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ONCE UPON A TIME
Chang- O
Long , long ago , in the land of China
,
Lived an emperor cruel but ambitious ;
He owned a large number of palaces .
The one he stayed was the most
luxurious .
Everyday the king ate sumptuous meals ;
Attired richly in expensive silk-made
gowns .
Pretty concubines waited on him to deal
All his moods ; so his face appeared no
frowns.
Life in palaces was a fairy tale:
Ah ! never ending feasting and merry-
making ;
Diamonds and rubies ; purchase and
sale,
Fancy games, poems recital and chess
playing .
One day , the proud emperor, he was bored.
He disguised himself as a commoner ;
Ventured outside the palace; he
explored
All his kingdom, every nook and corner.
Tien yah
! He saw much of life's ugliness !
The sad king was alert in an instant ;
Sick and dying men cried in loneliness
And he grimaced to see a dead infant!
Realisation dawned ! It made him thoughtful. All humans and living creatures must die !
No matter how rich or how powerful....
Six feet underground ; there they soon
would lie .
As soon as he arrived at the palace ,
The emperor , he called all his men
wise;
Who made haste to gather
round there, to face
His whims and fancy or tantrums
likewise...
" Search all over the kingdom
I want the
everlasting-life herbs !
Don't come back without it ! "
And they quailed at his
verbs..
Now, men all through the country were
agog !
They travelled to areas near or remote ;
Climbed the tall mountains of misty fog
Where strange accidents happened ;
their lives smote..
At last ,appeared one poor but gay peasant ;
Shea lou tien
yeh ! He found the precious herbs
.
The peasant became instantly
important ..
Golds showered upon him ; many as
proverbs !
It came to past, a beautiful and kind
Concubine from Peking , she was
Chang-O;
A maid wise , who loathed the emperor's mind ,
His cruel and greedy ways .. No and no
!
If the emperor should live
forever
Like the dawning of never
setting sun;
The hundred-surnamed folks would sure suffer !
That could be fatal ! It
couldn't be done!
So , one still night , Chang O stealthily crept Into the emperor's chamber ;she stole
The everlasting-life
herb; but she wept
For her soft heart could
no longer be whole !
" Thief ! thief ! " shouted loud the wakeful king's guard , Rushing to her waving a shining blade . In her fright , Chang- O swallowed the dear herb.
Tein
! she became the everlasting jade !
A miracle happened ! Her body soon
Floated like a balloon , higher and higher
...Into the sky..! And she reached the
lonely moon..
There, high above , she remained forever ! News spread so very fast . People all knew
And praised this brave
lady-concubine's name .
All the artists had pictures of hers drew. She became another legendary fame ! Many centuries later , a famous poet wrote: " Chang-O regretted stealing
the everlasting-life herb ;
Nightly ,watching the blue sea
From the green sky ; singing
to her lonely harp "
~Agatha Lai~
Translation :
Tien yah ! : Oh sky !
Shea lou tien yeh : Thank the sky
above
Tein : sky
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