Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1886-11-13
CHINESE LOVE STORY.
Fate of the Hero and Heroine and
Their Tails.

TO relate, said the painter
"A Chinese love storyP" asked Lucia.
"Do the Chinese ever fall in loye?"
''Indeed they do" returned the
painter. 'Look now at your plate,
your blue China plate. There the story
is told in a crude Chinese fashion, but
! can interpret it for you, l think. See,
In the right-hand corner of the plate is
group of blue islands, with trees and
pagodas, all of the same azure color,
dotted over them. while tall blue trecs
bend over the pagodas and the island 5
are separated one from the otbeg by
small blue straits. Over this island
empire the great Emperor pelikan
reigned.n
pelican" interrupted Assunta;
''why, that is the name of an ugly
clumsy bird.
''Pelikan was, l assure you," re-
turned the painter firmly, ''the name
of that Emperor. This palace, built in
the style of the early Chinese renais-
sance, was, owing to the stormy rcigns
of the Emperor's predecessors, de-
cidedly in need of repair. Why, the
all fallen off into the water. The di-
lapidated state of his palace occupied
the Emperor's thoughts more than the
beauty Of his daughter, the young and
lovely Princess Swen-Kiang.
"Olr, what funny name for Prin-
cess, exclaimed Assunta.
'Swen-Kiang, genuine Chinese
name, signorina. just as genuine as her
lovely, long pigtail, which hung down
to the very hem of her yellow silk
gown"
''Oh, that is not very long" objected
Lucia, ''for The gowns of the Chinese
ladies are very short" "
''Excusc me, but the gown of the
Princess was quite as long as Luca's
walking dress. The length and glossi-
ness of this Incompatible pigtail had
caused mighty King, Yoo-Foo, to fall
in love with and offer to marry her.
1t was very grand match for Sven
Kiang, for her father was only an En-
peror over a few poor little islands
But the King Yoo-Foo had two very
serious faults in Swen-Kiang's eyes;
he was old enough to be her great-
grandfather, and besides that he was
hunchback.
"Oh,n returned Lucia, teasingly,
"those are not such very serious faults
in a King.
''Alasn' returned the painter, "the
Princess was SO ignorant, so childish.
she lived, you know, more than a thou
sand years ago, she thought them so.
She was very unhappy at the idea of
marrying the ugly old King. And in
her despair she shook off all the blue
bells from her tower, and trampled up |
on and crushed to pieces the delicate
snail shells that formed the ornamental |
borders of her flower-beds, would even
in her despair have laid violent hands
on her precious pigtail if her maids OF
honor had not rushed to the rescue.
After shedding torrents of tears, and |
stamping her pudgy little feet till they
ached, she lett her porcelain tower,
and taking her fishing-rod went off to
the shore to divert her mind by fishing.
As she fished she sang. The song the
Princess sang was of her own improv
isation. Here it is:
- Fishing went by the silver sea,
But caught, alas ana woe is me,
Never FISH with scales of gold:
Only gander, gray and old,
Who went swimming past
a gander. old, ugly and grim,
What in the world shall do with hiin2
Tra-la.la, Tra-la-la."
Il don't think much of that song,
even if Princess did sing it, eX-
claimed Lucia.
"In the Chinese it is more melodi-
Gus, rejoined the painter; "it is, am
afraid, badly translated"
''Did yen translate it?' asked Assun-
to, slyly.
The painter turned red and went on
rapidly. This song, sung in Chinese
and in the sweet voice of en-Kiang,
attracted the attention of a youth who
was pacing the sands not very far
away. This young mans name was
Tu-foo He was the architect en-
ploYed by the Emperor Pelikan to re-
hang the bells on his pagoda- Tu-foo !