The Feast of the Lanterns was celebrated by people with great coloured lanterns hung up outside their homes. Wang Chih was a poor but happy farmer and his children had also made lanterns. His wife asked him to fetch some firewood from the mountains.
Wang Chih took his axe and, after working in the fields, he went to get some wood. He found a tree outside a cave from where he heard voices. Looking in, he saw two very old men playing chess. They had some little brown sweets near them; they kept eating the sweets.
They gave Wang Chih also the sweets and he found that he felt no hungry or thirsty. He got so interested in the game that he kept watching. He saw that the beards of the old men kept growing till they reached outside the cave.
After a long time, Wang Chih went back. But the fields had vanished and in their place stood a large and busy town. He looked for his house and his wife and children, but they too had vanished.
He asked an old woman what became of his family.
“The genie of the mountain took away the father!” she said, “And the widow and the children used to carry a bowl and lanterns, to remind people of their tragedy!”
Wang Chih ran back to the old men in the cave to ask them what to do.
“If you want to go back to your wife and children, you must get water from the Sky-dragon’s mouth and mix it with the Elixir of Life from the White Hare in the Moon,” said the old men.
“I need to fly to the Sky-dragon; please give me a jar for water!” said Wang Chih. So, the old men called a big white crane to fly him and gave him a jar.
Wang Chih lit a fire outside the Sky-dragon’s cave and he came out breathing fire. When he came out and saw the flames, he poured water out of his nostrils. Wang Chih collected some water and flew away quickly.
He found the White Hare busy making the Elixir of Life. When Wang Chih told him about his wife and children, the Hare opened a window and showed him his family. He drank the Elixir of Life mixed with the water from the Sky-dragon and flew right out of the window to his beloved family. And they all celebrated the Feast of the Lanterns.
