by
Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955)
Notre petit domestique attache les...
Language: French (Français) after the Chinese (中文)
Notre petit domestique attache les pattes
d'un poulet qu'il va emporter au marché.
Le poulet se débat et crie.
Mon père le regarde, impitoyable.
Ma mère a détourné la tête.
Un moineau, dans l'arbre, se trémousse d'aise,
car il y aura plus de grain pour lui.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Franz Toussaint, La flûte de jade : poésies chinoises, Paris: H. Piazza, 1922, page 114.
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Marie Marjori Hajary (1921 - 2017), "Le départ du poulet", 1950 [ voice, 2 flutes, viola and violoncello ], from Flûte de jade, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by François Steenhuis (1918 - 1956), "Le poulet", op. 6 no. 1 (1947), published 1958 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Trois mélodies, no. 1, Amsterdam, Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Grant Hicks
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2026-04-16
Line count: 7
Word count: 46
Our young servant ties the feet
Language: English after the French (Français)
Our young servant ties the feet
of a chicken he will be taking to market.
The chicken struggles and cries out.
My father gazes at it pitilessly.
My mother has looked away.
A sparrow in the tree wriggles with joy,
because there will be more grain for it.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"Le départ du poulet" = "The Chicken's Departure"
"Le poulet" = "The Chicken"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Franz Toussaint (1879 - 1955), "Le départ du poulet", appears in La flûte de jade, Paris, Éd. H. Piazza, first published 1920
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-16
Line count: 7
Word count: 48
