— 20 —
complete because its whole meaning is: they beat the wife so that she runs away as quickly as a stream of smoke (a cloud of smoke). The Chinese associate the idea of smoke with quickness; very often it is heard 他走一溜姻兒似的 t'a1 tsou3 i1 liou4 yen1'r shih4-ti, he walks as quickly as a stream of smoke.
TRANSLATION
Yellow dog, yellow dog, look after the house ― I go towards South to pluck plum-blossoms ― I have not yet plucked a single plum-blossom ― and two persons arrive at the house ― my son's wife knows how to stretch out dough ― she takes the roller and stretches a large slice of dough ― she takes the knife and cuts vermicelli as thin as thread ― then she puts them in the cooking-pan, and they turn conglomerated about ― afterwards she puts them down in the bowls and they look like petals of the lotus blossom. ― (She fills) one bowl for her father-in-law ― one bowl for her mother-in-law ― and two half-bowls for her sisters-in-law ― she hides one bowl under the doughboard ― but the cat comes over and licks the bowl ― the dog comes over and has broken the bowl ― the mice come over and gnaw the bowl ― and the housewife is so scared that she stares vacantly ― "wife, wife, where do you sleep?" ― "I sleep in the stove-pit ― what have you for
