The tender-hearted thrush, ya,
Perched in the persimmon tree in the courtyard,
Saw how wretched Golden Brother and Silver Sister were;
It was a heartbroken as she could be!
For three years Brother and Sister hadn't bathed,
For three years Brother and Sister hadn't changed their clothes;
On their heads they wore no hats,
On their feet they wore no shoes;
Beads of sleepy-dust from their eyes lined their cheeks in strands,
Snot ran freely from their noses;
Their teary eyes were red as persimmons,
Crying for their mother, day after day.
The tender-hearted thrush, ya,
Flew up to the eaves of the house,
Sadly watching Golden Brother and Silver Sister,
Its heart like boiling oil,
Pecked off the sleepy-dust from the children's cheeks,
Pecked off the snot from the children's noses,
Pecked off the filth from the children's faces,
The children's crying became more frantic.
Wolf-hearted Eldest Sister!
Such a lazy detestable excuse for a wife!
Seeing the painted-brow thrush,
Her heart burned with anger,
Enraged, she jumped three feet off the ground,
Enraged, she madly tore down three walls.
"Wherever you come from, you wild thrush,
I'm going to pull out your feathers,
I'm going to gnaw the meat off your bones!"
She went after the thrush with a stick in her hand.
Tender-hearted thrush, ya!
Seeing wolf-hearted Eldest Sister,
How it wanted to peck out her eyes,
How it wanted to peck out her heart!
"As the thrush flew at Eldest Sister's head,
She was about to hit it with the stick,
But the thrush flew out of the way;
As the thrush flew at Eldest Sister's feet,
She was about to kick it with her foot,
But the thrush flew out of the way.
Despite all of Eldest Sister's flailing and kicking,
Not a single feather was disturbed.
When Serpent
Prince returned home from work,
The painted-brow thrush lit upon his hand to welcome him;
When Serpent Prince went out to work,
The painted-brow thrush sat atop a tree to send him off;
Good-hearted Serpent Prince, ya!
Understanding the thrush's intentions,
His heart longed even more for Seventh Sister.
Cutting down some emerald bamboo,
He wove a bird cage.
Everyday he opened it,
The thrush would fly inside.
As he left each day, he took the cage in hand,
As he returned home each night, he hung the cage from a rafter.
Wolf-hearted Eldest Sister!
Would have killed the thrush, but had no way to accomplish the deed.
In spring when the cuckoo calls,
There is so much work in the paddies, la!
Serpent Prince went to the fields before the sky was bright;
Serpent Prince worked till midnight before coming home.
But that detestable excuse for a wife!
The sun rose above the rooftops before she got up,
Washing her face took till noon,
It was dusk when she finally combed her hair.
She used a gold basin to wash her face;
The painted-brow thrush from the rafters called:
"How shameful, how shameful,
In my gold basin you wash your face!"
She used a golden comb to comb her hair;
The painted-brow thrush from the rafters called
"How shameful, how shameful!
With my gold comb you comb your hair!"
She used a silver basin to wash her feet;
The painted-brow thrush called again:
"How shameful, how shameful!
In my gold silver basin you wash your feet!"
She went and put on a pair of new slippers,
The painted-brow thrush scolded:
"How shameful, how shameful!
Now my silk slippers you've stolen!"
That wolf-hearted, detestable excuse for a wife,
Heard the thrush's scolding,
Sat down on the ground, furiously ranting and raving,
Thumping the earth with her fists.
"I am the cleverest of them all,
I am the most diligent of them all;
Big-mouthed thrush,
Stop talking nonsense!"
That detestable, lazy excuse for a wife was cooking in the kitchen;
The painted-brow thrush saw her and called out again:
"Rotten, detestable excuse for a wife!
One day when you've had enough to drink,
One day when your belly's full,
Your life will also come to an end!"
