其三

熟知茅齋絕低小，江上燕子故來頻。

銜泥點汙琴書內，更接飛蟲打著人。

Nine impromptu Quatrains by Du Fu

(III)

My thatched house nigh the river, swallows do well know,

Though small, they frequent at will as they come and go.

The dirt from those birds’ bills oft soils my books and lute,

What’s more, they scare me, when chasing bugs to and fro.

Tr. Ziyuzile