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The Ungrateful Son

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

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

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The tail of one magpie's as long as another,
He married a wife and he gave up his mother,
When asked by his mother to buy her some cake,
He wanted to know how much money 'twould take;
When his wife wanted pears he saddled his beast,
And started to market to buy her a feast;
He took off the peeling with very great airs,
And asked her politely to have a few pears.

MLA

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “The Ungrateful Son.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/52/.

Chicago

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “The Ungrateful Son.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/52/.

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