Cowherd and Weaver: Legend in Verse

長篇敘事詩：牛郎織女

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謹獻上此詩，祝網友們七夕快樂！

 

Cowherd and Weaver: Legend in Verse

Xian Mao

 

(A1)

 

Billions of years ago,

        Pangu was born as a giant man.

With an axe in hand,

        He chopped the world open.

 

On the earth were muddy things

        That belonged to Yin,

And in the heaven were clear things

        That belonged to Yang.

 

The stars and the moon

        Appeared in the night,

And in the daytime

        The sun was bright.

 

More and more stars

        Came to the sky,

Some were brave

        And some looked shy.

 

One night two new stars

        Appeared in the heaven.

Young and active,

        They met each other very often.

 

They were very popular,

        Welcomed everywhere.

They were light-hearted,

        Not with much to care.

 

The boy was handsome,

        And the girl was pretty.

The girl was bright,

        And the boy was witty. 

 

Attracted to each other,

        They were seen here and there.                                       

One day in the royal garden,

        They enjoyed fresh air.

 

The boy told a funny joke

        About elephant's ears.

The girl could not help but laugh,

        And laughed to tears.

 

Madam Queen happened to be nearby,

        And at them she was mad:

“The garden is a sacred place.

        Your laughing was so bad.”

 

She enacted a decree of

        Sending the boy to the earth:

“Taking care of farm cattle,

        Would be his only worth.”

 

The girl was upset and begged,

        With her neck bent:

“It was me who committed a sin,

        While the boy is innocent.”

 

Madam Queen rudely interrupted her

        And enacted another order:

“Detain her in the weaving room

        And let her be a weaver.”

 

The girl wanted to go along

        With the would-be cowherd.

“Compared with heaven,

        Earth is rather preferred.”

 

The girl's begging, however,

        Was not accepted.

To stay separated from Cowherd,

        Was what she expected.

 

The two stars, since then,

        Were not seen in the sky.

Wind blew with sorrow,

        Sounding like to sigh.

 

Now on earth,

        In the field farmed a Cowherd.

And in heaven,

        A running weaving machine was heard.

 

By millions of miles were separated,

        Cowherd and weaver.

How could they meet again,

        Though loved to each other?

 

 

 

(A2)

 

Detained in the weaving room,

        She had a tight schedule.

With a shuttle in her hand,

        She had to follow a rule.

 

She was forced to weave costumes

        For queens in a long queue.

She was supplied with seven colors,

        Including red, yellow and blue.

 

She was not allowed to

        Take a rest during the day.

Only in the evenings,

        She had her own way.

 

She missed Cowherd, but

        Nothing about him she knew.  

“Where are you now?

        Do you miss me too?”

 

She imagined in a chilly rain,

        Everything looked dim.

Particularly when he got wet,

        Nothing could warm and cheer him.  

 

“How could I take care of him?”

        She could not find a way.

Thinking about the far distance,

        An idea overcame her dismay.

 

She decided to make something

        That he could see.

“That could cheer him up

        And that may remind him of me.”

 

Since then, after daytime's work,

        She had been busy.

She began to weave a band

        That would look pretty.

 

Red was the first choice,

        Shining and vivid.

But soon she thought

        More colors should be added.

 

Then she used three more colors,

        Sunflower yellow, grass green and lake blue.

The band became more colorful,

        And had a wonderful view.

 

Finally she added three more colors,

        Orange, purple and pink.

“Connecting the sky to the earth,

        The band could make a link.”

 

She weaved and weaved to make the band

        Thousands of miles long,

She knitted and knitted to make the band

        Tough and strong.

 

When the band was finished,

        She hung it against the sky.

The band danced in the air,

        When a rain just passed by.

 

The band stretched to both ends,

        And soon became a colored arc.

It was the wonderful rainbow,

        Connecting the sky and the park.

 

“Wow! A rainbow! A colorful rainbow!”

        She danced to her delight.

 She had never expected to

        Have created a wonder on sight.

 

She stepped onto the rainbow,

        And toward earth she slid. 

She came to the end of the rainbow,

        And float in mists she did.

 

Drifting in mists,

        She touched down to the ground.

Hoping to meet Cowherd,

        She wandered all around.

 

Unexpectedly she found a lake

        And was astonished by its pretty nature.

“Such beautiful scenery can only be

        Seen in a masterpiece picture!”

 

“How nice it would be

        To swim in the lake!

The water is so cool;

        I'll take a good break.”

 

Without hesitation,

        She dove into the water.

She left her skirt on bushes,

        And became an absorbed swimmer. 

 

 

 

(A3)

 

The male star, now Cowherd,

        Came to the human world.

He took care of a group of cattle

        And farmed in the field.

 

The land replied to his hard work

        With a good harvest.

But his lovesickness to Weaver

        Reached to the worst.

 

Like the spring in the pool

        His thinking could not be stopped.

Like the flow in the stream

        His missing could not be blocked.

 

How could the moon and the flowers

        Disappear in the recollection?

