I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom - Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Singing Nursery Rhymes Using Kong Er

T/n: Kong’er (空耳) — mimicking lyrics by writing similar-sounding characters, often without regard for the actual meaning.

After teaching a nursery rhyme, Siet set down his harp and glanced at Sperien, who was hunched over, scribbling and doodling in his notebook.

Ever since Sperien had asked for the notebook and quill, he had been diligently scribbling during every lesson.

Why call it scribbling?

Because what he drew resembled writing, yet wasn’t. The crooked, unrecognizable shapes defied any attempt at deciphering. Whenever he stumbled mid-sentence, the little cub would flip through his notebook, consult his notes, and then continue speaking.

Though his pronunciation remained imperfect, at least he was now understandable.

Given Sperien’s unique circumstances, Siet often gave him extra lessons, correcting his pronunciation errors, expanding his vocabulary, and analyzing each word and sentence meticulously.

Sperien maintained a respectful attitude, diligently studying and asking questions whenever he was confused. Yet, despite his efforts, the results fell short of expectations.

Siet found this baffling.

Fairies and Elves were both favored by the Light God, blessed with innate talent and mastery of languages. Renowned linguists and translators across the continent, they were highly sought after. An adventuring party with an Elf or Fairy could travel freely through various nations, facing no barriers.

However, after the War of the Gods, the Elven King sealed off the Faerie Forest, withdrawing from worldly affairs and severing nearly all ties with the outside world. Only a handful of Fairies and Elves, sent to gain experience, were permitted to disguise themselves as humans and roam the continent. Upon their return, they would bring back valuable information.

Thus, even without venturing outside, Fairies and Elves could understand the outside world.

Moreover, within the Crystal Castle of the Elven Kingdom, there was a massive magical mirror. By casting a spell, one could see anything they desired through its reflection.

I’m getting carried away.

In short, Sperien, lacking any natural aptitude for languages, was practically an anomaly among Fairies.

Of course, Siet would never abandon Sperien because of this.

Fairies were a species that cherished their cubs.

Even if a cub struggled to learn Elven, they would patiently teach them again and again.

Shu Li finished filling in the Kong Er lyrics for the nursery rhyme and looked up to meet Siet’s azure eyes. He immediately guiltily closed his notebook, but then remembered he had written in Chinese characters, which Siet couldn’t possibly understand. He boldly reopened it.

His decade-long calligraphy classes hadn’t been for nothing. He could switch between various scripts with ease. Cursive script was the fastest but least legible; to the untrained eye, it would appear as mere scribbles.

Shu Li’s Fairy body was still in its cub stage, with short, chubby, and delicate fingers. When he first tried writing, he nearly couldn’t grip the quill. It took four or five days of practice before he gradually adapted.

However, the characters he now wrote were a far cry from his former elegant script.

No wonder Siet’s expression had been so indescribable when he first saw the writing in the notebook.

Shu Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, he can’t understand it!

“Sperien, you need to speak up more!” Siet said with a beaming smile.

Fairy cubs under the age of one primarily focus on learning spoken language. Only after mastering fluency can they begin studying Elven script.

Spoken language requires practice; without vocalization, it can never be truly learned.

“Yes,” Shu Li nodded obediently.

Though he only understood fragments of Siet’s words, he nodded in agreement anyway. When a teacher speaks to a student, adopting an attitude of “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right” can often get you through eighty percent of the time.

As expected, Siet said no more. He lightly plucked his harp and announced to all the Fairy cubs, “Let’s sing it again.”

The familiar, lively harp melody filled the air.

The Fairy cubs waited for the introduction to finish before launching into the song in unison.

This time, Shu Li didn’t write anything down. Instead, he held his little notebook, following the Kong Er lyrics he had filled in earlier, and sang along with the others.

“I have a big pot lid,

Not round, but square.

A square pot lid is hard to use,

So I took it to the blacksmith.

I asked him to reshape it,

The blacksmith picked up his hammer, bang, bang, bang,

The square pot lid became round.

I happily carried the round pot lid home,

On the way, I met an old grandmother.

She offered to trade her roasted chicken for my pot lid.

The roasted chicken smelled so delicious,

I agreed to trade the pot lid for the roasted chicken.

The roasted chicken was fragrant and crispy,

Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll want more.

La la la—

Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll want more.”

Siet played the final note and smiled at Shu Li.

Not bad for a first try, right?

Aside from a few mispronounced words, it was generally acceptable.

Shu Li grinned, revealing his newly grown front teeth.

