Chinese Fables and Folk Stories

One night the lion was very hungry, but as the creatures of the wilderness knew and feared him even from afar, he could not find food.
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Her name is Tseh-N'io. So one evening he went to see the beautiful maiden Tseh-N'io. And when he saw her he loved her at once. He said, "Your face is very beautiful. I wish that you would come to me, and that my face would be as your face. Your motions are gentle and full of grace. Come with me and we will be as one—and perfect. I know that even the worst people in all the world would have only to look at you and they would love you. Tell me, how did you come to be so beautiful? And so the Moon went every night to see the maiden.

He knocked on her window, and she came. And when he saw how gentle and beautiful she was, his love grew stronger, and he wished more and more to be with her always. One day Tseh-N'io said to her mother, "I should like to go to the Moon and live always with him. Will you allow me to go? Her mother thought so little of the question that she made no reply, and Tseh-N'io told her friends that she was going to be the Moon's bride. They are always trying to get out of the cage. I think they want to hurt my children — or yours," she added slyly.

I can not sleep, I can not find any comfort here since those birds have come. What would you do about it? They should be killed or driven away. Cats like birds to eat you know, but then men like chickens. If you do not want them here, we can do this. At mid- day, when the master's son lets the birds out for a bath, they sit a while in the sun to dry their feathers.

When you see them come out, call ' Cluck, cluck,' and I will come and catch them or drive them away.

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The hen called loudly. The cat heard her and crept quietly to the place where the birds were bathing. But one of the birds saw the cat and said to her, " Mrs. Cat, what are you trying to do? We know what the hen said to you about us last night. I heard her advise you to kill us or drive us away.

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Is this not true? I warn you not to put your paws on us. If you kill us, the master's boy will kill you, and he will kill and cook the hen. Do you know how much he loves us? He goes to the river to catch the baby swims little fish for us. He goes to the mountain and catches grasshoppers for us, and from the fields he brings us seeds and rice. Sometimes he brings other toys here just to hear our songs.

He spent much money for our cage and our gem-stone water dishes. All the foods are here, but he will not eat. Cat, do you see how well we are cared for? Go back and tell the old hen not to talk about us. Do not notice what she says against us, for if you kill us, as the hen wishes you to do, you will surely have no life left in the world. She will not do the thing herself, but wants you to do it. That proves that she is your enemy as well as ours. Cat, do not be foolish. You have three little ones to care for. If you lose your life by taking ours, who will care for your children?


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Will the hen doit? I think you are right," and went away. True friends will not ask you to do things they would not do themselves. When he saw a queer bird flying around he asked his teacher, "What kind of thing is that in the air? The boy said, ''Can I not do it? My grandmother told me about a spirit with wings.

You may be a man with wings sometime. They must be gentle and kind and, above all, have no bad habits. This story from the "Chinese History," or life stories from the ac- tual lives of the people, was taken from a district of China where Bud- dhism prevails. Tsing-Ching's idea of a man spirit with wings after death was based, on the belief taught by the Buddhist priests that man might live again, but that no one could attain again a state of con- sciousness if he killed, spilled blood, or ate flesh. Meat-eaters were consequently barred from ever wearing wings.

The idea of wings was not general, as the Buddhist spirit was never pictured as having wings, though being able to float through the air. The hope of a future life was a little brighter for the Buddhist, how- ever, than for the follower of Confucius. When they reached the park by his home, Tsing- Ching said, "Lau-Mai, I want that long ladder and a long stick. She was afraid his mother would hear him cry and that she would come out and scold her for not taking better care of the child. As he took the long ladder he said, "Now I am going to be a bird. You can not fly.

Why are you trying to climb up the ladder?

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That is not the way to be a bird. He climbed up, up, nine steps by himself — and fell down. But he was not hurt, nor did he cry; he had no fear — he thought of but one thing — he was going to be a bird. Suddenly his mother came and saw him again trying law of life pave three hundred and fifty precepts, and man by following them might hope for eternal consciousness; but though they were a good basis for a moral character, they were the despair of those who tried to keep all three hundred and fifty of them in the hope of winning eternal life. I know that birds fly in the air, not on the ground.

