102 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



A Girl Saves Her Lover from Dying of Poison 



A Love Song: A Girl Saves Her Lover from 

 Dying of Poison (9) 



An old man was sitting alone. He was sit- 

 ting in front of a table in a bamboo chair. As 

 he sat there he induced another to be his 

 companion, named Yang Yao Geo (ja jao 

 gu). The name of the old person was Yang 

 Yao Da (ja jao Ta) . The father was making 

 a wind instrument and took it in his hands 

 saying, "We will study the liu sheng on the 

 big flat. At Shia Ma Yoh we will study die 

 liu sheng. When we study the liu shcng we 

 will secure good tunes. One who studies a 

 tune should study a good way (of dancing) ." 



When they had gone halfway they became 

 thirsty. Yang Yao Da with Yang Yao Geo 

 went to a spring. The old man Yang Yao 

 Da ran to the edge of the forest. The pupil 

 Yang Yao Geo knelt beside the road and 

 drank three mouthfuls of water. He drank 

 some poison of a wanton woman. He drank 

 a girl's poison (medicine). When he returned 

 he felt very badly. The pain came from his 

 heart. The poison water resounded in his 

 stomach. The pain radiated from his liver. 

 He returned to Shai P'ing Tsi and met a 

 small girl, his sweetheart. He asked, "Do 



you understand good medicine?" The girl 

 replied, "I know good medicine. Go back and 

 take some very tiny leaves with square stems. 

 When you take the leaves, leave their hearts. 

 When you take the stalk, leave the root. 

 Grind them in a fine bowl. Sift them into a 

 fine cup. Take this medicine and eat it and 

 wait until the roots of your illness are cut 

 off. You wait a year." 



The old man Yang Yao Da got up and ; 

 organized a money society. Yang Yao Geo 

 came to do business and in doing it traveled 

 far. He met the small girl who was his sweet- ; 

 heart who said, "When you ate my medicine 

 did you get well or not?" Yang Yao Geo 

 replied, "When I ate your medicine I got 

 well. I have nothing with which to repay 

 you but affection." His little girl sweetheart 

 said, "Since you have no money with which 

 to requite my medicine, it is all right. We 

 will wait until you go back, and you will be 

 like a big banyan tree, and I will later come 

 under your tree and enjoy your shade." 



Afterward the young girl went that way 

 and truly enjoyed not a litde of his shade. 

 The ancients said, "When you have received 

 kindness from another, you should requite 

 it and not forget it." 



ENGAGEMENT AND MARRIAGE 



Choosing a Bride 



A Song about Choosing a Bride (237) 



Blan Tsai's mother got him in her home 

 (when he was born). When he grew up his 

 mother went to select a wife for him. His 

 father received him in his home (when he 

 was born). When he grew up, he thought 

 about selecting a wife for his son. Blan Tsai 

 himself went to the home of Lo Tsen Tsi to 

 select a wife. Lo Tsen Ts'i's parents were not 

 at home. Only his daughter, Nts'ai Ngeo 

 Tsai, was there. Blan Tsai did not get her 

 and went away. 



Again he went to L'o Ch'i Niong's home 

 to make his selection. The parents were not 

 at home. There was only a girl, Ntzi Mi 

 Ngeo Tso. Blan Tsai waited in her home 

 until L'o Ch'i Niong came home, then he said, 

 "The bridegroom has come. Why don't you 

 prepare tea for him to drink or cook food 

 for him to eat?" 



The daughter took three small baskets of 

 cornmeal and put it in the cooking pot to 

 cook for him to eat. 



When they had finished eating L'o Ch'i 

 Niong said, "You should give me a pretty 

 fan." Then he took his fan and fanned Blan 

 Tsai. Blan Tsai stood still like a stone bamboo 

 shoot. Then L'o Ch'i Niong again fanned 

 him three times, and he was firm like a big 

 rock. Then Blan Tsai brought Ntzi Mi Nts'ai 

 Ngeo Tso and returned home. 



Blan Tsai's father asked him, "What kind 

 of a person did you choose?" His mother 

 said, "What sort of a girl have you chosen 

 and brought with you?" Then Blan Tsai said, 

 "This time I chose a girl like a sun or a moon 

 in the Milky Way." He again said, "This 

 time I chose one like a great star in the 

 Milky Way." 



