Part 4

And the sun was no longer seen, for the earth was covered with a deep blackness as of the night. The clouds were coming to the east, but the wind drove them all back to the west side of the heavens and finally much hail and snow were thrown down to the earth.

The clouds said to the snow, “Why do you go to earth? You are not wanted there. In the warm south land you are never welcomed. Your people would be killed at once if they went there. Even here you are allowed to stay only for a short time.”

“We do not come to this earth for our own pleasure,” answered the snow. “It was pleasanter where we were. We came to earth to help its people.”

At this the clouds frowned until their faces became black and they said, “We can not believe that.”

“It is true,” answered the snow. “In the summer time you will see how the people cry for pressed snow. They pay three pennies for one little cup of water that we have made cold.

“You say we are not liked in the south land, but we tell you that the south-land people send many oxen, horses, and men to the north to find the snow.

“They pack us in the storehouses so that we may last until the hot weather, and when the summer fever comes all people need us.”

“You have been studying this one great need of man a long time, we think,” and the clouds bowed in scornful mock sympathy.

“We do many good things for man,” continued the snow. “Thunder and lightning do him much harm and he fears them greatly; but the Creator sends us to comfort him. The lightning disappears from the earth for a time when the season of our appearance comes.”

“You should wear a crown,” suggested the clouds sneeringly.

“A king who wore one—the old King Dai-Sung—once said of us, ‘Oh, snow, snow, how beautiful you are. It is good for flowers, good for grass, and good for trees that you are here.’

“And he said to the rose bushes, shrubs, and trees who were asleep, ‘If you wish beauty in the spring time, you must have our friend the snow in the winter.’

“He laid his hand gently on his horses’ necks and said, ‘True helpers that are both feet and legs to me, it will soon be time for the green grass to appear. You will have plenty this year, for we had a thick cover of snow this winter.

“‘It will soon be hot weather, but I do not fear the heat, for I have plenty of hard snow, pressed and packed for the summer time.’

“So you see the snow is useful to man. We could have stayed where we were in the sky and kept clean, and we need not have worked hard flying all the way down to the ground.

“We never hear that the clouds do any good thing,” said the snow.

“The time may come when you will have finished talking,” said the clouds. “Then we can tell you some things.”

“We saw the big Ti-San Mountain to-day,” continued the snow, “and many of the cloud children were playing around its summit, but what good did they do? None.

“A hunter was looking for wild beasts and your children were naughty and covered his eyes so that he could not see. Do you remember how he scolded your children and said, ‘I do not like these cloudy, foggy days’?

“Once the General San Chi led his soldiers to fight against his nation’s enemy, and one night he went out to learn how many of the enemy could be seen.

“The moon and stars tried to help him, but you came and covered them and it grew so dark that he lost his way. Then the enemy took his horse and gun and he nearly lost his life.

“He hid in a cave and said, ‘Those clouds have caused my death, I fear.’ He lay in the dark cave until the morning came and he could see to find his way.

“We do not see why the Creator made clouds to hang around in the sky from north to south, and east to west,” said the snow, angrily.

II

(第二)風雲雪

Just then the clouds’ lawyer, the wind, came to defend them. “Whom are you scolding?” he asked.

“You think the Creator should have made the snow king of a world, I suppose, and that there is no place or use for the clouds.

“You talk so much that we can not find opportunity to tell what we are good for. You are not the only helper of man and of growing things in the hot summer time.

“Do you remember when the great General Dhi-Sing led five thousand soldiers to battle? They traveled over mountains and through wild places until they were worn and weary.

“They found water to drink by the Gold Mine Mountain and stopped there to rest; but there were no trees or growing things on that mountain and they could find no shade.

“The sun sent down great heat and they suffered so that they could not rest. Then they held their faces up to heaven and in anguish they cried, ‘Oh, sun, why shine so hot to-day?’

“Then they looked to the east and saw our brother, the cloud, beginning to appear.

“‘Why do you not come to us, and cover the face of the sun that we may have shade and rest?’ they pleaded of the cloud; and so our brother came and stood between the earth and the sun.

“‘Oh, this is rest, rest,’ said the soldiers in great relief. ‘How we wish that the cloud might always shield us from the burning fire of the sun.’

“And not only the soldiers, but all the farmers and woodcutters ask us to help them in the time when the sun comes close.”

