Strange Stories from the Lodge of Leisures
Strange Stories from the Lodge of Leisures-3
"'Dear elder brother! here are the gentlemen
who have come for the settlement of
my accounts about which I spoke to you.'
"'Gentlemen!' and the currier bowed,
not without a certain grace that his new[72]
fortune had already given him. 'Well!
how much is the total amount? I have
brought you ten thousand ounces of gold,
which is nearly 350,000 ounces of silver.
Will you have enough?'
"While he was speaking, bearers were
trooping in, and laid down on the ground
heavy chests, the lids of which being raised,
one could see the bars of precious metal.
"The merchants, thunderstruck by all
these riches and generosity, remained silent
for a moment; then they bowed low and
bade the currier sit in the place of honour.
"Many delicate and exquisite dishes were
brought in of which The-just did not even
know the names; sweet wines were handed
round in small transparent china cups.
"At last the secretaries counted the ingots,
and they all returned home paid. When
every one had retired, Glow-of-dawn knelt
before the currier and, striking the earth
with his forehead, he said:
"'Now you are my elder brother. You[73]
have rescued me, and I henceforth wish you
to live here. My house, my properties,
everything I possess belongs to you. Your
wife is my sister-in-law.'
"The currier hurried to raise him up and,
much moved, said:
"'I do not forget that it is you who saved
me when you were still in misfortune.
Your good genius has rewarded you. I am
only the instrument of Fate.'"
[74]
AUTUMN-MOON
In the town of Sou-tcheou a young
man lived called Lake-of-the-Immortals;
he was wise and generous. His
business consisted in going to fetch goods
from neighbouring towns, which he afterwards
brought back to his native city. He
was thus obliged to be absent for lengthy
periods, during which he left his house to
the care of an elder brother, a celebrated
scholar, who was married, and whom he
tenderly loved.
Once he had been by the Grand Canal
as far as Chen-kiang; the goods he was
going to take not being ready, he waited,
and to while away the time he visited the
Golden Island, whose temples with yellow-tiled
roofs show in the verdure above the[75]
yellow water of the river, nearly opposite
to the town; he passed the night there, as
visitors did usually.
When he had just fallen asleep, he saw in
a dream a young girl, fourteen or fifteen
years old, her visage regular and pure.
On the second night he had the same
dream. Surprised, he awoke; it was no
dream; the young girl was there, near to
him. At a glance he saw she was no human
being; he hastened to get up and, saluting,
to ask her the ordinary questions.
"My name is Autumn-moon," she replied.
"My father was a celebrated magician.
When I died, he worked out my
future destiny and wrote it down with
powerful incantations; this charm has been
put into my coffin, so that the inferior
authorities should not make any mistake.
It was written that, thirty years after my
death, I should be called again to life and
marry Lake-of-the-Immortals. There you
are, and I have come to know my husband."
[76]
As she said the last words she slowly
vanished in the night. The next day, as
the young man, disturbed and preoccupied
by this strange adventure, was sitting in
his room, thinking of her, she appeared
suddenly before his eyes and said:
"Come quickly! something important
for you is going to happen at the prefect's
palace. We have not a minute to lose."
Lake-of-the-Immortals questioned her,
but she would not answer. Then they both
crossed the river and walked as fast as they
could up to the yamen.
As they arrived at the gate, four soldiers,
dragging a prisoner, were on the point of
entering. Lake-of-the-Immortals recognised
his elder brother in the person of the prisoner;
he drew near, threw himself on his neck, and
pressed him to his heart.
"How is it that you are here? why this
arrest? And you, soldiers, where do you
take him?"
"We have orders: what means this interference?"[77]
And they pushed the young
man aside. Lake-of-the-Immortals was of a
violent temper and had a strong affection for
his brother; he could not let him go, and
answered to the brutality of the soldiers by
such a tempest of thumping and kicking
that these honest but prudent soldiers asked
no more and fled.
"What have you done?" said Autumn-moon.
"Hitting soldiers is serious; we
must fly."
And all three, running, arrived at the
beach, jumped into a small boat, and rowed
with all their strength.
When day appeared, they were safely
lodged in a small inn, several lis from Chen-kiang.
Lake-of-the-Immortals, exhausted,
went to sleep immediately. When he awoke,
his two companions had disappeared. He
asked the innkeeper; nobody had seen them
go out.