I can not fly on earth. If I get up high in the air, then I know I can fly. His mother said he was a foolish boy, and gave him food and sent him to school again. In two hours the teacher sent all the boys out to play. They ran to the pond where the gold-fish were, foi they liked to watch them swim in the water. After exercise, they all went into the schoolroom and Tsing-Ching told his teacher, "I saw many goldfish swimming in the pond. Did you know that, teacher? A man fed them rice and they all came out for him. Oh, I should like to be a fish.

Soon he asked that he might go out to drink. Then he went to the pond and took off his clothes, but the gardener saw him and asked, "What are you doing, boy? The gardener thought he wanted to catch the fish and said, "The fish are for your eyes and not for your hands. Do not disturb them.

Then he stepped into the water and talked to the fish. For half an hour he splashed in the shallow water, trying to swim, until the teacher thought, "Where is Tsing-Ching? He found him in the pond and asked him to come into the schoolroom, saying the teacher would punish him if he did not.


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    • Finally he went out with a stick and asked, "Tsing- Ching, what are you doing here? Do you know this is school-time? You have done wrong. I am going to be a fish and I will not go to school. Mother said you teach everything; now teach me to be a fish. You can learn many things better than to be a fish. See, it raises the lake and shakes it all the time. What kind of a white ball is it? And when he saw the moon in the sky, he said, " I know that it is not the moon in the lake, for it shakes. It is not quiet like that one in the sky. It is a silver ball, I know. Then he wandered away a little distance and threw stones in the water.

    He waded into the lake, deeper, deeper, until he fell down. He screamed and swallowed the water, and it took a long time to make him alive again, after his mothei took him out of the lake. When the neighbors heard about it, they said, "Fool- ish boy; not satisfied to do the things he can — he is always wanting things he can not have. Few have been able to do this. The father had died when Wong-Ziang was a baby, and the time came when they had only their little home left and not even one piece of silver to buy food with.

    So the mother went to many places daily and asked food for herself and child. For seven long years, every day in the cold rai-n or in the sunshine, this poor widow begged food and kept herself and child from starving. She was a good woman and never complained even to the heavens, and in her heart she said many times, ''No mother should be sorrowful when she has a G: My boy is true without being taught.

    Many mothers have sons, but they are not as this one. You must rest now. At midday, when the lalDorers left the market place, they said, "You are too young to work here. Wong-Ziang would not eat the food, but took it home to his mother. Ninety times Wong-Ziang left home at sunrise.

    He sought work all day, and every night he took food home to his mother and comforted her with, "I soon will find work.


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      • One man says he will want me soon; or, a man told me of yet another place to seek work," and in many other ways he comforted his mother. When he gave her the food he brought, she would say, ''You eat, too. One time Wong-Ziang's mother fell sick. Wait and you will soon have work. I think I shall be well then. He said to him as they went to his mother's house: She is weak and sick and can not eat food.

      She does not want a doctor, as we have no silver, but I believe you will wait and, when I get work, I will pay you. He then said, "She is very weak. I will leave medicine, but it is better that she eat good food that she likes. Twice in five days, she should have a carp fish boiled in rice wine.

      But it is winter and the river is frozen. I know not how you will get that fish," and then he went away.

      Folklore - A Collection of Chinese Folktales

      Wong-Ziang gave his mother the medicine, and she asked, "What did the doctor say about me? I am going now to the river. The river is covered with ice. The hand nets are about two feet wide and three feet Icng. He made a great hole in the ice and went in, and after swimming and diving for some time, he caught a fish for his mother. But his breath ahnost left him in the cold water, and when he came out, he could not stand on the ice.

      He fell down, and his clothes froze to the ice with the net and the fish he had caught. She called a servant girl who was passing, and said, "Ah Moi, will you go down to the River Ching-Ki, and see if my boy is there? She called, "Wong-Ziang," but when- no answer came back to her, she thought, "He is dead," and ran in fear.

      But she met a farmer who was riding a cow and she told him, "Wong-Ziang is dead on the ice. The farmer took off his own coat and wrapped it around the boy. He carried him in his arms and said to the servant. Take the fish and net at once to Wong-Ziang's mother. And in fifteen days she was weU. Soon after this, Wong-Ziang was given work in the next village as cook for a rich professor who had many pupils. One day he went to the wilderness to cut wood. His mother knew that her boy worked hard, and so she went with him to help and they worked until sunset.

