於是妖童破女，盪舟心許：鶴首徐回，兼傳羽杯；掉將移而藻掛，船欲動而萍開。爾其纖腰束素，遷延顧步；夏始春餘，葉嫩花初，恐沾裘而淺笑，畏傾船而斂裾。
So those charming youngsters row their sampans, heart buoyant with tacit love, pass to eath other cups of wine while their bird- shaped prows drift around. From time to time their oars are caught in dangling algae, and duckweed float apart the moment their boats are about to move on. Their slender figures, girdled with plain silk, tread watchfully on board. This is the time when spring is growing into summer, the leaves a tender green and the flowers blooming,- among which the girls are giggling when evading an outreaching stem. Their shirts tucked in for fear that the sampan might tilt.
可見當時嬉遊的光景了。這真是有趣的事，可惜我們現在早已無福消受了。
That is a glimpse of those merrymaking scenes. It must have been fascinating, but unfortunately we have long been denied such a delight.
於是又記起《西州曲》裡的句子：
Then I recall those lines in Ballad of Xizhou Island:
採蓮南塘秋，
蓮花過人頭。
尹低頭弄蓮子，
蓮子清如水。
Gathering the lotus, I am in the South Pond,
The lilies in autumn reach over my head;
Lowering my head I toy with the lotus seeds.
Look, they are as fresh as the water underneath.
今晚若有采蓮人，這兒的蓮花也算得“過人頭”了；只不見一些流水的影子，是不行的；這令我到底惦著江南了——這樣想著，猛一抬頭，不覺已是自己的門前；輕輕地推門進去，什麼聲息也沒有，妻已睡熟好久了。
If there were somebody gathering lotuses tonight, she could tell that the lilies here are high enough to "reach over her head"; but, one would certainly miss the sight of the water. So my memories drift back to the South after all.Deep in my thoughts, I looked up, just to find myself at the door of my own house. Gently I pushed the door open and walked in. Not a sound inside, my wife had been fast asleep for quite a while.
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