How could the old romantic time

        Not dash into the dream imagination?

 

Cowherd was lonely,

        Particularly in the evenings.

He blew his bamboo flute

        With depressed feelings.

 

He missed Weaver, but

        Nothing about her he knew.

“Where are you now?

        Do you miss me too?”

 

He imagined she would have escaped

        From the forbidden Heaven,

To compose a family with him,

        And enjoy the Earth's freedom.

 

“Here is far away from

        Mother Queen's administration.

We will be completely out of

        Her control and terrible oppression.”

 

In his flute music,

        Yearning for her was full.

But his audience consisted

        Of only an old bull.

 

The bull had been terribly sick,

        And could die in any moment.

It was Cowherd who

        Had cured it with herb medicament.

 

The bull was very smart,

        Nodding at the music,

As if he could understand

        His host's lovesick.

 

One late afternoon after a rain,

        Suddenly appeared a beautiful rainbow.

Cowherd was excited, and wondered

        How the rainbow could grow.

 

Never seeing rainbow before,

        Cowherd had a guess.  

“Who is so able

        As to build a bridge like this?

 

“It must be the weaver girl,

        Who has such ability.

I remember she had a hope of

        Traveling in space freely.

 

“Weaver, Oh’ Weaver,

        How wonderful the rainbow would be!

Rainbow, Oh’ Rainbow,

        Can you bring Weaver to me?”

 

The bull was excited, too,

        And showed a gesture of “let's go”.

They ran toward the rainbow,

        A wonder they would like to know.

 

Gradually the rain stopped,

        And it was almost dark.

A new moon came up

        To replace the colorful arc.

 

“Why, why did the rainbow vanish?

        May Madam Queen again do something evil?”

Cowherd became very unhappy

        And wandered in the forest with the bull.   

 

Suddenly they saw a beautiful lake,

        Shinning in the moon light.

Amid the rippled waves,

        A swimmer was on their sight.

 

The pink skirt on the bush implied

        A girl was in the water.

“Maybe she happens to be Weaver;

        And I'd like to meet her on the corner.”

 

In his recollection,

        Weaver liked to dress in pink.

“How nice if she is Weaver!”

        He was so happy to think.

 

He picked up the skirt,

        And hid himself behind trees.

“From here, who she is,

        I can better see.” 

 

 

 

 

(A4)

 

Weaver played in the lake,

        To make waves a rhyme.

She forgot all of her worry

        And did not notice the elapse of time.

      

“Water on the earth is

        Better than in Heaven,

The happiness of swimming here

        Is beyond my ken.”

 

She swam and swam,

        Until her limbs were cumbersome.

But she felt it was time to leave:

        “The best is yet to come!”

 

Having enjoyed swimming

        In the wonderful evening,

Weaver was surprised

        To find her clothes missing.

 

“Very strangely my skirt is

        Out of my eyesight.

But I am pretty sure

        This is my undressing site.”

 

She searched around the lake

        For her garment,

But nothing had been found,

        At her disappointment.

 

All of a sudden

        She sensed someone nearby.

“Come out, please.

        You are keeping my dress, but why?”

 

Realizing that the swimmer

        Was his beloved Weaver,

Cowherd ran out toward her

        And warmly hugged her.

 

Surprisingly, Weaver saw

        her beloved Cowherd here.

“How nice to find you!”

        She uttered a cheer.

 

Soft breeze appended a charm

        To the beautiful night.

They started to kiss each other

        Under the soft moon light.

 

Endless missing and numerous tears,

        Countless joy and wonderful smiles.

Weaver joined Cowherd, though

        Separated by billions of miles. 

 

“Forget Madam Queen, Weaver, and

        Let her be damned.

Marry me, my sweetheart.

        No one we would offend.”

 

Seeing worries in her face,

        Cowherd encouraged her:

“I'll plough and you'll weave.

        Nothing could be happier.”

 

The bull also blared,

        Meaning to keep her staying.

Cowherd held her firmly,

        “Please do not think of leaving!”

 

After thinking for a while,

        Weaver agreed to marry him.

They started a family life,

        So happy they had never been.

 

In the field crops grew,

        Nodding in soft breeze.

At home cloth was woven,

        Shining in shadows of trees.

 

In leisure times, the flowers watched

        Their joyful strolling. 

Evenings the candles listened to

        Their affectional talking.

 

They had boundless love,

        And they had boundless sweetness.

They had limitless freedom,

        And they had limitless happiness.

 

In the following spring,

        She gave birth to twin babies.

Cowherd's flute was full

        Of lively melodies.

 

Of the two small babies,

        The bull was a good friend.

His mooing, full of affection,

        They could comprehend. 

 

 

 

(A5)

 

Madam Queen was extremely busy,

        But very sharp to know everything.

Among all stars,

        She found Weaver missing.

 

Soon she knew that Weaver

        Vanished for quite a while.

She was very angry

        And wanted to do something hostile.

 

Heaven soldiers were sent out

        In a speedy way,

“Weaver was never allowed,

        On the earth to stay.”