      Suddenly a small tiger came out of the forest towards the mother, and from fear she became as one dead. Wong-Ziang screamed and made a great noise.

      Chinese Fables and Folk Stories

      He threw his clothes at the beast and it ran away. Then he carried his mother home, and the neighbors who had watched him all his life said, ''Wong-Ziang will become a Hsao-Tsze if he is always like this. He was liked by his teachers, schoolmates, and neighbors, for they said, "We can learn a great lesson from Wong-Ziang who has loved and honored his mother perfectly. In time he came to love him as his own son and he asked him, "Would you Hke to be my Chi-tsze son by adoption?

      It could not be. I have had many pupils, but none that have worked and learned as you have. I have known many sons, but none of them served and honored his parents so faith- fully. Think about this two or three days and then give me your answer. And after this time he was as the professor's own son. In sixteen years, Wong-Ziang graduated from 4he great University with highest honors.

      Chinese school children in small country places sit at a long table to study, Sometimes there are from forty to sixty at one table. He served his nation and emperor wisely and had a high state position for more than twenty years. The people called him Zien-Zan before the emperor. But when he came home to his native province where people had known his deeds all his life, they bowed their heads low in affection, and called him, "Hsao-Tsze. He had hved in the mountains and studied the books of Confucius for twenty years, and afterwards he taught others.

      He was now sixty years old and greatly respected by many people. One day he thought he would give a party for his scholars. So he sent them all word and asked that each one repeat a story at the party. After he had invited his guests, bethought, "I, too, must have a story ready for to-morrow night. What shall it be? There he saw two creatures in the edge of the river fighting.

      They fought long and hard, until a hunter with a gun and net passed by and saw them. He made no noise and came close, close, but they were so busy trying to kill each other that they could not see him. So he caught them both and took them home in his net. Yung-Moi, the wise teacher, thought deeply and said to himself, "There is meaning in all this," and he walked slowly back to his schoolroom. Then he wrote this story and said: The snipe is a fine creature in the air. He has two wings and has great power to do for himself. I am glad the Creator made him a small creature and not too powerful.

      Small swimming things can not escape if they pass by his door, but if he could move about hke other fishes with his great power and his appetite for many fish, I think the mother of all fishes could not make enough for his greedy mouth, for now he opens his doors all day long and takes in the creatures that swim by. The bivalve shut his doors tight and held the snipe so that he could not get away. Then the hunter took the snipe and the bivalve home and said to his wife, 'We will have a good supper to-night. Save the shells and put them away carefully to dry, and I will sell them to the man who makes furniture, for inlaying his tables.

      I will ask my mother to come here for supper. The bivalve is enough for us all, and my mother will be glad. She has never before eaten of a bivalve. I will keep him to show to my son and nephew. It is very rare and much larger tlian tlic ordinary variety. To-morrow I will give him some fish and in a few days I will take him to the school teacher.

      Then, when I train him to sing, I will take him to the market place and sell him for much silver. At last the teacher repeated the story of the fight between the swimming and flying creatures. And if the bivalve stays under the cave in the river, can man injure him? Can you tefl me why? And the teacher said, "They are happy and powerful creatures when they do no harm to each other. The snipe flies in the air, the bivalve swims in his home, the sea, and each has happiness according to his kind. The hunter is the only one that succeeded. They ought to hve in peace. They are lost when they fight among themselves.

      One asks Two's permission to pass an army through his country that he may fight Three. While the army of One is away from home, the people get in a fight among themselves and civil war follows. Number Two takes advantage of the situation and in the absence of Number One's army who is trying to overpower Three , conquers Number One easily. Number Two then owns the nations One and Two, and with this added strength goes to the land of Num- ber Three and conquers him, so that all three countries now belong to Number Two.

      What makes your hair so smooth and beautiful? I think your master gives you tender fresh grass and fat young pig to eat. My hair is beautiful because I do not fight with other creatures. But why do you come here, Sii? I believe you are seeking for food. I only walk around to get the cool, fresh air. And then the night is very beautiful.

      The moon hangs up in the clear sky with the stars and makes a soft light, and so I came to visit you. Would you not like to take a walk with me? I will take you to visit my friend, the pig. I never go to his house alone; I always take a friend with me. The hunter is looking for him, I hear, and you must be careful.