That detestable, lazy excuse for a wife heard her words,
In one leap jumped eight feet off the ground;
Snatching down the thrush's cage,
She grabbed a pointed stick
And smashed the cage to pieces,
Killing the thrush inside.
She plucked the thrush's feathers clean
And roasted her in the fire,
Gobbling down the thrush's flesh;
Only then did her hatred dissolve.
That detestable, lazy excuse for a wife's spirits were high,
At long last the source of her trouble was gone.
After washing the clothes by the side of a well, she returned home;
Her stomach felt empty, so she set about to cook.
The hearth had no fire,
The thrush's bones were glowing embers.
When that detestable, lazy excuse for a wife raked up the coals,
Sparks flew up,
Her fingers were badly burned
As that detestable, lazy excuse for a wife blew on the fire,
Sparks flew up,
Her greedy mouth was burned into puss;
The detestable, lazy excuse for a wife was furious;
She threw the glowing embers from the hearth into a manure bucket.
Good-hearted Serpent Prince, ya,
Carried the manure bucket out to water the vegetables,
When he poured the embers on the garden patch,
They turned into a huge head of cabbage.
That detestable, lazy excuse for a wife wandered around the garden;
Seeing that large tender cabbage
Made her drool in anticipation,
She picked it and returned home to cook it and eat it.
That cabbage was as delicious as could be.
That detestable, lazy excuse for a wife ate as if starved,
At one sitting ate three big bowls;
Cabbage soup is the sweetest of all.
Detestable, lazy excuse for a wife drank as if starved,
At one sitting drank three big pots.
Insatiable,
detestable excuse for a wife, wa!
After gulping down all that cabbage,
She couldn't sit still.
After drinking all that cabbage soup,
She couldn't fall asleep.
At midnight her bowels were ready to burst,
Groping along in the dark towards the outhouse,
She made her way to the edge of the well,
Tumbled down in it and drowned.
When wolf-hearted Eldest Sister drowned,
Good-hearted Seventh Sister came back to life.
Serpent Prince was ecstatic,
Golden Brother and Silver Sister were overjoyed.
Serpent Prince called, "Seventh Sister!"
Golden Brother and Silver Sister called, "Ah Ma!"
The family reunited once again,
To pass the days together.
Peonies blossom again in a fragrant riot of color,
Seventh Sister returned to life even younger than before;
Her cheeks as fresh as a peach blossom,
Her eyes as bright as bright as stars,
Her nose as fine as a scissors' edge,
Her chin as round as an egg,
Her braids black and shining,
Her clothes flowing about her.
Butterflies fluttered their wings at the sight of her,
Magpies sung out glad tidings at the sight of her.
The spring breezes combed her hair,
The dew washed her face,
The sun was her looking glass,
The moon was her lantern.
Seventh Sister skilfully dressed her hair,
Neither rouge nor powder did she wear.
Golden rings bright and glittering,
Silver chains bright and tinkling,
In her ears she wore bright golden rings,
Around her neck she strung silver chains.
Her apron was edged with golden lace,
And over it she wore a belt of silver lace,
On her wrists were golden bracelets,
On her feet were embroidered slippers.
The spring breezes wafted over a myriad of flowers,
The spring rains nursed them into splendid bloom.
Their scent carried as far as ten li away,
Bidding honeybees to come buzzing about them.
Dressed in her finest, Seventh Sister and
Serpent Prince stood side by side.
Seventh Sister raised her head and looked at Serpent Prince,
Serpent Prince called softly, "Little Sister."
Husband and wife gazed at each other,
Their eyes filling with tears.
Spring breezes wafted over bright green buds throughout the forest,
Spring itself hastened the flowers to spread throughout the hills;
Of all the flowers that grew in the mountains that spring,
Seventh Sister was the finest- the queen!
Seventh Sister and Serpent Prince,
A better-matched couple could not be imagined;
With love and affection they spent their days,
Whether the seas dried up or the rocks turned to dust,
They would never be parted again.