Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu and Diaochan · chapter 1 of 6
The Horse Red Hare
赤兔马
A gift horse as red as fire tempts the greatest warrior in the land. What will Lu Bu give up to keep it?
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Read what you hear
- Narrator 天下大乱。董卓带兵进了洛阳，连皇帝都怕他。那天晚上，有人来找吕布。
Tiānxià dàluàn. Dǒng Zhuō dài bīng jìn le Luòyáng, lián huángdì dōu pà tā. Nà tiān wǎnshang, yǒu rén lái zhǎo Lǚ Bù.
The land was in chaos. Dong Zhuo had marched his army into Luoyang, and even the emperor feared him. That night, someone came to see Lu Bu.
- Lu Bu 谁在外面？这么晚了，别来烦我！
Shéi zài wàimiàn? Zhème wǎn le, bié lái fán wǒ!
Who's out there? It's late. Don't bother me!
- Li Su 吕将军，别生气。我是李肃，你的老朋友。我给你带了一份礼物。
Lǚ jiāngjūn, bié shēngqì. Wǒ shì Lǐ Sù, nǐ de lǎo péngyou. Wǒ gěi nǐ dài le yí fèn lǐwù.
General Lu, don't be angry. It's Li Su, your old friend. I've brought you a gift.
- Lu Bu 李肃？是你！你不是在董大人那里做事吗？
Lǐ Sù? Shì nǐ! Nǐ bú shì zài Dǒng dàren nàlǐ zuòshì ma?
Li Su? It's you! Don't you work for Lord Dong?
- Lu Bu 礼物？我不要金子，也不要漂亮衣服。
Lǐwù? Wǒ bú yào jīnzi, yě bú yào piàoliang yīfu.
A gift? I don't want gold, and I don't want fancy clothes.
- Li Su 不是金子。你往外面看，那是什么？
Bú shì jīnzi. Nǐ wǎng wàimiàn kàn, nà shì shénme?
It's not gold. Look outside. What is that?
- Lu Bu 一匹红马！它红得像火一样！
Yì pǐ hóng mǎ! Tā hóng de xiàng huǒ yíyàng!
A red horse! It's as red as fire!
- Li Su 它叫赤兔马。一天能跑一千里，过河像走路一样。
Tā jiào Chìtùmǎ. Yì tiān néng pǎo yì qiān lǐ, guò hé xiàng zǒulù yíyàng.
Its name is Red Hare. It can run a thousand li in a day, and it crosses rivers as if it were walking.
- Lu Bu 一千里……我一直想要这样的马！它是谁的？
Yì qiān lǐ… Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng yào zhèyàng de mǎ! Tā shì shéi de?
A thousand li... I've always wanted a horse like this! Whose is it?
- Li Su 是董卓大人的。他说，好马要送给天下最好的人。
Shì Dǒng Zhuō dàren de. Tā shuō, hǎo mǎ yào sòng gěi tiānxià zuì hǎo de rén.
It belongs to Lord Dong Zhuo. He says a good horse should go to the best man under heaven.
- Lu Bu 最好的人……那就是我！我可以骑一下吗？
Zuì hǎo de rén… nà jiù shì wǒ! Wǒ kěyǐ qí yíxià ma?
The best man... that's me! May I ride it for a moment?
- Li Su 请，请！它已经是你的马了。
Qǐng, qǐng! Tā yǐjīng shì nǐ de mǎ le.
Please, please! It's already your horse.
- Lu Bu 赤兔，赤兔，你想跑吗？走，我们去试试！
Chìtù, Chìtù, nǐ xiǎng pǎo ma? Zǒu, wǒmen qù shìshi!
Red Hare, Red Hare, do you want to run? Come on, let's try!
- Lu Bu 驾！哈哈哈！比风还快！
Jià! Hāhāhā! Bǐ fēng hái kuài!
Yah! Ha ha ha! Faster than the wind!
- Li Su 哎呀，我的帽子飞了……不过，他笑得很开心。这个人，可以买。
Āiyā, wǒ de màozi fēi le… Búguò, tā xiào de hěn kāixīn. Zhège rén, kěyǐ mǎi.
Oh no, my hat flew off... But he's smiling so happily. This man can be bought.
- Lu Bu 太好了！李肃，你要我做什么？
Tài hǎo le! Lǐ Sù, nǐ yào wǒ zuò shénme?
Wonderful! Li Su, what do you want me to do?
- Li Su 董大人想请你去帮他。可是，你有一个义父，叫丁原。
Dǒng dàren xiǎng qǐng nǐ qù bāng tā. Kěshì, nǐ yǒu yí gè yìfù, jiào Dīng Yuán.