      Do not trust him fully, for I fear he will tempt you to go to some other place or into some wrong thing. If I allow you to go, you must come home before midnight. The moon will not be gone then and you can see to find your way. But as soon as the pig saw the lion, he called out in a loud voice to his mother. The lion said, "He is afraid of me. I will hide and you may go in first. He opened his door wide and was very friendly to the mule, saying, ''Come in. The pig called to his mother in great fear.

      And the mule begged the lion, saying, "Let the poor little creature go free. It is better for him to go with me. Soon they came to where a fine looking dog lay on some hay behind a net. The lion did not seem to see the net, for he dropped the pig and tried to catch the dog who cried loudly for mercy.

      We came to visit him and he makes a loud noise and tries to call the hunter so that he will drive us awp-y. I have never been so insulted. Come here, Lii-Tsze, at once and help me! At sunrise the hunter came and found the mule and the lion in his net. The mule begged earnestly and said, "Hunter, you know me and you know my mother. We are your friends and we do no wrong. Set me free, oh hunter, set me free!

      You may be good, but you are in bad company and must take what it brings. I will take you and the lion both to the market place and sell you for silver. That is my right. I am a hunter. If you get in my net, that is your business. If I catch you, that is my business. Bad company is a dangerous thing for man or beast.

      One day he said to himself: I should like you to go with me. Where on the mountain is the best place, do you think? After ten days Confucius and his pupils went to the Tai-San Mountain to rest for the three moons; but even there his pupils studied, for they took their books with them. As Confucius walked on the Tai-San Mountain he said, "How great and beautiful are the things made by the Creator; even the trees, bushes, and flowers are beyond man's understanding.

      We remember and honor you, and other generations yet to come will remember and honor you. Suddenly he heard a noise. He awoke thinking his pupils had come, but seeing no man he lay down again to sleep. Once more he heard the same noise, and looking upward he saw the Mon-Tien-Sing and the Fa- Nien-Ts'ing trees looking into each other's faces; but they were not happy. A year and a year passes by and you do not grow.

      You eat much food and you have more earth than I, and still you do not grow.

      I never heard that you did any good thing since you were born, and it is said you have lived here five hun- dred years. Your branches are crooked and your bark is rough. Do you think the children of men care for you? No, for you have neither flowers nor fruit. If people sit under your shade when the wind blows hard, I should think your sharp, ugly leaves would fall on them and stick them.

      I would cause the wind to blow hard until you fell down dead. One day two women passed by here and one of them said, 'Mon-Tien-Sing, how I wish that I might take you with me. You are so beautiful, but I fear you do not like me. Three times I have gathered your flowers for my hair, but I was careless and passed by a bush and it did but touch them when their lovely petals all fell to the earth. I wish that I might take you to my garden, and that you would grow there and open your beautiful flowers every third moon forever.

      If you do not know another mean- ing it has, I will tell you. Even man can not count a clear sky filled with shining stars. I am Mon- Tien-Sing. Mon means full; Tien means heaven; and Sing means stars: I grow very fast. Every three moons I bear a thousand and a thousand flowers. I do not need servants to care for me, for I grow everywhere. Even the chickens and birds like me. They come to me and eat my seeds and grow fat. I do not like even to see you, and here I must stand always by your side. Your branches are too strong; for when the wind blows, they come close and hurt me and spoil my beautiful flowers.

      I will pray the Creator to bring a woodcutter and cut you down to-day — useless, evil thing. He knew well that he was ugly and that his leaves were sharp and his bark rough, but he said to himself, ''I know in my heart that some day, some one will like me, too. For the Creator made me and he surely made me for good. I will keep patient and wait. The rivers stood still, the flowers were no longer seen, the trees and shrubs threw all their leaves to the ground. But the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing held his head up and smiled bravely, and he kept his leaves and they grew green and green.

      Then he said to himself, "The cool wind is good for me. The frost does me no harm. This is my happy time, for the people like to have green in their houses now. To-day they came to the mountain and they found no other thing that was yet green but my leaves. He could find no flowers. So he took some of my leaves and branches to put in his house.

