Owl and Dove

Before we delve into this (very short) parable, a quick note on Classical Chinese, for those who don't know much Chinese or only know Modern Chinese:

Classical Chinese is a very terse language -- words like "if", "when", "I", subjects, objects, etc. are often omitted.  From what I can tell, whereas in English, and Modern Chinese, the onus is on the writer to be clear in all aspects of her writing, in Classical Chinese the onus is on the reader to properly interpret the writer's implications.  In my translations, I sometimes include added words in brackets -- I try not to do this too often, as it can be a bit distracting. 

This is the first piece of Classical Chinese that I ever translated, and it's probably my favorite.  It's short, sweet, and totally hilarious to read in modern times, especially as a Westerner.

枭逢鸠，鸠曰：“子将安之？”枭曰：“我将东徙。” 鸠

曰：“何故？” 枭曰：“乡人皆恶我鸣。以故东徙。” 鸠

曰：“子能更鸣，可矣；不能更鸣，东徙，犹恶子之声。”

Owl meets Dove; Dove says, "Where are you going?"
Owl says, "I am going to move eastward."
Dove says, "Why？"
Owl says, "The village people all hate my shriek. For this reason [I am] moving eastward."
Dove says, "If you can change your shriek, then do it; if you cannot change your shriek, [and instead] move eastward, [people will] still hate your sound."

The moral: if people don't like you the way you are, then change yourself.

More stories like this to come!