Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes

WHILE raking the hay on the mountain,

A student came riding along,

He was riding a dapple-gray pony,

And singing a scrap of a song.

To the home of his bride he was going,

But her father and mother were out,

And he saw, as he pushed the door open,

The girl he was thinking about.

Her cheeks were as pink as a rose-bud,

Her teeth were as white as a pearl,

Her lips were as red as a cherry,

Most truly a beautiful girl.

AGREAT big brother,

And a little brother, so,

A big bell tower,

And a temple and a show,

And little baby wee wee,

Always wants to go.

THIS one's old,

This one's young,

This one has no meat,

This one's gone

To buy some hay,

And this one's on the street.

OLD Mother Wind

Come this way,

And make our baby

Cool to-day.

WASH your face, you little tease,

And you'll be free from all disease;

Wash your head, your face, and throat,

And you shall have a red silk coat.

A BALD-HEAD is sick,

And the second's afraid,

The third calls a doctor,

The fourth gives him aid.

By the fifth he is borne,

By the sixth he is buried,

The seventh comes crying

Because he is worried.

When asked by an eighth,

Why it was that he cried,

He said, "In my home,

A dear bald-head has died."

"Come, bury him quickly,

I fear a great hoard

Of the seeds of his spirit

Will spring from his gourd."

THE big dog's gone to the city,

The little dog's run away,

The egg has fallen and broken,

And the oil leaked out, they say,

But you be a roller,

And hull with power,

And I'll be a mill-stone

And grind the flour.

PAT, pat,

A swallow's nest we'll make,

And if we pat some money out

We'll buy ourselves a cake.

THE locust trees,

See how they grow!

Here in their shade

We will have a show.

Other people's children

All have come,

But my little girl

Is still at home.

Just as I speak,

She is coming along,

Riding a donkey

And singing a song.

Her parasol open

She holds in her hand,

Her hair is done up

In a neat little band.

BEAT the drum, beat the drum,

We're coming in a chair,

Who will clear the way

For the girl that's coming here?

Beat the drum, beat the drum,

See, the chair is coming,

Ho'rh ho!clear the way!

Don't you hear the drumming?

ON the top of a mountain

There stands a pig-stye

And the fighting of parents

Has made the child cry.

Baby, baby,

Don't you cry,

Wait, and I'll whip

The old man by-and-by.

IF you chance to be crossing

The camel-back bridge,

Each step leads you up

Till you come to the ridge.

The lantern-grass floats

On the pond like a sail,

The silver-fish bites

At the gold-fish's tail.

The big-bellied frog

Sitting there on the rock,

Keeps constantly calling

Wa'rh wa, wa'rh wa.

LITTLE eyes see pretty things,

Little nose smells what is sweet,

Little ears hear pleasant sounds,

Mouth likes luscious things to eat.

WE turn the cake,

The cake we bake,

We put in oil, or pork, or steak

And when 'tis done,

We'll have some fun,

And give a piece to every one.

A BIG cow's horn

We will blow, blow, blow,

To our sister's wedding feast

We will go, go, go.

Who will drive the cart?

My big brother;

Who will eat the feast?

A sister of my mother.

Who will pack her trunk?

My sister, whom you saw;

Who will light the fire?

Her own mother-in-law.

ROAST, roast, Roast pig meat,

The second pot smells bad,

The big pot is sweet;

Come,

Mrs. Wang,

please,

And eat

pig meat.

UP you go, down you see,

Here's a turnip for you and me,

Here's a pitcher, we'll go to town,

Oh, what a pity we've fallen down;

What do you see in the heavens bright?

I see the moon and the stars at night;

What do you see in the earth, pray tell?

I see in the earth a deep, deep well;

What do you see in the well, my dear?

I see a frog, and his voice I hear;

What is he saying there on the rock?

Get up, get up; ke'rh kua, ke'rh kua.

OH the pumpkin red, oh the gourd decayed,

I am my father's mischievous maid;

I am my brother's dear little sister;

I am my sister-in-law's fly-blister.

Father, when I marry, what will you give?

A box and a ward-robe you shall receive.

Mother, when I marry, what will you bring?

A little work-basket full of everything.

Brother, when I marry, what will come from you?

A fancy cloth towel; think that will do?

My happiness, sister, you will not mar?

I'll give a broken bottle and a little smashed jar,

And send you, you nuisance, away very far.

OH, here we all go to buy us a lock,

What kind of a lock shall it be?

We'll buy one of silver or buy one of gold,

But what shall we use as a key?

We'll use a broom handle; if that will not do,

With a poker we'll try it alone;

But if neither the broom nor the poker will do,

We will open it then with a stone.

HE stuck a feather in his hat,

And hurried to the town,

And children met him with a horse,

For the gates

were

broken

down.

ON a very high mountain

A family dwell,

Of ten of their rooms,

Nine of them fell.

The old man comes out

With a great deal of trouble;

His wife hobbles after,

Her body bent double.

Their three-legged dog

Is as thin as a rail,

And their rat-fearing cat

Is minus a tail.

YOU'LL find whene'er the new year come,

The kitchen god will want a plum;

The girls will want some flowers new,

The boys will want some crackers, too;

A new felt cap will please papa,

And sugar-cake will please mama.

MY boat is turned up at both ends,

All storms it encounters it weathers

On its body you'll find not a board,

But covered all over with feathers.

We daily re-load it with rice,

'Tis admired by all whom we meet,

You will find not a crack in my boat,

But you'll find underneath it two feet:

A duck

KNOCKING, knocking, who's at the door?

Old Granny Chang, and nothing more.

Why don't you enter, granny, dear?

The dog will bite me, child, I fear.

What are you shaking there at your feet?

A string of garlic, good to eat.

What are you carrying under your arm?

An old fur cloak to keep me warm.

Why don't you put the cloak on, granny?

Fear the insects will bite me, sonny.

Why don't your husband kill such a pest?

My husband's gone to the land of rest.

Where is the old man's burial spot?

There, in the fire-place, under the pot.

Why don't you cry for your husband true?

Old pot!old pan!!old man!!!boo-hoo!!!!

A PEACOCK feather

On a plum-tree limb,

You catch me,

And

I'll

catch

him.

THIS little cow eats grass,

This little cow eats hay,

This little cow drinks water,

This little cow runs away,

This little cow does nothing,

But just lie down all day;

We'll whip her.