      The birds come to me for shelter from the cold wind and snow. They say the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing is a good home for them. The woodcutter comes and stands by my side and says that I keep the cold wind away from him. I know the Creator made me for good. He looked up, and he looked down, and he looked all about him.

      I know that the things of the world have deep meaning, and this is my lesson: The cold heart of winter docs not change your nature more than it does that of birds, beasts, men, or even your enemy, the IMon-Tien-Sing. When the frost of winter comes, where are the flowers, where are the leaves, where are all the growing things of beauty? Where is the grass, where is the green of the field? The first cold wintry wind of adversity takes them one by one, but you alone can withstand sorrow and grow even more beautiful.

      I am serving the king and serving the people, but there are few who like me now. Three kings have tried to kill me, though my doctrine is to serve the world and help every one. For four days I went without food, and many were the enemies around and against me at that time when the king banished me. But I know that it is my duty to live and teach in the world, although it is winter for me and the cold winds of adversity blow and the hearts of my people seem hard and cold like rocks of ice.

      I hope I will be as the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing, and stand firmly on the mountain of righteousness forever, that I, Con- fucius, may do good to a wintry world. It is beautiful, for an hour, but is frail beyond all of its kind.

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      It bears no fruit and its flowers last but a day, while the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing is strong of heart and mind, though a world is against him. And so we call the body of man a perfect thing. But one day the dififerent parts of man's body quar- reled among themselves about the work. Many com- plaints were brought against the stomach.

      The hands and feet said, ''We work all day and yet we are noth- ing. Do you know whom we work for? He takes all and does no work for it. He does not even think. And though he never does anything for us, we are always working for him. If all of you lie down and refuse to help the stomach; if you do not give him any rice or meat for food, or any tea for drink, he will learn then that he can not live without you. If he pronounces the thought or feeling worthy, it goes into the memory, where it stays; otherwise it is rejected.

      Then the stomach said to the feet, "Will you go out and have Men- Yen bring me a bowl of chop-suey- meen? The stomach cried for food, but all said, "We do not care; we will not work for him. The heart- judge said, "How is it now with the stomach? I fear that I, too, will die and that all the others will die.

      I do not believe we have done right in deserting the stomach. Do you not think it best to tell the feet to go out and bring the stomach some chop-suey-meen? If he had that, he might help us again. We shall all surely die unless we have his aid. The hands and the feet have always brought his food to him. But that night they were all found dead together, for they could not live without each other. This fable was told by the Chinese general, Tsii, to the Chinese emperor, about twelve hundred years ago. The emperor had been angry at a province of his ovm people and wished to send this general, with soldiers, to kill them.

      But the general would not go, and in his argument with the emperor he used this fable to illustrate his reasons for objection and to show the necessity of each part to all. This fable was translated into Japanese in i8gi and the Japanese have added the following Ee-sze mean- ing: The stomach means the emperor. The hands, eyes, feet, all parts of the body, represent the people. Again, the stomach is like a mother, the other parts being the children. Each child must do something for the family and the mother.

      These things must be, if the nation is to be powerful, or if the family is to be strong and united. How many feet and legs have you? Why, if I had as many feet as you have, 1 would run at least six times as fast as you do. Did you know that you are really a very slow, stupid creature? Though I have only four feet I run ten times as far as you do. I never heard of any one with so many feet as you have, running so slowly. I will try to run as fast as you. I know I am small, so suppose we go to the scales and see how much heavier you are. As you are ten times larger than I, of course you will have to run ten times faster.

      If you would allow me to put it down, I do not think you could run any faster than I. Your many legs and your stupid head do not go very well together. Now, if I had my sense and all of your legs, no creature in the forest could outrun me. As it is, there are none that can outwit me.

      I am known as the sharp-witted. Even man says, ' Qui-kwat-wui-lai ' sly as a fox. So do what you will, stupid one. Now, how do you wish that I should hold my tail? And when he stopped, there was the crab beside him. You are not even ahead of me with all your boasting. A big, proud, boastful mouth is a worse thing for a man than it is for a fox. I was in Dun-Qure's garden just now, and she asked me, 'Which flower do you like best of all in our garden?

      Do you not see the thorns on the roses? When we pass near we tear our dresses. When we touch them the blood flows from our hands.