Section II — 小 雅 Minor odes of the kingdom
 Chapter 1 — 鹿 鳴 之 什 Decade of Lu Ming
 
With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the celery of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
The lutes are struck, and the organ is blown [for them] ; –
The organ is blown till its tongues are all moving.
The baskets of offerings [also] are presented to them.
The men love me,
And will show me the perfect path.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the southernwood of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
Whose virtuous fame is grandly brilliant.
They show the people not to be mean ;
The officers have in them a pattern and model.
I have good wine,
Which my admirable guests drink, enjoying themselves.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the salsola of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
For whom are struck the lutes, large and small.
The lutes, large and small, are struck,
And our harmonious joy is long-continued.
I have good wine,
To feast and make glad the hearts of my admirable guests.

Chapter 2 — 白 華 之 什 Decade of Baihua
The fish pass into the basket,
Yellow-jaws and sand-blowers.
Our host has spirits,
Good and abundance of them.

The fish pass into the basket,
Bream and tench.
Our host has spirits,
Abundance of them and good.

The fish pass into the basket,
Mud-fish and carp.
Our host has spirits,
Good and in quantities.

The viands are abundant,
And they are admirable.

The viands are excellent,
Both from the land and the sea.

The viands are in quantities,
And all in season.

Chapter 3 — 彤 弓 之 什 Decade of Tong Gong
The red bows unbent,
Were received and deposited.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I bestow one on him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I feast him.

The red bows unbent,
Were received and fitted on their frames.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I rejoice in him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I honour him.

The red bows unbent,
Were received and placed in their cases.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I love him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I pledge him.

Chapter 4 — 祈 父 之 什 Decade of Qi Fu
Minister of war,
We are the claws and teeth of the king.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that we have no abiding place ?

Minister of war,
We are the taloned soldiers of the king.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that there is no end [of our toils] ?

Minister of war,
You have indeed acted without discrimination.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that our mothers have to do all the labour of cooking ?

Chapter 5 — 小 旻 之 什 Decade of Xiao Min
The angry terrors of Compassionate Heaven,
Extend through this lower world ;
[The king's] counsels and plans are crooked and bad ; –
When will he stop [in the course] ?
Counsels which are good he will not follow,
And those which are not good he employs,
When I look at his counsels and plans,
I am greatly pained.

Now they agree, and now they defame one another ; –
The case is greatly to be deplored.
If a counsel be good,
They all are found opposing it.
If a counsel be bad,
They all are found according with it.
When I look at such counsels and plans,
What will they come to ?

Our tortoises are wearied out,
And will not tell us anything about the plans.
The counsellors are very many,
But on that account nothing is accomplished.
The speakers fill the court,
But who dares to take any responsibility on himself ?
We are as if we consulted [about a journey] without taking a step in advance,
And therefore did not get on on the road.

Alas ! our formers of plans,
Do not take the ancients for their pattern,
And do not regulate them by great principles.
They only hearken to shallow words,
And quarrel about shallow words,
They are like one taking counsel with wayfarers about building a house.
Which will consequently never come to completion.

Although the kingdom be unsettled,
There are some who are wise, and others who are not.
Although the people may not be numerous,
Some have perspicacity, some have counsel,
Some have gravity, and some have orderliness.
But we are going on like the stream flowing from a spring,
And will sink together in a common ruin.

They dare not without weapons attack a tiger ;
They dare not without a boat cross the He.
They know one thing,
But they only know that one.
We should be apprehensive and careful,
As if we were on the brink of a deep gulf,
As if we were treading on thin ice.