“Can you do only this one thing?” asked the snow, coldly.

“Who carries the rain and the snow through the sky?” asked the wind.

“I tell you there would be no rain nor snow but for the help of the wind and the clouds.

“You know well that the rain is made from the ocean water.

“One day the water said to the cloud, ‘Friend, I should like to journey around and around the sky, but I have no wings, and can not fly. My body is so heavy that I can not move it, and I never expect to take this trip unless you, my friend, help me.’

“And so we lifted the water and helped it step by step until we floated it through the air. Our first cloud faces were very light, but after we had traveled five or six miles through the sky our faces changed to gray, and when we had gone one thousand miles our faces became black and the farmers said, ‘We shall soon have rain.’

“Do you know why the faces of clouds grow black?” asked the wind.

“Anger makes things black,” said the snow, “but why should we know, for of ourselves we never change color.”

“It was because great strength was being put forth to travel through the sky,” argued the wind, “for soon the drops of water said, ‘We are tired and want to go back to earth again.’

“Then we said to the water, ‘The earth people need you and all growing things need you. It is good that you go.’

“And on the place where that water fell there had been no rain for three years.

“The king had bowed his head a thousand times before our father and mother and had cried, ‘Oh, rain cloud, why are you so long in coming?’

“We heard the earth king’s cry, and that night the mother of clouds said to us, ‘My children, you must go down to earth and help its people or they will perish.’ So we called all our brothers and sisters to go at the same time, and we went to earth and saved a million and a million lives.

“The greatest wrong you have done is to forget who helped you when you were needy,” continued the wind.

“Do you remember that you once lived in the ocean, river, or lake? At that time I do believe that you were not well liked. In the sea you were in the lowest class and worked hard every day and night.

“When the wind came and blew you into waves you would always call out in a big rough voice, ‘Muh; Muh; Spsh; Sph -s -s.’

“You were restless and unhappy, and tried and tried to escape from that place, and the cloud mother pitied you.

“She said, ‘I am very sorry. We will bring them up here with us,’ and she asked the sun’s help to do it.

“For a day and a day, a night and a night, you were carried up, up to the first section. But you were not satisfied then, and you were taken to very high seats.

“You wanted the best places and would do no work unless the winds pushed and the clouds carried you. So we took you up high where we lived and had a happy time.

“Now you have forgotten all this. Who helped you up? Who made you pure?” But the snow did not answer.

Finally the snow said, “Yes, our family is from the rivers and seas. We had forgotten. If we had only thought, we should have been more grateful.”

The sun was judge, and he said, “We decide this case in favor of the wind and the clouds.”

THE FISH AND THE FLOWERS

魚花異味

Once there was a Chinese merchant who sold flowers and fish. In the winter time the flowers and fish each had a separate house to live in, but one very cold winter the merchant said to his servants, “I think we must put the lily bulbs in the house with the fish. It is warmer there.”

And a thousand and a thousand narcissus bulbs which were growing for the great feast of the New Year were moved into the house with the fish.

This made the fish angry and that night they scolded the narcissus.

“Friends,” said the fishes, “this is not your place and we will not have you here.

“We do not like your odor. You will spoil our people. When men pass by our door they will see only you.

“They will never see our family. You can not help or do any good here; so you must go.

“Every day a hundred and a hundred merchants and students come to visit us. If you stand by our door they will surely think the fish are all gone and there is nothing but flowers left.

“We do not want our place to smell so strongly of flowers. We do not like it. It is very bad and makes us sick.”

The narcissus answered, “Strange, but we were thinking of that same thing.

“Some people say that fishes have a bad odor, but I never heard it said of our flowers. I think I will say no more about it. Let others decide.”

Then another flower spoke and said to the one who had been talking, “Hush, sister, this is not our house. We will go to-morrow. Let the fishes say what they will about us, and do not quarrel with them. All people know we are not bad and that our fragrance is sweet.”

When the morning sunshine came, the doors were opened, and a thousand and a thousand flowers had blossomed in the night, and the people said, “Oh, how sweet! Even a fish house can be made pleasant. We wish it could be like this all the time.”

And one visitor said, “How sweet this place is! Do fishes or flowers live here?” And when he saw, he said, “It is too bad to put delicate flowers in evil smelling places.”

