But our monarch's command
Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;--
Of my mother I thought with sad breast.
My four steeds I harnessed, all white and black-maned,
Which straight on their way, fleet and emulous strained.
I wished to return; and now venture in song
The wish to express, and announce how I long
For my mother my care to attest.
[NOTE.--Both Maou and Choo agree that this ode was composed in
honor of the officer who narrates the story in it, although they say it
was not written by the officer himself, but was put into his mouth, as
it were, to express the sympathy of his entertainer with him, and the
appreciation of his devotion to duty.]
~The Value of Friendship~
The woodmen's blows responsive ring,
As on the trees they fall;
And when the birds their sweet notes sing,
They to each other call.
From the dark valley comes a bird,
And seeks the lofty tree.
_Ying_ goes its voice, and thus it cries,
"Companion, come to me."
The bird, although a creature small,
Upon its mate depends;
And shall we men, who rank o'er all,
Not seek to have our friends?
All spirits love the friendly man,
And hearken to his prayer.
What harmony and peace they can
Bestow, his lot shall share.
_Hoo-hoo_ the woodmen all unite
To shout, as trees they fell.
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