Public-domain ebook
Chinese fables and folk stories
by Mary Hayes; Chow-Leung Davis
Language: en774 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Mythology, Legends & Folklore
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #74897.
The opening · free to read
月何以美
The Moon is very beautiful with his round, bright face which shines with soft and gentle light on all the world of man. But once there was a time when he was not so beautiful as he is now. Six thousand years ago the face of the Moon became changed in a single night. Before that time his face had been so dark and gloomy that no one liked to look at him, and for this reason he was always very sad.
One day he complained to the flowers and to the stars—for they were the only things that would ever look in his face.
He said, “I do not like to be the Moon. I wish I were a star or a flower. If I were a star, even the smallest one, some great general would care for me; but alas! I am only the Moon and no one likes me. If I could only be a flower and grow in a garden where the beautiful earth women come, they would place me in their hair and praise my fragrance and beauty. Or, if I could even grow in the wilderness where no one could see, the birds would surely come and sing sweet songs for me. But I am only the Moon and no one honors me.”
The stars answered and said, “We can not help you. We were born here and we can not leave our places. We never had any one to help us. We do our duty, we work all the day and twinkle in the dark night to make the skies more beautiful.—But that is all we can do,” they added, as they smiled coldly at the sorrowful Moon.
Then the flowers smiled sweetly and said, “We do not know how we can help you. We live always in one place—in a garden near the most beautiful maiden in all the world. As she is kind to every one in trouble we will tell her about you. We love her very much and she loves us. Her name is Tseh-N’io.”
Still the Moon was sad. 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?”
“I have always lived with those who were gentle and happy, and I believe that is the cause of beauty and goodness,” answered Tseh-N’io.
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.
In a few days she was gone. Her mother searched everywhere but could not find her. And one of Tseh-N’io’s friends said,—“She has gone with the Moon, for he asked her many times.”
A year and a year passed by and Tseh-N’io, the gentle and beautiful earth maiden, did not return. Then the people said, “She has gone forever. She is with the Moon.”
The face of the Moon is very beautiful now. It is happy and bright and gives a soft, gentle light to all the world. And there are those who say that the Moon is now like Tseh-N’io, who was once the most beautiful of all earth maidens.
Once upon a time the horses and cattle gave a party. Although the pigs were very greedy, the horses said, “Let us invite them, and it may be we can settle our quarrels in this way and become better friends. We will call this a Peace Party.
“Generations and generations of pigs have broken through our fence, taken our food, drunk our water, and rooted up our clean green grass; but it is also true that the cattle children have hurt many young pigs.
“All this trouble and fighting is not right, and we know the Master wishes we should live at peace with one another. Do you not think it a good plan to give a Peace Party and settle this trouble?”
The cattle said, “Who will be the leader of our party and do the inviting? We should have a leader, both gentle and kind, to go to the pigs’ home and invite them.”
The next day a small and very gentle cow was sent to invite the pigs. As she went across to the pigs’ yard, all the young ones jumped up and grunted, “What are you coming here for? Do you want to fight?”
“No, I do not want to fight,” said the cow. “I was sent here to invite you to our party. I should like to know if you will come, so that I may tell our leader.”
The young pigs and the old ones talked together and the old ones said, “The New Year feast will soon be here. Maybe they will have some good things for us to eat at the party. I think we should go.”
Then the old pigs found the best talker in all the family, and sent word by him that they would attend the party.
The day came, and the pigs all went to the party. There were about three hundred all together.
When they arrived they saw that the leader of the cows was the most beautiful of all the herd and very kind and gentle to her guests.
After a while the leader spoke to them in a gentle voice and said to the oldest pig, “We think it would be a good and pleasant thing if there were no more quarrels in this pasture.
“Will you tell your people not to break down the fences and spoil the place and eat our food? We will then agree that the oxen and horses shall not hurt your children and all the old troubles shall be forgotten from this day.”
Then one young pig stood up to talk. “All this big pasture belongs to the Master, and not to you,” he said. “We can not go to other places for food.
“The Master sends a servant to feed us, and sometimes he sends us to your yard to eat the corn and potatoes.
“The servants clean our pen every day. When summer comes, they fill the ponds with fresh water for us to bathe in.
“Now, friends, can you not see that this place and this food all belongs to the Master? We eat the food and go wherever we like. We take your food only after you have finished. It would spoil on the ground if we did not do this.
“Answer this question—Do our people ever hurt your people? No; even though every year some of our children are killed by bad oxen and cows.
“What is your food? It is nothing; but our lives are worth much to us.
“Our Master never sends our people to work as he does the horses and oxen. He sends us food and allows us to play a year and a year the same, because he likes us best.
“You see the horses and oxen are always at work. Some pull wagons, others plow land for rice; and they must work—sick or well.
“Our people never work. Every day at happy time we play; and do you see how fat we are?
“You never see our bones. Look at the old horses and the old oxen. Twenty years’ work and no rest!
“I tell you the Master does not honor the horses and oxen as he does the pigs.
“Friends, that is all I have to say. Have you any questions to ask? Is what I have said not the truth?”
The old cow said, “Moo, Moo,” and shook her head sadly. The tired old horses groaned, “Huh, Huh,” and never spoke a word.
The leader said, “My friends, it is best not to worry about things we can not know. We do not seem to understand our Master.
“It will soon be time for the New Year feast day; so, good night. And may the pig people live in the world as long and happily as the horses and the oxen, although our Peace Party did not succeed.”
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