THE MAFOO (馬夫).
Reading edition
I. Riding.
Saddle the horse. 裝好馬 Tsaung-hau mo.
The girths are too loose. 馬肚帶忒寬 Mo-doo-ta thuh khwen.
Tighten up the girths. 馬肚帶要收緊 Mo-doo-ta iau seu kyung.
Lengthen (or lower) the stirrup. 馬踏櫈要放下點 Mo-dah-tung iau faung ’au-tien.
Those stirrup irons are not bright (or not clean). 馬踏櫈个鐵擦來勿亮 or 勿乾淨 Mo-dah-tung-kuh thih tshah le ’veh liang (or veh koen-zing).
Loosen the curb (chain.) 馬嚼鐵放寬點 Mo-ziak-thih faung khwen tien.
Have you put on the saddle-cloth? 馬鞍子个布櫬拉末 Mo-oen-ts-kuh-poo tshung la meh?
Don’t take off the rug. 毯子勿要擔脫 Than-ts veh iau tan-theh.
Take off the rug. 毯子要擔去 Than-ts iau tan-chi.
When did you feed the pony? 儂幾時喂个馬料 Noong kyi-z iui-kuh mo-liau?
Give him a good feed. 要撥好个馬料伊吃 Iau peh hau-kuh mo-liau yi chuh.
Has he had a drink? 有吃過水否 Yeu chuh-koo s va?
That saddle does not fit properly. 馬鞍子裝來勿好 (or 勿妥帖) Mo-oen-ts tsaung le ’veh hau (or veh thoo thih).
Walk him round a bit. 牽之讓伊走走 Chien-ts nyang yi tseu-tseu.
Don’t feed him now. 現在勿要撥啥伊吃 Yien-dze ’veh iau peh sa yi chuh.
He is very hot. 伊是頂熱 (or 伊是熱得極拉) Yi z ting nyih (or Yi z nyih tuh-juh la).
Don’t give him any water. 勿要撥水伊吃 ’Veh iau peh s yi chuh.
That pony is sick. 伊隻馬有病 I-tsak mo yeu bing.
Go and get the veterinary surgeon. 去喊馬醫來 Chi lian mo-i le.
Hold him until I get on. 儂牽牢拉讓我騎上去 Noong chien-lau-la, nyang ngoo ji-zaung-chi.
Put more straw in his stall (or box.) 馬棚裏多放點稻柴 Mo-bang-li too faung tien dau-za.
The pony is very dirty; give him a good rub-down. 馬齷齪來; 要刷乾淨 Mo auh-thsauh le; iau seh koen-zing.
II. Driving.
Get the carriage ready. 馬車裝起來 Mo-tsho tsaung-chi-le.
Bring the carriage round. 馬車牽過來 Mo-tsho chien-koo-le.
The carriage is not clean. 馬車勿乾淨 Mo-tsho ’veh koen-zing.
The lamps are dirty. 燈是齷齪个 Tung z auh-tshauh kuh.
Are there candles in the lamps? 燈裡有蠟燭否 Tung-li yeu lah-tsok va?
The collar doesn’t fit. 軛頭裝來勿伏帖 Ah-deu tsaung le veh vok-thih.
It will hurt the horse’s shoulder. 要擦傷馬頸骨个 Iau tshah-saung mo-kyung-kweh-kuh.
Keep the harness clean and in good order. 馬傢生要乾淨咾合式个 Mo ka-sang iau koen-zing lau ’eh-suh kuh.
Don’t go (drive) too quickly. 勿要忒快 ’Veh iau thuh khwa.
(Drive) more quickly. 要快點 Iau khwa-tien.
Stay here until I come back. 停拉此地等我轉來 Ding la tsh-di, tung ngoo tsen-le.
At ten o’clock come back. 十點鐘再來 Zeh tien-tsoong tse le.
I want the carriage at nine o’clock. 九點鐘我要馬車 Kyeu tien-tsoong ngoo iau mo-tsho.
(Those) wheels are loose. 輪盤鬆者 Lung-ben soong tse.
Put new washers on. 要換新个拈墊 Iau wen sing-kuh nyien-dien.
I want a two-horse carriage. 我要雙馬車 Ngoo iau saung mo-tsho.
Be careful with that horse. 當心伊隻馬 Taung-sing i-tsak mo.
He may run away. 伊要逃走 or 跑開 Yi iau dau-tseu (or bau-khe.)