The Wild Wood in Spring

◎ Xu Dishan

Because the radiance of spring nestled in the mountains takes more time to fade away, the peach blossoms here are still in bloom．Thin, wandering clouds fly from one mountain peak to another and sometimes pause to shade the flora under them from the glare of the sun．The shady spots under the rocks and the area next to the valleys teem with osmund, pteris, and other kinds of ferns, with small red, yellow, blue, and purple flowers dotting the tips of their green leaves．The larks in the sky and the orioles in the woods sing to their hearts’ content while the breeze carries the chorus of birdsong to everything in the mountains, whether it has an ear for the singing or not．The peach blossoms are so absorbed in the music that they cannot help shedding a few drops of pink tears that then lie still on the ground; the little grasses are so intoxicated that they cannot remain still, but swing to the rhythm, bending for a moment and then straightening for another．A group of children picks the peach petals in a wood, when suddenly one among them, Qing’er, bursts out, “Look, Yongyong is coming！”The children all stop to look up into the clearing in the peach wood, where the girl Yongyong is picking flowers.

Qing’er says, “Let’s try Ah Tong out．If he can make it, we will then honor him as our big brother, and we will make him a necklace with all the flower petals we have picked and deck him out, yes？”The children all agree to the idea.

So Ah Tong goes up to Yongyong and says, “We are waiting for you.”

Ah Tong wraps his left arm around Yongyong’s shoulder and walks with her, saying, “They are preparing trousseaus for you today, so that you can be my wife．Will you be my wife？”

Yongyong turns around, shoots Ah Tong a stare, and pushes him away, not letting him put his hand on her shoulder．This makes everyone double up with laughter.

The children all shout out, “We have now seen Yongyong push people away with her hands！So Ah Tong has won.”

Yongyong never turns anyone down．How does Ah Tong know what to say to upset her and make her push him away？Has this spring radiance inspired his wit？Or is it just the way of nature？

Look：thin, wandering clouds still fly from one mountain peak to another.

And listen：the larks and the orioles still fill the sky and the wood with their singing．And in the peach wood, surrounded by the massive mountains, everything is dazzled by the radiance of spring, except those naughty children.