Then three students came to buy flowers. The servants brought three pots from the fish house, and the students said, “We do not want pots from the fish house. Give us others. These have a disagreeable smell, like the fishes.”

The fishes heard all and were even more angry at the flowers. But the flowers heard and were happy, and they said, “How foolish to quarrel and try to put evil on others.”

Ee-Sze (Meaning): The good need no defense. Their best defense lies within themselves.

THE HEN, THE CAT, AND THE BIRDS

雞猫鳥

Once a farmer’s boy caught three young wood larks. He took them home and gave them his best and largest cage to live in. Soon they were happy and sang almost all day long.

Every one liked the birds very much, excepting the cat and the hen.

One day the sun shone very hot and the birds tried to get out of the cage. They wanted to fly in the trees and bushes.

The farmer’s boy knew what they wanted and hung their cage in the tree.

He said to himself, “I think my birds will like this. They can get acquainted with other birds. I know birds should go with birds. That is their happiness.”

Then the wood larks sang loud and long, for they were glad to be in the trees.

An old hen was sitting on some eggs near by, and her little ones were just beginning to come out of the shells. The singing of the birds made her angry and she said to them, “Will you stop that noise for a time so that I may hear my little ones call? I can not hear a word my children say. That is not a pretty song, anyway. When other birds sing, their songs are sweet; but your noise hurts my ears. Why do you sing all the time? No one likes to hear you.

“That foolish boy did not know much about birds, or he would not have caught you. There are plenty of other birds in the mountain. The thrush and the kind-birds are good, with fine voices and clean and beautiful feathers.

“Why could not that foolish boy catch them? They are the birds I like. They are kind to chickens and like to live with us, but you wood larks are our enemies, and our children fear to come near you.”

The birds made no reply to the hen’s scolding. They sang and were happy and did not seem to notice her.

This only made the hen more angry, and when the cat passed by her door, she said, “Good morning, Mrs. Cat. Do you know we have much trouble since our enemies, the wood larks, came here to live? They are always trying to get out of the cage. I think they want to hurt my children—or yours,” she added slyly.

“Do you hear their harsh ugly voices all the day? I can not sleep, I can not find any comfort here since those birds have come.”

“Our master’s son brought them,” said the cat, “and we can not help ourselves. What would you do about it?”

“I told you,” said the hen, “that I do not like those birds. They should be killed or driven away.”

“I do not like them very well either,” replied the cat. “Cats and birds do not go well together. Cats like birds to eat you know, but then men like chickens. If you do not want them here, we can do this. At midday, 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.”

When the time came for the birds to take their bath, the cat was asleep. 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. Is this not true?

“The old hen does not wish us to live here; but then the rats and mice do not like you to live here either. 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?

“Every morning before the sun shines, he is up; and do you know where he goes? 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.

“He works hard for us. Sometimes he brings other boys here just to hear our songs. He spent much money for our cage and our gem-stone water dishes.

“Every day the master asks his son, ‘How are your birds, my son?’

“One day our brother would not eat food and the boy said to his father, ‘What ails my bird, father? All the foods are here, but he will not eat.’

“The father answered, ‘I will call a doctor.’

“And the doctor came and said, ‘The bird has fever. Give him some Da-Wong-Sai and Tseng-Chu-Mi and he will be well soon.’ The boy paid the doctor for this; so you see how well he loves us.

“When we do not like to stay in the house he hangs us out in the trees so that we can talk with other birds.

“Now, Mrs. 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.

“You see how cunning the hen is. She will not do the thing herself, but wants you to do it. That proves that she is your enemy as well as ours.

“Oh, Mrs. 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? Will the hen do it? I think not.”

When the cat heard such wisdom from a little bird she said, “Well! Well! Well! I think you are right,” and went away.

Ee-Sze (Meaning): True friends will not ask you to do things they would not do themselves.

THE BOY WHO WANTED THE IMPOSSIBLE

欲所不能欲者

Tsing-Ching (Pure Gold) was four years old when his parents sent him to a “baby school” [14] for the first time and told him that the teacher could tell him everything he would like to know.

When he saw a queer bird flying around he asked his teacher, “What kind of thing is that in the air?” His teacher told him, “A bird,” and that to be a bird meant to fly around and sing in every place and make music for the people.

The boy said, “Can I not do it?” His teacher said, “Yes, you can sing music for the people, but you can not fly unless you get wings.”

