Chapter 1

Our story begins with a young girl in ancient1 China. She lives with her parents， her older sister， and her younger brother in a little village. One morning， Mulan is working in her room. She is making cloth to sell at the market. Suddenly， she hears a noise. She goes to the window and looks out. A lot of people are running down the street. Mulan sees her friend， Sun Ying. “Whats the matter？” asks Mulan.“Quick！ Come and see，” says Sun Ying.

Mulan follows Sun Ying through the village. “Wait for me！” shouts Mulan. They soon see a big crowd of people in front of them. Everybody is looking at a long list on a tree.“Move！ I cant see！”says an old woman at the back. “Stop that！” shouts a man at the front angrily.

“Whats on the list？” Mulan asks Sun Ying.“The enemies are now here，” says Sun Ying，“and we must fight them. The Emperor2 needs a very big army3.” “One man from every family must join the army tomorrow，” says Sun Ying.“The names of all the men in the village are on the list.”

Mulan goes to the front of the crowd. She quickly reads the list. “Oh， no！” cries Mulan. “Look！ My fathers name is the first on the list.” “My father cant fight，” says Mulan. “Hes old and ill. And my brother， Xiong， is a young child. He cant join the army.” “What can I do？” cries Mulan. “You must think of a plan，” says Sun Ying.

Chapter 3

Mulan rides for two days… over the Black Hills… and across rivers. She rides through the cold dark night， and through the snow. Then suddenly she sees hundreds of little lights in front of her. She finds thousands of soldiers with their tents4 near the Yellow River. The light comes from their fires. She stops her horse and gets off.

“Hello there！” shouts one young man. “Come and join us.” “Im Ye Ming，” he says. “Would you like something hot to drink？” “Yes， please. My names Hua Mu-， sorry… Hua Hu，” says Mulan quickly. “Come and sit by the fire，” shouts Ye Ming. “This is Hua Hu，” he says to the soldiers near them. “Welcome brother，” say the soldiers.

That night， Mulan sleeps in one of the tents. “Everything is all right，” she thinks. “Im a woman but nobody knows my secret.” In the morning Ye Ming gets up early. “Hua Hu，” he whispers. “Are you awake5？ We must get ready. The enemy is not far from us.”

All of the soldiers get ready for the battle. Then the general6 of the army talks to his men. “Are you ready to fight？”“Yes！” they cry. Later that morning the two armies meet. The battle is long but Mulan fights bravely.

Hours later， many of the soldiers are dead. Mulan looks at them. “Oh， no， what can I do？” she thinks. Suddenly she starts to ride towards the enemy. “Brave soldiers， follow me！” she cries. The soldiers ride quickly after Mulan. She fights at the front with Ye Ming next to her. An enemy soldier wants to kill Ye Ming. “Watch out！” cries Mulan. Ye Ming rides away fast. “Thank you！” he shouts to Mulan.

After many hours the army wins the battle. The soldiers all come to Mulan.“Youre our hero！” they cry. “We can win every battle now！

第一章

故事的主角是中国古代的一位年轻女子，她叫花木兰。她与父母、姐姐和弟弟生活在一个小村子里。一天早晨，木兰在房间里干活。她正在织布，好拿到集市上去卖钱。突然，她听到一阵喧哗声。她来到窗前，向外望去，发现有很多人正从大街上跑过去。木兰瞧见了她的朋友孙莺。“出了什么事情？”木兰问道。“快！出来看看。”孙莺回答道。

木兰跟随孙莺跑到村子的另一头。“等等我！”木兰喊道。很快，她们就看到前面有一大群人。大家都在看贴在树上的一张长长的名单。“闪开点儿！我看不见！”人群后面的一位老婆婆叫道。“别嚷嚷！”前面的一个男人生气地喊道。

“名单上是什么？”木兰问孙莺。“现在有敌人入侵，”孙莺说，“所以我们必须奋起反击。皇帝需要一支庞大的军队。”“每家必须出一名男丁，明天就去参军，”孙莺说道，“村里所有的男人都在名单上。”

木兰挤到人群前面。她飞快地看了一下名单。“哦，不！”木兰失声叫道。“看！我父亲的名字位列名单之首！”“我的父亲不能去打仗，”木兰说，“他年老多病。我的弟弟花雄还是个孩子，他也不能参军。”