Lord Dong wants you to help him. But you already have an adoptive father, Ding Yuan.
- Lu Bu 丁原对我不错。他是我的爸爸。
Dīng Yuán duì wǒ búcuò. Tā shì wǒ de bàba.
Ding Yuan has been good to me. He's my father.
- Li Su 他给过你赤兔马吗？他给过你更高的官吗？你好好想一想。
Tā gěi guo nǐ Chìtùmǎ ma? Tā gěi guo nǐ gèng gāo de guān ma? Nǐ hǎohǎo xiǎng yi xiǎng.
Did he ever give you a horse like this? A higher rank? Think it over carefully.
- Lu Bu 丁原……对不起。你回去告诉董大人，我明天就去。
Dīng Yuán… duìbuqǐ. Nǐ huíqù gàosu Dǒng dàren, wǒ míngtiān jiù qù.
Ding Yuan... I'm sorry. Go tell Lord Dong that I'll come tomorrow.
- Narrator 第二天早上，丁原已经不在了。吕布站在董卓面前。
Dì-èr tiān zǎoshang, Dīng Yuán yǐjīng bú zài le. Lǚ Bù zhàn zài Dǒng Zhuō miànqián.
The next morning, Ding Yuan was gone. Lu Bu stood before Dong Zhuo.
- Lu Bu 董大人，我来了。
Dǒng dàren, wǒ lái le.
Lord Dong, I have come.
- Dong Zhuo 大人？叫我爸爸！我给你赤兔马，给你金子，还给你最大的官！
Dàren? Jiào wǒ bàba! Wǒ gěi nǐ Chìtùmǎ, gěi nǐ jīnzi, hái gěi nǐ zuì dà de guān!
"Lord"? Call me Father! I'll give you Red Hare, gold, and the highest rank!
- Lu Bu ……爸爸。
… Bàba.
...Father.
- Dong Zhuo 哈哈哈！好儿子！有你在，谁还敢动我？
Hāhāhā! Hǎo érzi! Yǒu nǐ zài, shéi hái gǎn dòng wǒ?
Ha ha ha! Good son! With you here, who would dare touch me?
- Lu Bu 谁敢来，我的戟就让他回家！
Shéi gǎn lái, wǒ de jǐ jiù ràng tā huíjiā!
Whoever dares, my halberd will send him home!
- Dong Zhuo 好！可是儿子，我有一个小问题。
Hǎo! Kěshì érzi, wǒ yǒu yí gè xiǎo wèntí.
Good! But, son, I have one small problem.
- Lu Bu 什么问题，爸爸？
Shénme wèntí, bàba?
What problem, Father?
- Dong Zhuo 我的肚子太大，走路很慢。所以从今天起，你要一直站在我身边。
Wǒ de dùzi tài dà, zǒulù hěn màn. Suǒyǐ cóng jīntiān qǐ, nǐ yào yìzhí zhàn zài wǒ shēnbiān.
My belly is too big and I walk slowly. So from today on, you'll stand by my side always.
- Lu Bu 哈哈，好！我一步也不会离开您。
Hāhā, hǎo! Wǒ yí bù yě bú huì líkāi nín.
Ha ha, all right! I won't leave you by a single step.
- Dong Zhuo 有了你，那些大官再也不敢笑我的肚子了！
Yǒu le nǐ, nàxiē dà guān zài yě bù gǎn xiào wǒ de dùzi le!
With you at my side, those big officials will never dare laugh at my belly again!
- Lu Bu 爸爸，我发誓，只要我还活着，没有人能伤到您。
Bàba, wǒ fāshì, zhǐyào wǒ hái huózhe, méiyǒu rén néng shāngdào nín.
Father, I swear: as long as I'm alive, no one can hurt you.
- Li Su 为了一匹马，他就叫别人爸爸……有一天，他也会为了别的东西，忘了这个爸爸。
Wèile yì pǐ mǎ, tā jiù jiào biéren bàba… Yǒu yì tiān, tā yě huì wèile bié de dōngxi, wàng le zhège bàba.
For one horse, he calls a stranger Father... One day, he'll forget this father for something else, too.
What changed in the story?
- Why does Lu Bu ride off at night with joy?
“它叫赤兔马。一天能跑一千里”
- What does Li Su hint about Lu Bu's adoptive father Ding Yuan?
“他给过你赤兔马吗？他给过你更高的官吗？”
- What does Dong Zhuo ask Lu Bu to call him?
“大人？叫我爸爸！”
- Why does Dong Zhuo say he needs Lu Bu at his side?
“我的肚子太大，走路很慢。所以从今天起，你要一直站在我身边。”
- What worries Li Su at the end?
“有一天，他也会为了别的东西，忘了这个爸爸。”