The Brave Brother And The Monster

Once upon a time in the western portion of China there was a ruined Monastery, in which stood a huge pagoda. The pagoda was several hundred stories high. Three or four people could still find room to stand on its very top.

In that part there lived a beautiful young girl. One fine day on a very hot summer’s noon she was sitting near the window where cool breeze was blowing, trying to keep her cool. The breeze turned into a cyclone blew her and carried her off. When she opened her eyes, there she was on top of the pagoda, and beside her stood a young man in the dress of a Prince.

The prince was very polite to the beautiful young maiden, and said to her: “It seems as though heaven had meant to bring us together, and if you promise to marry me, we will be very happy.” The young was surprised by hearing but she disagreed. So the prince said that until she changed her mind she would have to remain on the pagoda-top. The prince then bought some bread and wine for the young girl to satisfy her hunger and thirst, and disappeared.

Thereafter the prince visited the young girl everyday and asked her whether she had changed her mind, and each day she told him she had not. While going the prince carefully closed the openings in the pagoda-top with stones, and he had also removed some of the steps of the stairs, so that she could not climb down. And when he came to the pagoda-top he always brought her food and drink, and he also presented her with rouge and powder, dresses and mandarin-coats and all sorts of jewelry. He told her he had bought them in the market place. And he also hung up a great carbuncle-stone so that the pagoda-top was bright by night as well as by day. The maiden had all that heart could wish, and yet she was not happy.

One day it happened that the prince while going forgot to lock the door. The maiden spied on him without his knowing it, and saw that from a prince he turned himself into an monster, with hair red hair and a face as black as coal. His eyeballs bulged out of their sockets, and his mouth looked like a dish full of blood. Crooked white fangs thrust themselves from his lips, and two wings grew from his shoulders. Spreading them, he flew down to earth and at once turned into a man again.

The young girl trembled with terror and burst into tears. Looking down from her pagoda she saw a wanderer was walking below. She called out, but the pagoda was so high that her voice did not carry down to him. She waved her hand, but the wanderer did not look up. Then she could think of nothing else to do but to throw down the old clothes she had formerly worn. They fluttered through the air to the ground.

The wanderer was surprised to see the clothes falling from the sky. He looked up at the pagoda, and to his surprise at the very top he saw a tiny figure which looked like that of a girl; yet he could not make out her features. For a long time he wondered who it might be, but in vain. A sudden thought came to his mind“My neighbor’s daughter,” said he to himself, “was carried away by a magic storm. Is it possible that she may be up there?” The wanderer collected the clothes took it with him and showed them to the maiden’s parents, and when they saw them they burst into tears. But the maiden had a brother, who was stronger and braver than any one for miles around. When the tale had been told him he took a heavy axe and went to the pagoda. There he hid himself behind the bushes and waited for what would happen. 

When the sun was just going down, the monster came to the pagoda, spread his wings and was about to enter inside. The maiden's brother who was waiting behind the bush flung his ax at him and struck the monster on his arm. The monster roared in pain and fled away from the spot. 

The brave brother tried to climb the pagoda but it was too tall for him to climb. He went back and told the whole story to his neighbors and took their help. With them he returned the following morning and they climbed up into the pagoda. Most of the steps of the stairway were in good condition for the monster had only destroyed those at the top. But they were able to get up with a ladder, and then the brother fetched down his sister and brought her safely home again.

And that was the end of the Story.

The Four Rivers Of China

Long Long ago before thousands of years, there were no rivers and lakes on earth, but only one sea and it was the Eastern Sea. the sea was the home of four dragons: the Pink Dragon, the Yellow Dragon, the Black Dragon and the Brown Dragon. One day the four dragons flew from the sea into the sky. They soared and dived, playing at hide-and-seek in the clouds.

"Come over here quickly!" the Brown Dragon cried out suddenly."What's happened?" asked the other three, and looked down in the direction where the Brown Dragon pointed. On the earth they saw many people putting out fruits and cakes, and burning incense sticks. They were praying! A white-haired woman, kneeling on the ground with a thin boy on her back, murmured, "Please send rain quickly, God of Heaven, to give our children rice to eat."

