Living

Going to Town

by Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes traditional (collected in Peking, 1890s)

Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland (1900) · From Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes (1900)

Living

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.

MLA

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “Going to Town.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/130/.

Chicago

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “Going to Town.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/130/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes