Ye Xian, the Chinese Cinderella · chapter 4 of 5
The Golden Shoes
金鞋
It's the night of the Cave Festival, and Ye Xian has been told to stay home and watch the fruit in the yard. But the fish bones are still listening.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 洞节那天晚上，山里的人都去过节了。
Dòngjié nà tiān wǎnshang, shān lǐ de rén dōu qù guò jié le.
On the night of the Cave Festival, everyone in the hills went out to celebrate.
- Stepmother 叶限，我带你妹妹去洞节。你在家看着院子里的果子，哪儿也不能去！
Yè Xiàn, wǒ dài nǐ mèimei qù Dòngjié. Nǐ zài jiā kānzhe yuànzi lǐ de guǒzi, nǎr yě bù néng qù!
Ye Xian, I'm taking your sister to the festival. You stay home and keep an eye on the fruit in the yard. You're not going anywhere!
- Stepsister 姐姐，我的新衣服漂亮吗？哈哈，你今天只能跟树说话了！
Jiějie, wǒ de xīn yīfu piàoliang ma? Hāhā, nǐ jīntiān zhǐ néng gēn shù shuōhuà le!
Big sister, isn't my new dress pretty? Ha! Tonight you'll just have to talk to the trees!
Chapter 4 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Ye Xian, the Chinese Cinderella 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.
- Ye Xian 你们去吧，我会看着果子的。
Nǐmen qù ba, wǒ huì kānzhe guǒzi de.
You two go. I'll look after the fruit.
- Ye Xian 她们走远了。小鱼，我也想去洞节，只去一会儿。你能帮我吗？
Tāmen zǒu yuǎn le. Xiǎo yú, wǒ yě xiǎng qù Dòngjié, zhǐ qù yíhuìr. Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma?
They're far away now. Little fish, I want to go to the festival too, just for a little while. Can you help me?
- Ye Xian 骨头亮了！我身上多了一件衣服，又蓝又绿，是翠鸟的羽毛！
Gǔtou liàng le! Wǒ shēn shang duō le yí jiàn yīfu, yòu lán yòu lǜ, shì cuìniǎo de yǔmáo!
The bones are glowing! Suddenly I'm wearing a cloak, all blue and green. It's made of kingfisher feathers!
- Ye Xian 还有一双金鞋！这么轻，好像没穿鞋一样。
Hái yǒu yì shuāng jīn xié! Zhème qīng, hǎoxiàng méi chuān xié yíyàng.
And a pair of golden shoes! They're so light, it's like wearing nothing at all.
- Narrator 山上点着很多灯。人们在唱歌、跳舞，大家都很高兴。
Shān shang diǎnzhe hěn duō dēng. Rénmen zài chàng gē, tiàowǔ, dàjiā dōu hěn gāoxìng.
Lanterns glowed all over the hillside. People sang and danced, and everyone was happy.
- Stepsister 妈，你看那个穿翠鸟羽毛衣服的女孩子！
Mā, nǐ kàn nàge chuān cuìniǎo yǔmáo yīfu de nǚháizi!
Mom, look at that girl in the kingfisher-feather cloak!
- Stepmother 那个女孩子真漂亮！她是谁家的女儿？
Nàge nǚháizi zhēn piàoliang! Tā shì shéi jiā de nǚ'ér?
What a beautiful girl! Whose daughter is she?
- Stepsister 我看，她长得很像姐姐。
Wǒ kàn, tā zhǎng de hěn xiàng jiějie.
If you ask me, she looks a lot like my sister.
- Stepmother 叶限不可能在这儿，她在家看着果子呢！
Yè Xiàn bù kěnéng zài zhèr, tā zài jiā kānzhe guǒzi ne!
Ye Xian can't possibly be here. She's at home watching the fruit!
- Stepsister 你看她的脸，真的是她！姐姐！
Nǐ kàn tā de liǎn, zhēn de shì tā! Jiějie!
Look at her face, it really is her! Sister!
- Ye Xian 不好，妹妹看见我了，快走吧！
Bù hǎo, mèimei kànjiàn wǒ le, kuài zǒu ba!
Oh no, my sister's seen me! I have to go!
- Narrator 叶限往山下跑。她跑得太快，一只金鞋掉在了路上。
Yè Xiàn wǎng shān xià pǎo. Tā pǎo de tài kuài, yì zhī jīn xié diào zài le lù shang.
Ye Xian ran down the hill. She ran so fast that one golden shoe fell off on the path.
- Ye Xian 我的鞋！不能回去找了，快回家！
Wǒ de xié! Bù néng huíqù zhǎo le, kuài huí jiā!
My shoe! There's no time to go back for it. Home, quick!
- Stepmother 叶限呢？哦，她在树下睡着了。
Yè Xiàn ne? Ò, tā zài shù xià shuìzháo le.
Where's Ye Xian? Oh, she's asleep under the tree.
- Stepsister 奇怪，那个女孩子不是姐姐吗？
Qíguài, nàge nǚháizi bú shì jiějie ma?
That's strange. Wasn't that girl my sister?
- Stepmother 你看错了。叶限哪儿有那么漂亮的衣服？
Nǐ kàn cuò le. Yè Xiàn nǎr yǒu nàme piàoliang de yīfu?
You saw wrong. Where would Ye Xian get clothes that fine?
- Ye Xian 她们没有发现。可是，我的金鞋现在在哪儿呢？
Tāmen méiyǒu fāxiàn. Kěshì, wǒ de jīn xié xiànzài zài nǎr ne?
They didn't find out. But where is my golden shoe now?
- Narrator 那只金鞋还在山路上。第二天早上，一个山里人看见了它。
Nà zhī jīn xié hái zài shānlù shang. Dì èr tiān zǎoshang, yí gè shān lǐ rén kànjiàn le tā.
The golden shoe was still lying on the mountain path. The next morning, a man from the hills spotted it.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does the stepmother tell Ye Xian to do on festival night?
“你在家看着院子里的果子，哪儿也不能去！”
- What is Ye Xian's festival cloak made of?
“是翠鸟的羽毛！”
- Why does the stepsister keep staring at the girl in the cloak?
“她长得很像姐姐。”
- What happens as Ye Xian runs down the hill?
“一只金鞋掉在了路上。”
- Why does the stepmother decide her daughter was wrong?
“叶限哪儿有那么漂亮的衣服？”