Living

The Little Orphan

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

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

Living

Like a little withered flower,
That is dying in the earth,
I am left alone at seven,
By her who gave me birth.

With my papa I was happy,
But I feared he'd take another,
And now my papa's married,
And I have a little brother.

And he eats good food,
While I eat poor,
And cry for my mother,
Whom I'll see no more.

MLA

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “The Little Orphan.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/36/.

Chicago

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “The Little Orphan.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/36/.

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