Page:A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1919).djvu/51

 THE ORPHAN

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 [ 45 ]