by Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)
Translation © by Yen-Chiang Che

La coccinelle
Language: French (Français) 
Available translation(s): CHI ENG GER
Elle me dit: "Quelque chose
"Me tourmente." Et j'aperçus
Son cou de neige, et, dessus,
Un petit insecte rose.

J'aurais dû, - mais, sage ou fou,
A seize ans, on est farouche, -
Voir le baiser sur sa bouche
Plus que l'insecte à son cou.

On eût dit un coquillage;
Dos rose et taché de noir.
Les fauvettes pour nous voir
Se penchaient dans le feuillage.

Sa bouche fraîche était là;
[Je me courbai]1 sur la belle,
Et je pris la coccinelle;
Mais le baiser s'envola.

"Fils, apprends comme on me nomme,"
Dit l'insecte du ciel bleu,
"Les bêtes sont au bon Dieu;
"Mais la bêtise est à l'homme."

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Bizet: "Hélas! Je me penchai"

Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CHI Chinese (中文) (Yen-Chiang Che) , "小瓢蟲", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "The ladybug", copyright © 2016
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Der Marienkäfer", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 109

小瓢蟲
Language: Chinese (中文)  after the French (Français) 
她對我說:“有個東西
正在折磨著我!” 我發現
在她雪白的粉頸上…
有一隻紅色小蟲子。

我應該…是的… 但,不論對與錯,
(十六歲仍是一個會害羞的年齡!)
我應該將注意力放在她唇上的吻,
而不該只顧著她頸上的蟲子啊!

我原本可以說,
這是一個紅底帶有黑色斑點的甲殼。
悅耳的鶯鳥為了能看到我倆,
都聚集在樹梢間。

她清爽香味的唇就在那裡等著!
啊!當我傾身靠近這位可人兒時…
我竟然順手抓起這隻小瓢蟲…
但…這個吻也因此飛走了!

“小子啊,讓我來告明我的身份”,
這隻來自藍天的小蟲子說!
“萬物皆源自於上帝,
但萬物的愚昧源自於人類”。

Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to Chinese (中文) copyright © 2009 by Yen-Chiang Che, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.

    Yen-Chiang Che.  Contact: g851701 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

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This text was added to the website: 2009-05-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 22