Chinese and Arabian Literature - E. Wilson - The Search For Mecca

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THE SHI-KING 167
The Value of Friendship
The woodmen's blows responsive ring,
As on the trees they fall
And when the birds their sweet notes sing,
They to each other call.
From the dark valley comes a bird.
And seeks the lofty tree.
Ying goes its voice, and thus it cries,
" Companion, come to me."
The bird, although a creature small,
Upon its mate depends
And shall we men, who rank o'er all,
Not seek to have our friends?
All spirits love the friendly man.
And hearken to his prayer.
What harmony and peace they can
Bestow, his lot shall share.
Hoo-hoo the woodmen all unite
To shout, as trees they fell.
They do their work with all their might ;
What I have done I'll tell.
—
I've strained and made my spirits clear,
The fatted lambs I've killed.
With friends who my own surname bear.
My hall I've largely filled.
Some may be absent, casually.
And leave a broken line
But better this than absence by
An oversight of mine.
My court I've sprinkled and swept clean,
Viands in order set.
Eight dishes loaded stand with grain
There's store of fatted meat.
My mother's kith and kin I'm sure
I've widely called by name.
That some be hindered better is
Than I give cause for blame.
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