The people on earth were worried for there had been no rain for a long time. The crops withered, the leaves turned yellow and fields cracked under the scorching sun. "How poor the people on earth are!" said the Yellow Dragon. "And they will die if it doesn't rain soon."

The Pink Dragon agreed. Then he suggested his friends, "Let's go and beg the Jade Emperor for rain." So saying, they leapt into the clouds and flew towards the Empror  Jade's Palace. Being in charge of all the affairs in heaven on earth and in the sea, the Jade Emperor was very powerful. He was not pleased to see the dragons rushing in. "Why do you come here instead of staying in the sea and behaving yourselves?"

The Pink Dragon stepped forward and said, Your majesty "The crops on earth are withering and dying. Please send rain down quickly!" "All right. You go back first, I'll send some rain down tomorrow." The Jade Emperor pretended to agree while listening to the songs of the fairies. The four dragons responded, "Thanks, Your Majesty!"

The four dragons went back to the sea thinking of rain. But ten days completed, and not a drop of rain came down. The people suffered more, some eating bark, some leaves and roots, some forced to eat white clay when they ran out of bark and leaves. Seeing all this, the four dragons felt very sorry, for they knew the Jade Emperor only cared about pleasure, and never took the people to heart. They could only rely on themselves to relieve the people of their miseries. But how to do it? Seeing the vast sea, the Pink Dragon said that he had an idea. "What is it? Out with it, quickly!" the other three demanded.

The Pink dragon then said "Look, We have plenty of water in the sea where we live? We should scoop it up and spray it towards the sky. The water will be like rain drops and come down to save the people and their crops". "Good idea!" said the others as they clapped their hands.

The Pink dragon again thought for a while and said, "we will be blamed if the Jade Emperor learns of this." "I will do anything to save the people," the Yellow Dragon said firmly. "Then let's start. We will never regret it," said Pink Dragon.

The Black Dragon and the Brown Dragon also joined their friends. They flew to the sea, scooped up water in their mouths, and then flew back into the sky, where they sprayed the water out over the earth. The four dragons flew back and forth, making the sky dark all around. Before long the sea water became rain pouring down from the sky. "It's raining! It's raining! The crops will be saved!" the people cried and danced with joy.

On the ground the trees were green again, the wheat stalks raised their heads and the sorghum stalks straightened up. The god of the sea discovered these events and informed to the Jade Emperor. "How dare the four dragons bring rain without my permission!" said the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor became very angry, and ordered his men to arrest the four dragons. Being far outnumbered, the four dragons could not defend themselves, and they were soon arrested and brought back to the heavenly palace. "Go and get four mountains to lay upon them so that they can never escape!" The Jade Emperor ordered the Mountain God.

The Mountain God used his magic power to make four mountains fly there, whistling in the wind from afar, and pressed them down upon the four dragons. Imprisoned as they were, they never regretted their actions. Determined to do good for the people forever, they turned themselves into four rivers, which flowed past high mountains and deep valleys, crossing the land from the west to the east and finally emptying into the sea. 

And so China's four great rivers were formed -- the Heilongjian (Black Dragon) in the far north, the Huanghe (Yellow River) in central China, the Changjiang (Yangtze, or Long River) farther south, and the Zhujiang (Brown) in the very far south.

Kin Cho And The Magical Paint Brush

Long ago in China, there was a young man called Kin Cho. He was poor and kind man. He was hired by a rich man to tend cattle. Kin Cho was fond of drawing and drew pictures everywhere. One night while sleeping, he dreamed that an old man gave him a magic paintbrush and asked him to use it to help poor people. When he woke up, he found the magic paintbrush in his desk.

Since that day, he used the paintbrush whenever people needed help. When he saw that people had no water to use in the fields, he drew a river and the river came to life. People could bring water from the river to the field and save a lot of time and energy. When he saw it was difficult for people to till lands, he drew a cow and the cow came to life. People could use the cow to till lands very easily.

Kin Cho always used his magic paintbrush to help the needy and poor people. Then many people knew about the magic paintbrush. But a few days later, the rich man who hired Kin Cho heard that the magic paint brush could turn everything to life. He was a wicked man so he had an idea to steal the paint brush from the young man. He knew that he could make a lot of money by turning things to life and keeping them, so he sent some people to the Kin Cho's home and took him to the prison. He stole the magic paintbrush and felt very happy.