As a music student with an excellent ear, he could learn a melody after hearing it just once. Humming the nursery rhyme’s tune was no problem at all, but singing the lyrics was another matter—it sounded like a foreigner struggling with Chinese, thick with a foreign accent.

If Siet had understood the meaning of the Kong Er lyrics, he wouldn’t have been smiling. He probably would have been furious.

The actual lyrics of the nursery rhyme told the story of an Elf and a Dwarf.

The Dwarves were renowned for their forging skills, crafting the finest weapons and armor in the land.

While traveling abroad, an Elf encountered a Dwarf being hunted by a Demonic Serpent. The Dwarf begged for help, promising to gift his masterpiece—a high-grade Golden Bow—in exchange for his life.

Archery was the Elf’s specialty.

The Elf agreed, driving off the Demonic Serpent and saving the Dwarf’s life.

However, after being rescued, the Dwarf broke his promise and refused to hand over the Golden Bow.

The Elf didn’t press the matter, turning and leaving without a word.

The Dwarf let out a triumphant laugh, but before he could finish, the Demonic Serpent suddenly reappeared, relentlessly pursuing him.

Perched high on a tree branch, the Elf watched the Dwarf flee in disarray, calmly stowing away the flute that summoned the Demonic Serpent.

The nursery rhyme, with its whimsical language, taught innocent young cubs to think carefully before acting when venturing out, to avoid rescuing strangers by the roadside, and to steer clear of untrustworthy individuals.

Shu Li’s vocabulary was limited, so when Siet told the story, he only grasped bits and pieces, relying on his strong comprehension skills to infer the plot’s trajectory.

After completing the lyrics, he added a note at the end clarifying the story’s true meaning, to prevent any misinterpretations due to Kong Er.

After a morning of learning nursery rhymes, it was lunchtime.

Aisha had prepared a lavish meal for the cubs.

The two-month-old Fairy Cubs had finally grown teeth and could now eat supplementary foods besides Flower Nectar.

The spread included various juicy fruits, sweet jams, rich milk, and crispy baked biscuits.

Next to each silver bowl was a plate for supplementary foods. After washing their hands, the cubs sat cross-legged at the vine table, devouring the meal with relish.

Shu Li had just finished singing “Pot Lid and Roasted Chicken” and was now gazing at the table laden with fruits and sweets, his mouth watering for meat.

In his original world, he had been a devoted carnivore. But since transmigrating to this Otherworld, he hadn’t even seen a speck of meat.

Come to think of it, could fairies even eat meat?

He’d have to ask Aisha.

After finishing the last cookie, Shu Li let out a satisfied burp, his tender green eyes darting around.

Aisha was clearing away the cubs’ empty bowls and plates when she suddenly felt a burning gaze and turned her head.

“Little Sperien, do you need any help?” she asked kindly.

Shu Li licked his lips, hesitating before finally speaking, “That… eat…”

Crap, how do you say “meat” in Elven?

He gestured for Aisha to wait, flipped open his small notebook, and frantically searched for the Elven pronunciation of “meat.”

One page, two pages, three pages… Strange, it wasn’t there?

Had Siet forgotten to teach him, or had he simply forgotten to write it down?

Shu Li scratched the back of his head, closed the notebook, and looked helplessly at Aisha.

Never mind. I’ll just wait until I learn more vocabulary later.

Besides, his teeth were only half-grown; he probably couldn’t chew meat properly anyway.

When Aisha heard him say “eat,” she assumed he was still hungry and wanted more food. She placed two small fruits on his empty plate.

She carefully portioned the cubs’ meals, ensuring that everyone except for the few with particularly large appetites would be satisfied.

“Eat up!”

It was only natural for the growing cub’s appetite to increase daily.

Shu Li patted his round belly and reluctantly picked up a fruit. The fruits were small enough to eat in one bite, but he was already full and couldn’t manage another bite.

He tucked the two fruits into the small pouch at his waist, patted it, and looked up at Aisha with a sweet smile.

He had recently asked Aisha for this pouch to carry his notebook and quill.

When Aisha gave him the pouch, she explained that it was just a simple cloth bag. Only after he learned magic would he be eligible for a proper storage pouch.

Shu Li’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

No wonder Aisha and Siet often pulled large objects from their waist pouches—those were the legendary storage pouches, enchanted with spatial magic to hold vast quantities of items.

Aisha gazed at the cub’s adorable smile, her expression softening.

Apart from his slow progress in learning to speak, Sperien was a model cub.

Aisha hoped he would overcome his difficulties and master Elven. In just a month, the Fairy Cubs would leave the Nursery and begin their lives in the Faerie Forest.

