嫦娥奔月
The legend of Chang’e
Name: ________________ Date: ________
中秋节的晚上，如果你问一个中国朋友，月亮上有什么，他可能会告诉你：有一个仙女，还有一只兔子。
仙女叫嫦娥，兔子叫玉兔。可是，嫦娥为什么会住到月亮上去？这要从十个太阳说起。
很久很久以前，天上有十个太阳。它们每天一起出来，河水晒干了，庄稼晒死了，人们热得没法活下去。
有一个叫后羿的英雄，力气很大，射箭特别准。他拉开弓，一口气射下了九个太阳，只给天上留了一个。
王母娘娘听说以后，送给后羿一包仙药。吃了它，就能飞到天上，长生不老。可是后羿和嫦娥是一对恩爱的夫妻，他舍不得离开她，不想一个人去天上，就把仙药交给她，让她好好藏起来。
没想到，这件事被后羿的一个徒弟知道了。一天，趁后羿出去打猎，这个徒弟拿着剑闯进屋里，逼嫦娥交出仙药。
嫦娥知道自己不是他的对手，可是仙药绝不能让坏人拿到。她拿出仙药，一口吞进了肚子里。
她的身体一下子变轻了，飘出窗外，飞向天空。她舍不得丈夫，飞到离人间最近的月亮上，就停住了。月亮上又冷又安静，陪着她的，只有一只玉兔。
后羿回到家，发现嫦娥不见了，急忙跑到院子里，对着天空大喊她的名字。那天的月亮特别圆，特别亮，上面好像有个人影，很像嫦娥。他马上摆上桌子，放上嫦娥最喜欢吃的水果和点心，望着月亮想念她。
人们知道以后，也在月亮下面摆上水果和点心，向善良的嫦娥求平安。有一种说法是，中秋节赏月的习惯，是从那时候开始的。
不过，这个故事不止一个版本。在两千多年前的一本古书里，仙药是嫦娥自己偷吃的。还有一本古书说，她到了月亮上，变成了一只蟾蜍。
所以，下次有人问你月亮上有什么，你可以告诉他：有一个仙女，还有一只兔子。当然，也可能只有一只蟾蜍。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 兔子 | tùzi | rabbit; hare |
| 天上 | tiānshàng | in the sky; in heaven |
| 晒 | shài | to dry in the sun; to bask |
| 没法 | méifǎ | unable to; no way to; can't |
| 藏 | cáng | to hide; to conceal |
| 对手 | duìshǒu | opponent; rival |
| 天空 | tiānkōng | sky |
| 急忙 | jímáng | hastily; in a hurry |
| 圆 | yuán | round; circular; circle |
| 点心 | diǎnxin | snack; light refreshments; pastry |
| 想念 | xiǎngniàn | to miss; to long for |
| 善良 | shànliáng | kind-hearted; good |
English (for the teacher)
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, if you ask a Chinese friend what’s on the moon, they may well tell you: a fairy, and a rabbit.
The fairy is called Chang’e, and the rabbit is the Jade Rabbit. But how did Chang’e end up living on the moon? For that, we have to start with ten suns.
Long, long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. They came out together every day, until the rivers dried up, the crops withered and people were too hot to go on living.
There was a hero called Hou Yi, who was very strong and a remarkably good shot with a bow. He drew his bow and shot down nine of the suns in one go, leaving the sky just one.
When the Queen Mother of the West heard about it, she gave Hou Yi a packet of elixir. Whoever ate it could fly up to the heavens and never grow old. But Hou Yi and Chang’e were a devoted couple: he couldn’t bear to leave her and didn’t want to go to the heavens alone, so he gave the elixir to her and asked her to hide it well.
Little did they know, one of Hou Yi’s apprentices had found out. One day, while Hou Yi was out hunting, the apprentice burst into the house with a sword and forced Chang’e to hand over the elixir.
Chang’e knew she was no match for him, but the elixir must never fall into a villain’s hands. She took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp.
All at once her body grew light; she floated out of the window and flew up into the sky. She couldn’t bear to leave her husband, so when she reached the moon, the closest place to the human world, she stopped. The moon was cold and quiet, and her only company was the Jade Rabbit.
When Hou Yi came home and found Chang’e gone, he rushed into the courtyard and shouted her name at the sky. That night the moon was especially round and bright, and on it there seemed to be a figure that looked just like Chang’e. At once he set out a table, laid it with the fruit and cakes Chang’e loved best, and gazed at the moon, missing her.
When people heard, they too set out fruit and cakes under the moon and asked the kind-hearted Chang’e to keep them safe. One story goes that this is how the custom of admiring the moon at Mid-Autumn began.
But this story comes in more than one version. In a book from more than two thousand years ago, Chang’e steals the elixir and eats it herself. Another old book says that when she reached the moon, she turned into a toad.
So next time someone asks you what’s on the moon, you can tell them: a fairy, and a rabbit. Then again, there might only be a toad.