— 7 —
without wind, and that the noise produced by their stirring, moves to sadness. 嘩拉拉 hua1 la1 la1, pronounced as one word, is imitative of the noise. This sad introduction is supposed to scare the boy and to get him sooner asleep. 乖乖 kuai1-kuai1, means to kiss as chinese mothers kiss their children in somewat a different way than the Europeans. The same expression is used too to say: be quiet! dont be saucy!―probably the two meanings melt in one, as the second may simply be a promise of a kiss if the boy will be quiet. Another common form for the last meaning is adverbially formed so, 乖乖兒的 kuai1 kuai1'r ti. 螞虎子 ma1 hu3 tzŭ, a phantastic monstruos creature spoken of and called every time it is thought proper to scare a baby.
TRANSLATION
The poplar leaves ― are stirring ― the baby is about to sleep and looks for his mother ― be a good boy, my treasure, get asleep ― if the bogie comes, I'll beat him.
IV
挑水的哥
聽着我說
南河沿兒