The other day the rich man invited a lot of his friends to come to his home for a dinner and showed them the magic paintbrush. He drew a lot of pictures, but they could not become real. He was very angry and asked his servants to get Kin Cho from the prison. When Kin Cho came, the rich man said to him, "If you draw some pictures for me and turn them to life, I will set you free." The young man knew that he was a bad man in the village. Of course he did not want to help him. He had an idea. He said to the bad man, "I can help you, but you should obey your words."

The rich became very happy and said, "I want a golden mountain. I will go there to gather gold." The young man drew a sea first. The bad man was angry and said," Why did you draw a sea? I do not want this. I want a golden mountain. Draw it quickly."

Kin Cho then drew a golden mountain which was far away from the sea. The bad man saw that and felt very happy. He said, "Draw a big ship quickly. I want to go there to gather gold." The young man smiled quietly and drew a big ship. The bad man jumped into the ship first and a lot of his family and friends jumped in too. When the ship sailed to the middle of the sea, the young man drew a large wave and it destroyed the ship. So the bad man and his friends died.

After that, Kin Cho lived with his family happily and kept on helping the poor people. So the magic paintbrush was known by everyone.

The Candy Peddler And The Magical Herb

Long ago, in China there lived a rich man with a disease in his eyes. For many years, the pain was so great that he could not sleep at night. He saw every doctor he could, but none of them could help him. "What's the use of all my money?" he cried. Now, in that city, lived an old candy peddler. He would walk around selling his baskets of candy, but he was so kindhearted he gave away as much as he sold, so he was always poor.

When the old candy peddler heard the announcement about the reward, he remembered something his mother had said. She had once told him about a magical herb that was good for the eyes. So he packed up his baskets and went back to the single tiny room in which his family lived. When he told his plan to his wife, she scolded him saying, "If you go off on this crazy hunt for a cure, how are we supposed to eat?" Usually the peddler gave in to his wife, but this time he was stubborn and said, "Here are two baskets of candy, "I'll be back before they're gone."

The next morning, as soon as the soldiers opened the gates, he was the first one to leave the city. He did not stop until he was deep inside the woods. As a boy, he had often wandered there. He had liked to pretend that the shadowy forest was a green sea and he was a fish slipping through the cool waters. As he examined the ground, he noticed ants scurrying about. On their backs were larvae like white grains of rice. A rock had fallen into a stream, so the water now spilled into the ant's nest. The kind hearted peddler felt bad for the ants and said, "We're all one."

So he waded into the shallow stream and put the rock on the bank. Then with a sharp stick, he dug a shallow ditch that sent the rest of the water back into the stream. Without another thought about his good deed for the ants, he began to search through the forest. He looked everywhere; but as the day went on, he grew sleepy.

"Ho-hum. I got up too early. I'll take just a short nap," he said, and lay down in the shade of an old tree, where he fell right asleep. In his dreams, the old peddler found himself standing in the middle of a great city. Tall buildings rose high overhead. He couldn't see the sky even when he tilted back his head. An escort of soldiers marched up to him with a loud clatter of their black lacquer armor.

"Our queen wishes to see you," the captain of the soldiers said. The frightened peddler could only obey and let the fierce soldiers lead him into a shining palace. There, a woman with a high crown sat upon a tall throne. Trembling, the old peddler fell to his knees and touched his forehead against the floor. But the queen ordered him to stand and said, "Like the great Emperor Yu of long ago, you tamed the great flood. We are all one now. You have only to ask, and I or any of my people will come to your aid". The old peddler cleared his throat and said, "I am looking for a certain herb. It will cure any disease of the eyes." The queen shook her head regretfully and replied, "I have never heard of that herb. But you will surely find it if you keep looking for it."

And then the old peddler woke up. Sitting up, he saw that in his wanderings he had come back to the ants' nest. It was there he had taken his nap. His dream city had been the ant's nest itself. "This is a good omen," he said to himself, and he began searching even harder. He was so determined to find the herb that he did not notice how time went through. He was surprised when he saw how the light was fading. He looked all around then. There was no sight of his city, only strange hills. He realized then that he had searched so far he had gotten lost. Night was coming fast and with it the cold. He rubbed his arms and hunted for shelter. In the twilight, he thought he could see the green tiles of a roof. He stumbled through the growing darkness until he reached a ruined temple. 

