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THE ORPHAN Anon. [first
century B. C.] To be an orphan,
To be fated to be
an orphan,
How bitter is this
lot!
When my father and
mother were alive
I used to ride in
a carriage
With four fine horses.
But when they both
died,
My brother and sister-in-law
Sent me out to be
a merchant.
In the south I travelled to the "Nine Rivers"
And in the east as far as Ch'i and Lu.
At the end of
the year when I came home
I dared not tell them what I had suffered —
Of the lice and vemin in my head,
Of the dust in my face and eyes.
My brother told me to get ready the dinner,
My sister-in-law told me to see after
the horses.
I was always going up into the hall
And running down again to the parlour.
My tears fell like rain.
In the morning they sent me to draw water,
I didn't get back till night-fall.
My hands were all sore And I had no shoes.
I walked the cold earth
Treading on thorns and brambles.
As I stopped to pull
out the thorns,
How bitter my heart was!
My tears fell and fell
And I went on sobbing and sobbing.
In
winter I have no great-coat;
Nor in summer, thin clothes.
It is no pleasure to be alive.
I had rather quickly
leave the earth
And go beneath the Yellow Springs.[1]
The April winds blow
And the grass is growing green.
In the third month — silkworms and mulberries,
In the sixth month — the melon-harvest.
I went out with the melon-cart
And just as I was coming home
The
melon-cart turned over.
The people who came to help me were few,
But the people who ate the melons were many,
All they left me was the stalks —
To take home as fast as I could.
My brother and sister-in-law were harsh,
They asked me all sorts of awful questions.
Why does everyone in the village hate me?
I want to write a letter
and send it
To my mother and father under the earth,
And tell them I can't go on any longer
Living with my brother
and sister-in-law.
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