Tsing-Ching replied, “Yes, I can do that, too. My grandmother told me about a spirit with wings.”

His teacher said, “If your grandmother told you that, you can try and see. You may be a man with wings sometime.” [15]

Just then the servant girl, that his mother had sent, came to fetch him home from school.

When they reached the park by his home, Tsing-Ching said, “Lau-Mai, I want that long ladder and a long stick.” The nurse-girl did not know what he would do with them, but she finally had to give him both to keep him from crying. 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.” His nurse said, “You can not be a bird, Tsing-Ching. Birds fly. You can not fly. Why are you trying to climb up the ladder? That is not the way to be a bird.”

Lau-Mai helped him up two or three steps, when his mother called her to come in and she left him there for a little time.

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 to climb up the ladder and asked, “What are you doing, Tsing-Ching?”

He answered, “I want to be a bird; wait, I will try again. 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 thought he wanted to climb up and get a bird; she looked all around and said, “There is no bird up there now.”

“But, Ah-Ma, [16] I want to be a bird.”

The servant Lau-Mai came just then and explained to his mother. 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, for 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. They seemed so happy, they shook their tails and waved their fins and swam up and down and all around in the cool water. Oh, I should like to be a fish.”

His teacher said, “Learn lessons now.” But Tsing-Ching could not study; he could only think, think about the 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? This is school-time.”

“I want to be a fish,” said Tsing-Ching.

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.”

Tsing-Ching sat down and waited until the gardener went away. Then he stepped into the water and talked to the fish.

“I am going to be one of you now,” he said. “Come to me and show me how to swim with you.” But they all hurried away.

For half an hour he splashed in the shallow water, trying to swim, until the teacher thought, “Where is Tsing-Ching?” and sent a boy to see. He found him in the pond and asked him to come into the schoolroom, saying the teacher would punish him if he did not.

“No,” said Tsing-Ching, “I shall be a fish; I told the teacher I was going to be a fish.” And so the boy went back and told the teacher, who hardly knew what to think.

Finally he went out with a stick and asked, “Tsing-Ching, what are you doing here? Do you know this is school-time? Do you know that you were allowed only to go out for a drink and not to stay here and play? You have done wrong.”

“Why, teacher, I told you that I wanted to be a fish,” said Tsing-Ching. “I do not want books or exercises. 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.”

His teacher said, “How foolish you are, Tsing-Ching; you are a boy, a man. You can learn many things better than to be a fish. Come with me now.”

That night when Tsing-Ching was walking with his mother and nurse out by the water, he saw the summer moon shining in the lake.

“How strange, Ah-Ma, the moon is under the lake! See, it raises the lake and shakes it all the time. I want it. What kind of a white ball is it?”

Then his mother told him that the moon was in the sky, not in the lake, and she explained and showed him. 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.”

He asked so many questions that his mother grew tired of answering and let him ask unnoticed. Then he wandered away a little distance and threw stones in the water. And the waters waved and the white ball danced so prettily that he wanted it very much. 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 mother took him out of the lake.

When the neighbors heard about it, they said, “Foolish boy; not satisfied to do the things he can—he is always wanting things he can not have.”

Many people in this world are like Tsing-Ching.

THE BOY WHO BECAME A HSAO-TSZE [17]

王孝子

This is the true story of a boy who obeyed perfectly all his life the law of Confucius concerning honor to parents.

Few have been able to do this. Among a people of many millions who have kept record over four thousand years, only twenty-four men have been found worthy of the great honor of being called Hsao-Tsze.

Twelve hundred years ago, in Chê-Kiong Province, there lived a poor widow and her son, Wong-Ziang. 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 rain 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 good son. My boy is true without being taught. Many mothers have sons, but they are not as this one.”

When Wong-Ziang was fourteen years old, he said to his mother, “Ah Ma, I will seek work and we will have food. You must rest now.”

In the morning early he went to the market place and asked work of many people. At midday, when the laborers left the market place, they said, “You are too young to work here.”

As he was hungry, he went to a merchant’s house and asked food; and because he was a gentle boy and pleaded so earnestly, the merchant told his cook to give him food. 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, Ah Ma. 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.” But he would always answer, “I have had mine; you eat first.” And when she had finished eating, he would eat of what was left.