ugh the clouds with tremendous power. The
Roc flew into the sea, stretched out both his wings, and beat the
water with them in order to escape the heat. But the big brother was
shrivelled up by the sun.

Note: This fairy-tale is traditionally narrated. The
Roc is called _pong_ in Chinese, and the treasures on
the island are spoken of as "all sorts of yellow and
white objects" because the little fellow does not know
that they are gold and silver.

II

THE THREE RHYMSTERS

Once there were three daughters in a family. The oldest one married a
physician, the second one married a magistrate; but the third, who was
more than usually intelligent and a clever talker, married a farmer.

Now it chanced, once upon a time, that their parents were celebrating
a birthday. So the three daughters came, together with their husbands,
to wish them long life and happiness. The parents-in-law prepared a
meal for their three sons-in-law, and put the birthday wine on the
table. But the oldest son-in-law, who knew that the third one had not
attended school, wanted to embarrass him.

"It is far too tiresome," said he, "just to sit here drinking: let us
have a drinking game. Each one of us must invent a verse, one that
rimes and makes sense, on the words: 'in the sky, on the earth, at the
table, in the room,' And whoever cannot do so, must empty three
glasses as a punishment."

All the company were satisfied. Only the third son-in-law felt
embarrassed and insisted on leaving. But the guests would not let him
go, and obliged him to keep his seat.

Then the oldest son-in-law began: "I will make a start with my verse.
Here it is:

"In the sky the phenix proudly flies,
On the earth the lambkin tamely lies,
At the table through an ancient book I wade,
In the room I softly call the maid."

The second one continued: "And I say:

"In the sky the turtle-dove flies round,
On the earth the ox paws up the ground,
At the table one studies the deeds of yore,
In the room the maid she sweeps the floor."

But the third son-in-law stuttered, and found nothing to say. And when
all of them insisted, he broke out in rough tones of voice:

"In the sky--flies a leaden bullet,
On the earth--stalks a tiger-beast,
On the table--lies a pair of scissors,
In the room--I call the stable-boy."

The other two sons-in-law clapped their hands and began to laugh
loudly.

"Why the