Weeds grew through cracks in the stones and most of the roof itself had fallen in. Still, the ruins would provide some protection. As he started inside, he saw a centipede with bright orange skin and red tufts of fur along its back. Yellow dots covered its sides like a dozen tiny eyes. It was also rushing into the temple as fast as it could, but there was a bird swooping down toward it. The old peddler waved his arms and shouted, scaring the bird away. Then he put down his palm in front of the insect and said, "We are all one, you and I." The many feet of the centipede tickled the peddler's skin as the centipede climbed onto his hand.

Inside the temple, he gathered dried leaves and found old sticks of wood and soon he had a fire going. The peddler even picked some fresh leaves for the centipede from a bush near the temple doorway and then said to the centipede, "I may have to go hungry, but you don't have to my friend.".

Stretching out beside the fire, the old peddler pillowed his head on his arms. He was so tired that he soon fell asleep, but even in his sleep he dreamed he was still searching in the woods. Suddenly he thought he heard footsteps near his head. He woke instantly and looked about, but he only saw the brightly colored centipede.

"I must be getting nervous." "Was it you, friend? " the old peddler asked before lying down again and closing his eyes. "We are one, you and I," a voice said faintly, as if from a long distance. "If you go south, you will find a pine tree with two trunks. By its roots, you will find a magic bead. A cousin of mine spat on it years ago. Dissolve that bead in wine and tell the rich man to drink it if he wants to heal his eyes."

The old peddler trembled when he heard the voice, because he realized that the centipede was magical. He wanted to run from the temple, but he couldn't even get up. It was as if he were glued to the floor. But then the old peddler reasoned with himself, if the centipede had wanted to hurt me, it could have long ago. Instead, it seems to want to help me.

So the old peddler stayed where he was, but he did not dare open his eyes. When the first sunlight fell through the roof, he raised one eyelid cautiously. There was no sign of the centipede. He sat up and looked around, but the magical centipede was gone.

He followed the centipede's instructions when he left the temple. Traveling south, he kept a sharp eye out for the pine tree with two trunks. He walked until late in the afternoon, but all he saw were normal pine trees. Wearily he sat down and sighed. Even if he found the pine tree, he couldn't be sure that he would find the bead. Someone else might even have discovered it a long time ago. But something made him look a little longer. Just when he was thinking about turning back, he saw the odd tree. Somehow his tired legs managed to carry him over to the tree, and he got down on his knees. But the ground was covered with pine needles and his old eyes were too weak. The old peddler could have wept with frustration, and then he remembered the promise of the queen ant.

He began to call, "Ants, ants, we are all one." Almost immediately, thousands of ants came boiling out of nowhere. Delighted, the old man held up his fingers and said to them, "I'm looking for a bead. It might be very tiny." Then, careful not to crush any of his little helpers, the old man sat down to wait. In no time, the ants reappeared with a tiny bead. With trembling fingers, the old man took the bead from them and examined it. It was colored orange and looked as if it had yellow eyes on the sides. There was nothing very special about the bead, but the old peddler treated it like a fine jewel. Putting the bead into his pouch, the old peddler bowed his head and said, "I thank you and I thank your queen." After the ants disappeared among the pine needles, the old peddler made his way out of the woods.

The next day, he reached the house of the rich man. However, he was so poor and ragged that the gatekeeper only laughed at him and said, "How could an old beggar like you help my master?" The old peddler tried to argue by saying, "Beggar or rich man, we are all one." But it so happened that the rich man was crossing by the gates. He went over to the old peddler and said, "I said anyone could see me. But it will mean a stick across your back if you're wasting my time."The old peddler took out the pouch and said, "Dissolve this bead in some wine and drink it down."

Then, turning the pouch upside down, the peddler shook the tiny bead onto his palm and handed it to the rich man. The rich man immediately called for a cup of wine. Dropping the bead into the wine, he waited a moment and then drank it down. Instantly the pain vanished. Shortly after that, his eyes healed. The rich man was so happy and grateful that he doubled the reward. And the kindly old peddler and his family lived comfortably for the rest of their lives.