Distressed and sad, the young man did
not dare to show himself outside. He[78]
remained solitary in his room. When twilight
came, his door opened and a woman
entered:
"I bring you a message from Autumn-moon;
she has been arrested. If you wish
to see her, you must follow me; I will
show you the way."
"And my brother? do you know anything?"
"Your brother is safe in Sou-tcheou now.
But come and follow me."
They started and soon arrived before a
wall, which they got over by helping one
another. Through a window giving on the
yard they fell in, the lover perceived
Autumn-moon on a bed. Two soldiers
were trying to tease her, saying:
"What is the use of resisting us, as you
will be executed to-morrow morning?"
Lake-of-the-Immortals did not hear any
more; he rushed into the room, threw
himself on the soldiers, tore a sword from
them, and laid them on the ground. Before[79]
the wretched men had time to make a
gesture of defence, he carried away the girl
and flew.
At this moment he started violently, and
found himself in his same room in the
Golden Island. A servant entered, bringing
the breakfast he had ordered when arriving
for the first time, the night before, on the
island.
As he was asking himself the meaning of
such a vivid dream, he heard a noise in
the courtyard. Going out, he saw several
men surrounding the body of a girl stretched
before his door.
"Where does she come from?" asked
some one.
"We have never seen her!" said another.
Lake-of-the-Immortals came nearer; it was
the body, seemingly senseless, of Autumn-moon.
He had her brought immediately
into his room. A doctor who had been
called declared she was still alive, but
needed very careful nursing.
[80]
When she awoke at last she smiled feebly
to the young man.
"No, it is no dream," she replied to his
questions. "Your brother was called before
the King of Hells; you saved him. You
have saved me also from eternal disappearance,
and I am called again to life; the
prediction of my father was true."
A fortnight later she was able to get up;
they started together and arrived safely
at Sou-tcheou. When they got to his
brother's house, his sister-in-law told them
there had been illness in the house; her
husband had been in grave danger of
death; he was quite well now.
When they were all together, Lake-of-the-Immortals
told what he had seen and done.
They all listened to him in silence. The
family henceforth lived united and happy.
[81]
THE PRINCESS NELUMBO
Gleam-of-day was sleeping; his
round face and high forehead denoted
the scholar's right intelligence.
All of a sudden he saw a man standing
before his bed who appeared to be
waiting.
"What is it?" inquired the sleeper,
getting up.
"The prince is asking for you."
"Which prince?"
"The prince of the neighbouring territory."
Gleam-of-day, grumbling, got up, put on
his court dress and followed his guide.
Palanquins were waiting; they started
rapidly, and their retinue was soon passing
in the midst of innumerable pavilions and
towers with pointed roofs.
[82]
They at last stopped in the courtyard
of the palace; young girls with bright
clothing were seen, and looked inquiringly
at the new-comer, who was announced with
great pomp.
At last Gleam-of-day reached the audience
hall. The prince was seated on the throne;
he descended the steps and welcomed his
guest according to the rites.
"You perfume this neighbourhood," he
said. "Your reputation has come to me,
and I wished to know you."
The servants brought wine; they began
to converse nobly and brilliantly. At last
the prince asked:
"Among the flowers, tell me which one
you prefer."
"The nelumbo," he replied, without
hesitating.
"The nelumbo? it is precisely my
daughter's surname. What a curious coincidence!
The princess must absolutely
know you."
[83]
And he made a sign to one of the attendants,
who at once went out. A few minutes
after, the princess appeared. She was between
sixteen and seventeen years old.
Nothing could equal her admirable beauty.
Her father ordered her to bow to the
scholar and said:
"Here is my daughter Nelumbo."
Gleam-of-day, looking at her, felt troubled
to the depth of his soul. The prince spoke
to him; he hardly heard, and replied awkwardly.
When the princess had retired,
the conversation languished; the prince at
last rose and put an end to the interview.
During all the way back the young man
was ashamed at the same time with his
emotion before the girl, as well as his
rudeness towards the prince. He was so
much troubled that he ordered his
retinue to go back to the palace.
When he entered the audience hall, he
threw himself to the ground before the prince
and begged to be excused for his rudeness.
[84]
"You need not excuse yourself; the
sentiment that I read in your eyes is powerful
and the thought of it is not unpleasant
to me."
While Gleam-of-day, happy with this
encouragement, was still excusing himself,
twenty young girls came running:
"A monster has entered the palace; it is
a python ten thousand feet long. It has
already devoured thirteen hundred persons;
its head is like a mountain peak."
