E SUN WU KUNG 288

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"The crows come flying and form a bridge over which the
Weaving Maiden crosses the Silver River" _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

"Beside it stood a Cassia-tree" 54

"'And I crossed the water on the shoe'" 90

"A fisherboy dived into the water and brought up a pearl
from beneath the chin of a black dragon" 138

"Tsian Tang brought out a platter of red amber on which
lay a carbuncle" 156

"Then he took his master and Rose-Red upon his back and
flew with them over the steep walls" 234

NURSERY FAIRY TALES

THE CHINESE FAIRY BOOK

I

WOMEN'S WORDS PART FLESH AND BLOOD

Once upon a time there were two brothers, who lived in the same house.
And the big brother listened to his wife's words, and because of them
fell out with the little one. Summer had begun, and the time for
sowing the high-growing millet had come. The little brother had no
grain, and asked the big one to loan him some, and the big one ordered
his wife to give it to him. But she took the grain, put it in a large
pot and cooked it until it was done. Then she gave it to the little
fellow. He knew nothing about it, and went and sowed his field with
it. Yet, since the grain had been cooked, it did not sprout. Only a
single grain of seed had not been cooked; so only a single sprout shot
up. The little brother was hard-working and industrious by nature, and
hence he watered and hoed the sprout all day long. And the sprout grew
mightily, like a tree, and an ear of millet sprang up out of it like a
canopy, large enough to shade half an acre of ground. In the fall the
ear was ripe. Then the little brother took his ax and chopped it down.
But no sooner had the ear fallen to the ground, than an enormous Roc
came rushing down, took the ear in his beak and flew away. The little
brother ran after him as far as the shore of the sea.

Then the bird turned and spoke to him like a human being, as follows:
"You should not seek to harm me! What is this one ear worth to you?
East of the sea is the isle of gold and silver. I will carry you
across. There you may take whatever you want, and become very rich."

Th