Living

Do As You Ought

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

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

Living

In the first month, when it is night,
If you are wise, your lamp you'll light;
And when the second month you meet,
If you are hungry you should eat;
And in the third month most of all,
To build a house you must lay a wall.

MLA

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “Do As You Ought.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/86/.

Chicago

Anonymous Chinese nursery rhymes. “Do As You Ought.” Translated by Isaac Taylor Headland. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-chinese-nursery/86/.

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