A Goose In The Heavens

Second Uncle has 2 sons who are of marriageable age. Every Chinese New Year, it is inevitable that they go through "counselling". The counselor? Grandma, of course.

"When are you getting married?" "When are you bringing your wives to visit?" "There's this girl who is very nice. Why don't you two just get married?" "Every year you promise you will get married. Every year, you lie to me." "No house? No car? It's very easy. You are all working. Just apply for loans." "You are not getting younger. Isn't it better to settle down?"

My cousins, of course, tolerated Grandma's questions and statements. Sometimes they joked with her.

"You listen to me. Next year, bring your wife home," Grandma urged.

"Ok," said my cousin. "How many should I bring?" We all broke into laughter.

"Don't pull my leg," said Grandma. "I'm very serious here."

The other day, during one of the counselling sessions when my cousins were visiting, Grandma shared with us a poem. It was the first time I'd heard it and I found it totally amusing. It goes something like this :

Tee teng ji jiak gor.

Ah di wu bou, Ah hia bo.
Ah di say kia kio Ah pek.
Ah pek siau li bo nai ho,
Siu gai sar bao guay Siam lo.

Lol. It's in Teochew. It means :

There is a goose in the heavens.
Older Brother does not have a wife, while Younger Brother is married with a wife.
Younger Brother's child addresses Older Brother as Ah Pek (Uncle).
Older Brother is totally embarrassed.
He packs a bag of clothes and leaves for Siam.

Grandma was urging my younger cousin to get married ahead of his elder brother. Lol. Anyway, the poem was rather interesting, don't you think? I recited it to my Mom albeit rather nonfluently, and halfway through, she finished the poem for me. She said she'd learned it as a child.

So apparently, it's a classic. It's only us, the younger generation which had never heard of it before. The next time I am home, you bet I'm going to ask Grandma to recite me more poems!