Every one got up; the frightened guard
and the courtiers ran hither and thither,
looking where they could hide themselves.
The princess and her maids-in-waiting were
crying for help.
Gleam-of-day at last said to the prince:
"I have only three miserable rooms in
a cottage, but you will be safe in them.
Will you fly there with your daughter?"
"Let us go as quickly as possible,"
replied the prince, seizing the princess by
the wrist.
[85]
They all three ran across the deserted
streets. When they arrived, Nelumbo threw
herself on the bed, without being able to
stop weeping.
Gleam-of-day was so moved that he
suddenly awoke: everything was a dream.
Just then he heard a scream in the next
room, where his father slept; there was a
struggle, blows, and at last a sigh of satisfaction.
The door opened, and the old man was
seen pushing an enormous serpent at the
end of a stick. When Gleam-of-day turned
back to his bed, he found it covered with
bees; on the pillow the queen had alighted.
[86]
THE TWO BROTHERS
In the town of Sou-tcheou there lived
two brothers. The elder, surnamed
Merchant, was very rich; the younger,
named Deceived-hope, very poor. They
lived side by side, and their houses, the
paternal inheritance, were only separated
by a low wall. They were both married.
This year, the harvest having been bad,
Deceived-hope could not afford the necessary
rice for his family to live upon. His
wife said to him:
"Let us send our son to your brother:
he will be touched and will give us something,
without any doubt."
Deceived-hope hesitated, but at last
decided to take this step which hurt his
pride. When the child returned from his[87]
uncle's, his hands were empty. They questioned
him:
"I told my uncle that you were without
rice; he hesitated and looked at my aunt.
She then said to me: 'The two brothers live
separately; their food also is separate.'"
Deceived-hope and his wife did not say
a word; they fetched the bale of rice that
was still in their corn-loft and lived thus.
Now, in the town, two or three vagabonds
who knew the riches of Merchant
broke open his door one night, and tied
him up as well as his wife. As he would
not show his treasure, they began burning
his hands and feet. Merchant and his
wife screamed for help. Deceived-hope
heard them and got up in order to run to
their house, but his wife held him back,
and, approaching the wall which separated
them, cried:
"The two brothers live separately; their
food also is separate."
However, as their cries increased, Deceived-hope[88]
could not contain himself, and,
seizing a weapon, leapt over the wall, fell
on the thieves, and dispersed them. Then,
when his brother and his sister-in-law were
delivered and quieted, he returned home,
saying to his wife:
"They are certain to give us a present."
But, the next day and the days following,
they waited in vain! Deceived-hope could
not resist the temptation to relate everything
to his friends. The same thieves heard
of it and, thinking that he would not interfere
any more, broke open the door of Merchant
the same evening and began again to
torture him as well as his wife.
Deceived-hope, indeed, did not wish to
interfere. However, his heart and his liver
were upset by the painful cries of his brother.
He could not forbear running to his help.
The brigands, disconcerted, flew again,
but this time Merchant and his wife were
severely burnt; they lost the use of their
hands and feet.
[89]
The next day Merchant said to his wife:
"My brother has saved our lives; without
him we should be ruined; I am going
to give him a part of what we have."
"Do nothing of the kind," replied his
wife; "if he had come sooner, he would have
saved our hands and feet; now, thanks to
him, we are infirm."
And they did nothing. Deceived-hope,
however, wanting money, made an act of
sale of his house and sent it to his brother,
hoping that he would be touched by his
misery and would send back the deed with
a present.
In fact Merchant was going to send him
some silver ingots, but his wife stopped
him:
"Let us take his house; we shall be
able to make ours bigger, and it will be
much more convenient."
Merchant hesitated a little, but he ended
by accepting the act, and sent the price
agreed on. Deceived-hope went and settled[90]
in another part of the town; with his
small capital, he opened a vegetable-shop,
which soon prospered.
The brigands, having heard that Merchant
was now living alone, broke open his door
very quietly, tortured him, and then killed
him, taking away all he had. In leaving the
place, they cried all over the town:
"Merchant's corn-loft is open! Let all
the poor go and take the rice!"
They thus went, one by one, silently,
all the poor of the neighbourhood, taking
away as much of the heaped-up rice as
they could. Soon there was nothing left.
Deceived-hope being informed, wished
to revenge his brother; he pursued the
brigands and killed two of them.
From this time it was he who every day
attended to the needs of his sister-in-law,
now in misery. Some months afterwards,
exhausted, she died.
