，仙草！高高的，绿绿的叶子，红红的花……”
- Why does Bai say she needs the leaves?
“没有这两片叶子，他就醒不过来了……”
- Why does Deer Boy let her go?
“你一哭，鹿童也想哭了……好吧，好吧，你快走吧！”
- Why does Deer Boy tell her to hurry?
“鹤童马上就要回来了！”