 

Cowherd was farming in the field,

        Singing a folk song. 

Suddenly it was windy

        And the sunshine was gone.

 

Concerned about his family,

        He hurried back home.

He was shocked to see children

        Crying at the step stone.

 

The poor twin kids

        Fell to the ground,

And in the large house

        No Weaver was found.

 

He heard noise from

        Somewhere in the sky.

It turned out that

        Weaver was ascending high.

 

Against the armed soldiers,

        Weaver was struggling.

They brought her up

        and she was vanishing.

 

When she saw Cowherd,

        “Help!” screamed she.

“Cowherd, Cowherd,

        Please rescue me!”

 

It was so urgent,

        That Cowherd couldn't wait.

But he did not have any idea

        How to change the fate.

 

Seeing Weaver was captured away

        And nothing Cowherd could do,

The bull suddenly talked in human language,

        Instead of making a moo.

 

 “Take the horns off my head,

        And they will be a pair of magic shoes.

They will carry you to heaven.

        This is the only way you can choose.”

 

Cowherd loved the bull so much,

        And was not willing to do so.

“The horns are on your body.

        How could I just take them and go?”

 

Seeing Cowherd hesitating,

        The bull shouted at him:

“Children will die without their mom.

        Catch Weaver to save them!”

 

He loved his wife,

        He loved his children.

He loved the bull,

        But a decision had to be taken.

 

The bull took a sudden action:

        He dashed onto the stone wall.

Horns were torn off his head,

        And he died just outside his stall.

 

Cowherd picked up the horns,

        With tears running down his face. 

The horns changed to shining shoes,

        Showing the bull's grace.

 

 

 

(A6)

 

There was no time

        To bury the poor bull.

He loaded the kids in baskets,

        And fastened the load with a pull.

 

Carrying children on his shoulder,

        And with the horn shoes on his feet,

Cowherd chased Weaver in the air.

        With the soldiers he must compete.

 

The magic shoes were so powerful

        As to shoot Cowherd into the sky.

Mountains became smaller and smaller,

        And beneath clouds were flying by.

 

Winds were blowing,

        And mists tried to escape.

Stars flew around,

        And clouds tried to reshape. 

 

The magic shoes flew so fast,

        Like a shooting star.

Soon the gate of Heaven

        Became not far.

 

Though armed with weapons,

        The gate was dashed through.

Soon Weaver was seen,

        And her struggling was heard, too. 

 

 “Leave me along, I beg you.

        Let me join my husband.

Let me join my two children,

        And let me back to our land.”

 

Cowherd shouted to the soldiers:

        “I love Weaver with my heart.

Please do not do things evil,

        Please do not separate us apart.”

       

While Cowherd was approaching,

        And only a few yards from there,

Voice was heard suddenly,

        And Madam Queen came from nowhere.

 

“Don't move, you evils!

        How dare have you two been?”

 Saying so, she raised up her hand,

        And picked up a hairpin.

 

She threw the jade pin to the air,

        There suddenly appeared a huge river.

Its turbulent waves and billows

        Separated Cowherd and Weaver. 

 

This was the Silver River;

        Nothing could get across. 

The horn shoes were defeated,

        And stopped at a great loss.

 

Cowherd bitterly knelt down,

        Cried and begged to Madam Queen. 

“Please be kind to the children.

        They are even not preteens.”

 

Weaver also knelt down,

        Asking for blessing the innocent children.

“Let me kiss them one more time.

        Please save my heart from broken.”

 

Madam Queen was moved to some extent,

        And allowed them to meet once a year.

But no solution she ever suggested

        To overcome the turbulent Silver River.

 

Cowherd still felt helpless,

        And could only sigh on the bank.

Looking anxiously across Silver River,

        Tears poured as if from a tank.

 

Tears became an inspiring rain,

        Woke magpies up.

They anxiously chirped to one another

        As if in a same club.

 

“Cowherd and Weaver are separated

        By Silver River,

We should go there to see

        If any help we could offer.”

 

Toward Silver River

        Magpies started to fly.

They had no fears of

        Millions of mile to travel by.

 

Flying and flying,

        They did not take a rest.

Flying and flying,

        Not a long way to be left.

 

Finally they arrived

        At Silver River,

And the turbulent waives

        Were a real danger.   

       

They flew anxiously

        Back and forth,

An efficient connection was formed

        Between the south and the north.

 

This was the magpie bridge

        Established in the air.

It was specially built

        For the separated pair.   

 

Stepping on the bird bridge,

        The couple had a passionate meeting.

Their reunion was celebrated

        By cheerful bird chirping.   

 

Countless love words

        Poured out from each heart.

They wanted to stay together

        But never wanted to depart.

 

That day was Valentine's Day,

        The seventh of lunar July, 

When couples swear a vow of love

        And never mention good-bye.  

 

此詩連同其它3部長篇敘事詩一並收錄在本人的Kindle電子書“Four best-known love legends in China"中，中英文分版。