Deceived-hope came back and was soon
settled in the patrimony that he had recovered.[91]
One night he was soundly sleeping,
when he saw his brother.
"You have saved us twice, and we have
been ungrateful. I should not be dead if
I had not acted badly with you. I wish to
make amends. Under the stone of the
hearth you will find five hundred ounces of
gold that I had hidden, and of the existence
of which my wife was ignorant."
Deceived-hope started from his sleep; he
told his dream to his wife. She at once
got up, drew out the stone of the hearth,
and found the mass of gold. Henceforth,
happy and rich, they lived long and were
charitable and friendly with every one.
[92]
THE MARBLE ARCH
When the troubles began to break out
in Hankow, many families were
alarmed. Those who were not ignorant of
the powerful organisation of the revolutionists
left the town as soon as possible,
anticipating that it would soon be plundered
and burnt.
The retired prefect, Kiun, was amongst
the first to embark in order to go down
the river. His house was situated at
several lis from the river, on the confines
of the suburbs, outside the fortified
enclosure. He had only been married a
short time, and was living with his father
and mother.
When the baggage at last was ready,
the bearers fixed it in the middle of[93]
their long bamboos and set off two by
two, grumbling under the heavy load.
The two old people followed; Kiun and
his young wife, the charming Seaweed,
helped them as well as they could.
In order to avoid crossing the centre of
the town, they followed the crenellated wall
by an almost deserted road. A young
man and woman alone were sauntering in
the same direction, carrying parcels on their
shoulders.
"Where are you going to?" they asked,
as it is the custom to do between travellers.
"As far as the river," replied Kiun.
"And you?"
"We also," said the young man. "What
is your precious name?"
"My contemptible name is Kiun. But
you, deign to inform me about your
family?"
"My name is Wang The-king. We are
flying from the insurrection."
[94]
They thus talked while walking in company.
Seaweed took the advantage of a moment
when the new-comers were a little in front
to bend towards her husband.
"Do not let us get in the same junk
with these strangers. The man has looked
at me several times in a rude way; his eyes
are unsteady and fickle; I am afraid of
him."
Kiun made a sign of assent. But when
they had arrived on the quay, Wang The-king
gave himself so much trouble to find
a junk and help to embark the luggage
that the prefect, bound by the rites, could
not avoid asking him to get on board the
boat with him.
They unmoored; Wang The-king established
himself on the prow with his wife,
near the mariners; he spoke a long time
with them while they were passing the last
houses of the large city.
When night fell, they were in a part of[95]
the river where it got broader to such an
extent that you could no longer distinguish
the banks. The wind was blowing rather
violently and the unfurling waves projected
heavy showers on the mats which covered
the quarter-deck.
Kiun, uneasy, went to the prow of the
boat in order to question the master. The
bright moon was rising, lighting the dark
line of the bank. They approached in
order to throw the anchor.
Wang The-king was on the narrow bridge;
when Kiun came to his side, he coolly
pushed the poor prefect overboard. Kiun's
father was two paces behind; Wang ran to
him and threw him also into the tumultuous
waters of the rapid current. Kiun's mother,
hearing a cry and a struggle, went to see
what was happening, and she also was
precipitated into the foaming river.
Seaweed, from the cabin, had seen all;
but she took good care not to go outside;
she moaned:
[96]
"Alas! my father-in-law and my mother-in-law
are dead! My husband has been
killed! I am going to die, too!"
While she was crying, Wang The-king
entered the cabin.
"Fear nothing," said he; "forget those
people who are no more and won't come
back. I am going to take you home to
the city of The-Golden-tombs. There I
have fields and houses belonging to me; I
will give them to you."
The young woman kept back her sobs
and said nothing; she thought it wise
not to provoke the murderer.
Wang The-king, very satisfied with his
prospects, went back to the mariners, gave
them the greater part of what his victims
had brought in silver and luggage; then he
quietly took his dinner and retired to his
cabin with his wife. The woman had a
strange look, but she did not say anything,
and they went to sleep.
Towards the hour of the Rat, the woman[97]
began to groan; then she started out of her
sleep and cried to her husband:
"Kill me, repudiate me! I can no
longer stay with you! Thunder and lightning
will strike you! I have dreamt it;
I will no longer be the wife of a murderer
and a thief!"
Wang, furious, struck her. But as she
continued, he took her in his arms and
threw her into the river.
