老人和鸟 - Short Story for 2014

[Meng Lelan]

老人把这事说给了儿女，儿女们就在窗台上放一

把谷子，安了小箩筐，诱着鸟儿来吃。那鸟儿后

来果然就来了，儿女们一拉撑杆儿，鸟儿被罩在

箩筐里。

他们做了一个精巧的笼子，把鸟儿放进去，挂在

老人的床边。

那个窗口从此就关上了。老人再不愿意看见那高

高的吊塔，终日和鸟儿做伴，给鸟儿吃很好的谷

子， 喝清净的凉水，咒骂着洪水给鸟儿听。鸟儿

丑， 在笼子里一刻也不能安分，使劲地飞去、鸣

 

寅， 叫。老人却高兴了，儿女们回来便给讲了好

 

卯， 多他童年的故事。

一天夜里，风雨大作，老人的恐慌病又犯了，彻

夜不敢合眼，以为大的灾难又来了。天明起来，

一切又都平静，什么都不曾损失，只是那个杨树 上的鸟窠，好久没有鸟去编织，掉在地上无声息

了。

老人的病好些了，还是躺在床上，不住地用树枝

拨弄笼中的鸟儿。

 “叫呀，叫呀！”

鸟儿已经叫得嘶哑了，还在叫着。儿女们却庆幸

这只鸟儿给老人带来欢乐。

 

How do his children accomplish getting a bird for him? Where do they put the bird? The window was open, now the window is shut. Think about the significance of the window in this story. What does the old man do for the bird? What happened to the nest in the tree during the rainstorm? Think about the significance of the nest as well. How does he get the bird to sing some more? What are his children happy about?

 

 

So now ends the story. What did you think of this story, what is Jia Pingwa saying about how the Chinese cope with changes in their living situations? Remember that urbanization, natural disasters, and construction projects are constantly changing how and where the Chinese live and this story is a reflection of that.

 

This thread will stay open throughout this year 2014 for any reader queries, comments, insights, etc. I am going to go finish up a few more stories remaining to be finished then I can throw in a few more stories for the advanced beginners here. 

[SiMaKe]

Re #20

 

口瞿(儿）

 

is 口 here a MW (量词) with 瞿 (ju4) as a modifier (erhua'ed) to indicate the old man was startled by the bird's calling or is the phrase some type of onamatopoeia? 

 

One reference discribes this phrase as the sound a cricket makes.

 

If onomatopeia, is it usual to "erhua" it? 

 

Thanks

 

 

[jbradfor]

My take on it was that the old man was startled, and when one is startled, one often shows it by opening one's month.  So I parsed that as a poetic way of saying that the old man was startled and opened his mouth in surprise -- in other words, his mouth was startled.  And the 儿 is just there to make it read better.

 

EDIT: but looking at it again, with the 的 at the end, I'm not sure that makes sense.  Oh well.

[SiMaKe]

That certainly agrees with my first theory.

 

Another possibility is that it's a typo and the 口 is actually a 部首 and 口 plus 瞿 is actually one hanzi, namely 㘗 (ju1) - which is what the "reference" said but in a form with two characters rather than one.

 

And it's not the first typo (e.g., 5th paragraph has "居祝”，s/b “居住”). 

 

So the typo theory is beginning to have more appeal for me now.

[Shelley]

That was a sweet but also sad little story. I think it may be true of the whole world,we are all facing bad weather, destruction of homes and rebuilding.

 

Things like rescuing the little bird is one way to remain hopeful and not afraid of future changes.

 

Looking after the small and helpless creatures of the world is always very rewarding to all involved. Much better than a radio!! Although that's not bad as an extra bonus.

 

When is the next story?

[Meng Lelan]

When is the next story, a good question because I am getting ready to pack up for the blind rehab internship which is three months long in duration. Is there a story you would like me to run in here, a short one, before I leave? I could do that. Just let me know. 

[Shelley]

If you are going to be away for 3 months perhaps we should have a bit of a longer story.

 

We could help each other out with any questions or problems.

 

It might be nice to have a classical Chinese story. Not too historical and stuffy but something lighthearted and informative.

 

Hope you have a good 3 months away, safe journey and see you here on your return.

[Meng Lelan]

Thanks. Anyone here is welcome to find a classical Chinese story and post up here as a short story. I am getting ready to go for the internship and will not be extremely active in the forums for the next three or so months.