This sad little story is told from the perspective of a tree, looking down on a couple in love.
每个星期六，他们来。
一个男人，一个女人。他们坐在我下面，说话，说了很多，也笑了很多。
我不知道他们说什么， 但是他们很高兴。
每个星期六都一样。他们春天来，夏天来，秋天来，冬天也来。
但是有一天，只有那个男人来了。
他坐在我下面, 不说话。他看着远处, 手里有一朵花。
很久以后，他把花放在我旁边。
他站起来，走了。
他没有回头。
那朵花在我旁边，很久很久。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 每个星期六 | měi gè xīng qī liù | every Saturday |
| 下面 | xià miàn | below; underneath |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to talk; to speak |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad |
| 一样 | yí yàng | the same |
| 远处 | yuǎn chù | the distance; far away |
| 一朵花 | yì duǒ huā | a flower |
| 很久以后 | hěn jiǔ yǐ hòu | after a long while |
| 站起来 | zhàn qǐ lái | to stand up |
| 回头 | huí tóu | to turn one’s head; to look back |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 男人 | nán rén | a man; a male; men; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 女人 | nu:3 rén | woman |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 春天 | chūn tiān | spring (season); CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 夏天 | xià tiān | summer; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 秋天 | qīu tiān | autumn; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 冬天 | dōng tiān | winter |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 手里 | shǒu lǐ | in hand; (a situation is) in sb's hands |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 花 | Huā | surname Hua; old variant of 花[hua1]; variant of 花[hua1]; flower; blossom; also pr. [wei3] |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks) |
| 旁边 | páng biān | side; adjacent place |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 朵 | duó | flower; fig. item on both sides |
| 久 | jǐu | (of a period of time) long |
Every Saturday, they come.
A man, and a woman. They sit beneath me, talking, they talk a lot, and laugh a lot too.
I don’t know what they’re saying, but they are very happy.
Every Saturday is the same. They come in spring, come in summer, come in autumn, and come in winter too.
But one day, only the man came.
He sat beneath me, not speaking. He looked into the distance, a flower in his hand.
After a long while, he placed the flower beside me.
He stood up and left.
He did not look back.
That flower stayed beside me, for a very, very long time.