On the second day the boat arrived at
The-Golden-tombs. Wang took Seaweed
to his family. When his old mother asked
what he had done with his first wife, he
replied:
"She fell in the river, and I will marry
this one."
They were soon settled in the house.
Wang wished to take liberties with Seaweed,
who gently drove him back.
"We must not neglect the rites. Do not
let us forget to empty first the marriage
cup."
[98]
Wang joyously accepted; and soon,
seated opposite each other, they began
exchanging cups of wine in the ritual
way.
Seaweed, however, pretended to drink,
and tried to make her lover tipsy; she
contrived this little by little.
Wang, rendered sleepy by the wine, undressed
himself, got on the bed, and ordered
the young woman to put out the lamps and
come to him.
She carefully blew the lamps and said:
"I will come in a minute!"
Then she quickly went to her luggage,
took out a sword she had hidden there, and
came back. Feeling with her hands in the
darkness, she found the throat of the man
and struck him as hard as she could: the
man screamed and tried to get up; she
struck again and again: there was a
moaning, a gurgle, and then silence.
However, Wang's mother, having heard
some noise, came with a lantern. Seaweed[99]
killed her before the old woman could
even say a word.
Then the young woman, having avenged
her family, tried to cut her own throat, in
order to join her husband. The sword was
blunt and she was only able to scratch
herself. She then remembered that, outside
the house, there was a fairly big
pond; she ran out and threw herself into the
water.
Some neighbours saw her and ran to her
help; other people came; lanterns were
brought forth; the poor girl at last was
taken out of the pond, and brought back
to her house. But, when the new-comers
entered the room, they saw the bodies and
the blood.
"Murder! Murder!" cried they.
And they immediately sent a boy to call
the police. The constables came and looked
all over the room; they soon found in Seaweed's
luggage a note prepared by the
unfortunate woman and stating the truth[100]
about her family's death. The assistants
were loud in their praise of her act:
"She avenged her husband; she has
been witty enough to beguile the murderer;
and now she has killed herself! Such an act
of courage and virtue has not been heard
of for centuries. We must ask the authorities
to build her a marble arch to
commemorate her history, and be an
example to future generations."
While all this was going on, they tried
to revive the woman; everything was done,
but in vain. A coffin was then brought in,
and the girl transferred to it, covered with
her best garments and jewels. The lid
was screwed on, and everybody left the
house.
We must now come back to the evening
when Wang pushed into the water Seaweed's
husband. Kiun was a strong man and a
very good swimmer; surprised by this
sudden attack, all he could do at first was
to keep his head out of the tumultuous[101]
water. He then thought to go back to the
boat, but, on the foaming expanse nothing
was to be seen; the rapid current had
driven him too far. At last the water
brought him to a curving beach, where he
was able to land.
Walking disconsolately on the sand, he
saw a human body rolled by the surge;
he approached, and recognised his father;
farther on he saw his mother; both he
dragged out of the water. Most uneasy
about his wife, he walked on the river's
edge, straining his eyes; the moon was
shining; he saw at last a human being
holding a big piece of wood. He swam to
her, pushed her to the beach, and took her
he thought was his wife to the dry sand.
He undid the upper garment in order to
rub her members; when he saw she was
not so cold, he wiped her hair out of her
face. His stupor was immense in recognising
Wang's wife.
The sun rose at last and warmed them.[102]
The young woman sighed, opened her eyes,
and, completely herself again, told Kiun
what she had seen:
"My husband is a murderer. In a
dream I saw the King-of-Shadows himself
sitting behind his tribunal and writing his
name on the death-list. Besides, he is
in love with your wife. If you wish it, we
will go together straight to The Golden-tombs
and do what we can to avenge
ourselves."
Kiun, seeing a man coming to work in a
field not far from there, went to him and
told him in a few words what had happened;
the man led them to his landlord, a rich
man, who gave them food and warm dresses,
sent men to bring the drowned bodies to a
side house and have them properly buried.
Then he advanced a certain sum of money
to Kiun, who agreed to send it back when he
should get to a place where he could find
a correspondent of his bankers.
Then Kiun and his companion engaged a[103]
small boat and went down the river. When
they got to The Golden-tombs, they questioned
the people in the street about Wang.
A month had elapsed since the events we
have told of; the first man they questioned
looked at them in wonder:
"How is it you don't know what
happened? Wang is dead; he has been
killed by a virtuous woman whose family
he had murdered and who killed herself
afterwards. You have only to go on; in
the first street to your right you will see a
new marble arch which has just been erected
to commemorate virtuous Seaweed's courageous
death."