“我该怎么办？”木兰叫道。“你得想个对策。”孙莺说。

第三章

木兰骑马飞奔了两天……翻过黑山……跨过河流。她顶风冒雪，日夜兼程。一天，她突然看到前方有数以百计的微弱的光亮。她发现成千上万的士兵在黄河附近安营扎寨。那些光亮就是他们生起的火堆。她停下来，跳下马。

“你好！”一名年轻男子叫道，“到我们这儿来吧。”“我叫叶明，”他说，“你想喝点儿热的东西吗？”“好，谢谢。我叫花木——，对不起……我叫花弧。”木兰迅速回答。“来坐在火堆旁吧。”叶明大声说道。“这位是花弧。”他向周围的士兵介绍。“欢迎你，兄弟！”大家说道。

那天晚上，木兰在一个帐篷里睡下。“一切顺利，”她暗自想着，“我身为女儿身，可是没有人知道我的秘密。”第二天早上，叶明起得很早。“花弧，”他小声叫道，“你醒了吗？我们得做好准备，敌人离我们不远了。”

所有士兵都准备好了参加战斗。这时，将军对士兵们讲话。“你们都准备好了吗？”他大声问。“准备好了！”大家喊道。那天早上没过多久，两军就相遇了。战斗持续了很长时间，然而木兰一直英勇杀敌。

几个小时后，许多士兵都战死了。木兰看到了这一切。“哦，不！我该怎么办？”她暗自想。突然，她策马朝敌军冲了过去。“勇敢的士兵，跟我来！”她叫道。大家催马快速跟随木兰冲杀。她和叶明在队伍前方并肩作战。一名敌军想要杀死叶明。“当心！”木兰大喊。叶明策马闪开了。“谢谢你！”他冲木兰喊道。

数小时后，木兰他们军队赢得了这场战斗。士兵们围住了木兰。“你是我们的英雄！”他们高呼，“我们现在所向无敌！”

Tip

频率副词：表示某件事情发生的频率。

always usually often sometimes never在一般现在时中，频率副词通常放在行为动词之前，be动词之后。如：

1）Ye Ming never forgets Mulan. 叶明从未忘记木兰。

2）Xiong sometimes asks his parents about Mulan. 雄有时会向父母问起木兰。

3）Ye Ming always fights next to Mulan. 叶明总是与木兰并肩作战。

4）The soldiers are always hungry. 士兵们总是吃不饱。

“唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织。不闻机杼声，惟闻女叹息。”《木兰辞》的开头这样介绍花木兰。作者珍妮特·哈迪·古尔德在这首中国北朝民歌的基础上进行改编，讲述了木兰的闺中生活、军帖征兵、女扮男装、代父从军、征战与立功、拒收奖赏、归家回到女子装扮的故事。在中国古代，女子是不允许上战场的。而木兰为了“忠”和“孝”代父从军，在战场上英勇杀敌，成为家喻户晓的英雄。

美国迪士尼公司在1998年6月出品了一部电脑动画电影《花木兰》（Mulan），这是迪士尼首次采用中国元素作为电影的题材。在这部电影中，我们可以看出中、美思维方式的差异。电影中的花木兰不仅僅是为了孝道去从军，更多的是为了实现自我价值，还因此与父亲产生过激烈的争吵。在民歌故事中，花木兰在战场上从未暴露自己的女性性别，她把最美好的青春年华献给了战场，压抑着心中作为女子对于美的追求。而电影中塑造的花木兰，从军不久就被人发现是女子，但仍然可以在军营中建功立业。她不再是用“女扮男装”来隐藏自己身份的女子，而是有着与男人一样上场杀敌的机会与实现自我价值的巾帼英雄。此外，她还勇于追求爱情，与李翔（电影中的男主角）在患难中互生爱意。他们不仅合力打败了敌军，其爱情也修成了正果。这样的情节设计体现了西方的自由婚恋观，不同于中国传统价值体系中的“男女有别”。

当然，《木兰辞》也没有完全否定女性的价值。“雄兔脚扑朔，雌兔眼迷离；双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌？”这句话实际上也是对女性价值的肯定。

同学们在读书的同时，可以再回头品味《木兰辞》和英文电影《花木兰》（Mulan），你更喜欢哪个形象呢？

（Swing / 赏析）