To all passers-by I give notice that Dada's quatrains have gone mad, and are running amuck.
Chandra
Dada! Don't take any notice of their fun. Go on with your reading. If no one else can survive it, I think I can. I am not a coward like these fellows.
Come on, then, Dada. We won't be cowards. We will keep our ground, and not yield an inch, but only listen.
We will receive the spear-thrusts of the quatrains on our breast, not on our back.
But for pity's sake, Dada, give us only one—not more.
Dada
Very well. Now listen:
If bamboos were made only into flutes,
They would droop and die with very shame,
They hold their heads high in the sky,
Because they are variously useful.
Please, gentlemen, don't laugh. Have patience while I explain. The meaning is——