Kiun thought his heart would burst; he
dragged his companion to the marble arch
and read the inscription. Then he bought
a bundle of those imitations of gold and
silver ingots made with paper which people
burn on the tombs in order to send some
money to the dead; he went to the tomb
in the place indicated by the inscription.
[104]
There he reverently knelt, and, after
having knocked the ground with his forehead,
he burnt the paper-ingots, rose, and
went away with Wang's wife.
When they were back in their boat, they
discussed their plans and resolved to go
down the river to Shanghai.
They were leaving the harbour, when a
small boat crossed their way; two women
sat on the bench. One of them reminded
Kiun strangely of his late wife. The woman
had looked up at him and seemed surprised.
The retired prefect, moved by a mysterious
strength, pronounced aloud a sentence which
used to make his wife laugh when they
were together happy in Hankow:
"I see wild geese flying high in the
sky."
Seaweed, when she was alive, used to
answer by a phrase which had nothing to do
with the first sentence, and had made them
laugh very often by its stupidity. The
woman in the boat said it too:
[105]
"The dog wants the cat's biscuit; you
quickly shut it in the house."
Kiun, wondering whether it was Seaweed's
ghost, asked the mariners to go
alongside the other boat; he jumped in it;
the woman threw her arms round his neck,
and they wept together.
"Are you alive? or is it only your ghost
I hold in my arms?" asked he.
"I am alive!"
Then she told him her adventures; when
she was put into the coffin, she had some
jewels on. One of the assistants resolved
to steal them; he waited till everybody
was gone and the house empty; then he
deliberately unscrewed the coffin's lid and
rifled what he could. He was trying to
take a ring off her hand, when the supposed
corpse rose and screamed.
The poor man thought his last hour had
come and did not move. Seaweed, seeing
her jewels in his hands, and seeing the coffin
she was in, grasped the situation at a glance.
[106]
"You want my jewels! Have them if
you like; you saved my life, and without
you I would have been stifled in this gruesome
box."
The man at first dared not accept; then
he said:
"In exchange for your kindness, I will
tell you something. In the third house in
the first street lives a rich widow; she is
alone and would like to adopt a girl; go
to her and tell her everything. She will be
happy to give you a home."
Then he helped her to get out of the coffin,
screwed the lid again, and disappeared.
Seaweed went straight to the house. The
widow received her with the greatest kindness,
and asked of her to let everybody
believe she was dead; if not, there would
have been a lawsuit.
Both women, now united by the closest
affection, had been out on the river for
pleasure's sake when they saw Kiun's
bark. The widow, when the explanations[107]
were finished, opened her arms to Kiun;
she called him her son-in-law. Seaweed
asked Wang's wife to be the second wife
of her husband. And they all lived long
and happy.
[108]
THE DUTIFUL SON
At the foot of the Oriental-Perfume-Mountain,
in one of the most beautiful
places of this celebrated district, the
passers-by could see a small lodge. Chou
The-favourable lived there with his mother.
He was still young, being only thirty years
old, and earned his living in the way so
highly praised by the ancient Classics; he
cultivated a small field by his house, and
every week went to the next market to
exchange what he had for what he wanted.
Both were very happy, when a calamity
befell them; the old mother one morning
felt a pain in her right leg. Two or three
days afterwards she had there an ulcer that
no remedies could cure; everything was
tried and everything failed. Day and[109]
night she was moaning, turning over in her
hard wooden bed.
The-favourable forgot to drink and eat,
in his anxiety to give his mother the
medicines the doctor advised.
Several months wore on; the ulcer did
not heal. The despair of the son was
greater every day; at last, overcome by
his fatigue, he fell asleep and dreamt that
he saw his father. The old man told
him:
"You have been a dutiful son. But I
must tell you that your mother will not
recover if you can't apply to her ulcer a
piece of man's fat."
Then everything was dissolved like a
smoke in the wind.
The-favourable awoke and, thinking over
his dream, he found it very strange.
"What can I do?" thought he. "Man's
fat is not easily found in the market. My
father would not have appeared to me if
this extraordinary medicine was not really[110]
the only thing that will cure my mother.
Well, I will take a piece of fat of my own
body; I have nothing else to do."
Then, rising from his bed, he took a
sharp knife, and, pulling the skin of his side,
he cut a large piece off. His pain was not
so great as he had expected it to be, and,
what seemed more extraordinary to him,
no blood flowed from the wound.
