Once, a man was selling spears and shields. He highly boasted of his shields and said, “Look at the best shields! See the design and the quality! And look at the shape! No spear on the earth can pierce them! It is the surest protection for your body! Buy it to be a respected warrior!” […]
Ki-wu said to the stranger, “We thought we were doing you a favour. If you are blind and could not see the treasure, there’s no one but yourself to blame. Come, Pao-shu; let us go back and have a look at the snake that is supposedly hiding in a chunk of gold.” Laughing and having
“See!” they both said together and pointed towards the treasure. Ki-wu bent down and picked up the nugget. It was as large as a lemon, and was a little heavy. “It is yours, my dear friend,” said Ki-wu, as he handed over the nugget to Pao-shu; “yours because you saw it first.” “No, no,” answered
The people took the bundle out of the river, and rescued the trader who was still alive. Now, the trader wanted to go back to Wuhu but the dog was missing. The trader was very unhappy. He searched for the dog but could not find him. After a few days, when he was on the
Zhang San had saved three hundred ounces of silver. It gave him happiness as well as anxiety. He racked his brains, to find a safe place in order to hide his silver. He looked around, but no place looked safe. After a few days, an idea struck his mind. At night, he dug a hole
One day, Djang Liang, a student, saw an old man sitting on the bridge with one of his shoes on the ground. Politely, he put the shoe on the foot of the old man. Pleased with the boy’s gesture, the old man asked him to come to the bridge very early next morning, “I will
After a few months Yuma was back outside the celestial city. Yuma had earned enough to rent a tiny room outside the celestial city. He had been carrying the grain that his mother gave him. One day, he put the grain in a vat and added water. Then, he covered it and forgot about it.
The collapse and the thunderous noise of the Great Wall disturbed Qing-shi-huang, the Emperor. The Emperor came and saw Meng Jiang. At first, he was furious but he was fascinated by her beauty. So, instead of punishing her, he took her to be his mistress. Meng Jiang agreed to marry the Emperor on three conditions.
Meng Jiang decided to go and meet her husband taking a new coat she had made for him. For months, she travelled on the rocky paths and over the mountains and reached the Great Wall; there, she began to look for her husband. As she walked along the Wall, Meng Jiang asked everyone about her
A poor old woman was washing clothes at a pool when a wounded bird fell before her. She took care for it till it got well. The bird put an oval seed before her, and went away. The woman planted the seed and a melon plant grew out of it. When the melon became ripe,
Ming was thrown into the dungeon. A guard was carrying Ming’s sack out. He found the sack heavy and left it near the kitchen. After a few days, while the cook was carrying dumplings to the King, he fell over the sack. A little sand fell onto the dumplings. Since he was in a hurry,
Once, a man lost his axe. He searched for it all over but could not find it. He suspected that it had been stolen by his neighbour’s son. He began observing the child’s expressions, words and actions and thought the child was a thief. Thus, he concluded that the neighbour’s son stole it. He said,
Mulan looked like a young soldier going to war. The warriors accepted him, for this was her plan to pretend to be a boy and take her father’s place in the army. When Mulan’s parents discovered what she had done, they were shocked. Masquerading as a soldier was a crime, and if Mulan were caught,
Long ago, in China, lived a girl named Mulan. Her father was a retired general and had come home sick. One day, the Emperor sent his officials to announce that the war was immigent, “By order of the Emperor, one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army!” Mulan knew that her father
The next day at dawn, the Princess looked into the mirror. She could not find Xiawudong. Then, she ordered the mirror to look into the lakes and oceans. “I see him! There he is, in the belly of a big fish; have him arrested and brought to the palace!” said the Princess. Though Xiawudong’s attempt