Without the ability to speak, they would be easily taken advantage of.

Unaware of Aisha’s worries, Shu Li found Reddy and Whitey, who had just finished eating and drinking.

“Ili, Angela, let’s go play!”

Decio, his face tight, corrected him for the nth time, “My name is Decio.”

Angele crossed his arms, “I’m Angele.”

“Oh, right, Decio, Angele,” Shu Li replied smoothly. He used to feel embarrassed about getting their names wrong, but now… he didn’t even blush or break a sweat.

In truth, he knew the correct pronunciations. When he practiced silently, he never made mistakes. But the moment he opened his mouth, his tongue and lips seemed to have a mind of their own, stubbornly twisting the sounds.

Was this what they meant by “saying one thing and meaning another”?

“Sperien is a big dummy—nyah nyah nyah—”

A chubby, brown-haired Fairy Cub stuck his tongue out and mocked Shu Li.

Shu Li frowned.

It’s him again!

Budno, the Fairy Cub who had been antagonizing him ever since gaining sentience.

Calling it “doing the right thing” might be an exaggeration. After all, cubs have simple minds, their emotions plain on their faces. One day in class, Siet called on Shu Li to answer a question. Shu Li got three consecutive answers wrong, and Budno pointed and laughed uproariously.

Shu Li himself didn’t mind, but Decio and Angele, fiercely protective of him, pounced on Budno, and a brawl erupted.

From that moment on, they became sworn enemies.

Whenever Shu Li mispronounced a name or misspoke, Budno would deliberately rush over to mock him, seeking revenge for the earlier humiliation.

Shu Li, being an adult, magnanimously refused to stoop to the level of a child. Besides, his poor articulation made him incapable of winning any argument.

Yet the more Shu Li ignored Budno, the more relentless the mockery became.

“Sperien’s a little mute! A tiny, tiny mute!”

Budno’s parrot-like followers echoed in unison, “Sperien’s a little mute! A tiny, tiny mute—”

Ever since Shu Li’s linguistic ineptitude was exposed, his prestige among the Fairy Cubs plummeted. As the cubs gained sentience, their individual personalities and temperaments emerged, shattering their blind adoration and giving rise to multiple small cliques.

Budno and his three Little Fairy companions formed a tight-knit group. They spent their days together, playing games and exploring the Faerie Forest.

Though Shu Li’s authority had waned, Decio and Angele remained fiercely loyal to him as their leader, refusing to tolerate any mockery from other cubs.

Decio stuck his tongue out at Budno, taunting, “Nyah, Budno’s the real dummy! He fell into the pond while washing his face and almost got swallowed by a big fish!”

Angele chimed in, “Who was crying like a baby? Oh, that’s right—Budno!”

Budno’s face flushed crimson.

Even two-month-old Fairy Cubs already felt shame.

Because of his voracious appetite, Budno was noticeably plumper than the other cubs. One morning, while washing his face at the pond, he tried to use a small leaf as a makeshift raft. The leaf couldn’t bear his weight and sank. Just then, a large fish emerged from the depths, its mouth gaping wide as it sucked in water, nearly swallowing Budno whole. Fortunately, Aisha spotted the danger and used her magic to drive the fish away, saving his life.

Back on shore, Budno’s fear grew with each passing moment, and he burst into uncontrollable tears.

Aisha had told him the fish in the pond were friends of the fairies and wouldn’t eat cubs. It took a long time to soothe him before he finally stopped crying.

Unfortunately, the other Fairy Cubs witnessed this scene and mocked him relentlessly.

Now, hearing Decio and Angele bring it up again, Budno felt both ashamed and furious. His mouth twisted into a pout as he flapped his wings and charged at them menacingly.

Shu Li watched the little cubs bicker so fluently, feeling a pang of envy. Without backing down, he stepped in front of Decio and Angele, enunciating each word carefully, “No… fight… or… punishment!”

Heaven knows how much effort it took him to form such a long sentence.

Budno remembered Aisha’s punishment—reduced food rations—and abruptly stopped, struggling to suppress his anger.

For food, I’ll endure it!

He stuck out his lower lip, huffed coldly, and flew off to play elsewhere with his little followers.

Shu Li let out a long sigh of relief, then draped his arms around Decio and Angele’s shoulders, his face filled with emotion. “Good brothers!”

He spoke these words in his native Chinese, but to his surprise, Decio and Angele repeated them perfectly in Chinese, “Good brothers!”

Shu Li: T^T

Why is learning Elven so hard for me, while they pick up Chinese so easily?