NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



229 



When the student returned home he was 

 sad and would not eat. One night the centi- 

 pede again spoke to him in a dream. He said, 

 "Are you thinking of me? Tomorrow you 

 may walk one hundred and twenty steps in 

 front of your door, and you will see me. But 

 you must still go forward, and will see a 

 group of ants. You take me and move me 

 over the ants. Then you vidll see a man." 



On the next day he did as he was told, and 

 of course he saw a man. He took the man 

 and put him in his pocket. He then went 

 forward to the edge of a mountain and saw 

 on the ground helow a great many dragonflies 

 lying dead. He took out the centipede and 

 moved him over them, and the insects all 

 flew away. 



Again he went forward and saw a man 

 lying dead in a cave on a cliff. He again took 

 the centipede and moved it over him, and 

 the person became alive and was determined 

 to help him carry the load. He was helpless 

 and so gave the man some silver (so he would 

 not carry the load) . The he came back home. 



Another time he again went out, and the 

 demon he had killed went along with him. 

 That day was a hot sunny day, and he wanted 

 to drink water. 



In that place there was a Vv'ell. The demon 

 said to him, "You m.ust not drink this water. 

 Over there is a well where you can drink." 

 The water he spoke about was in a big cave. 

 When he arrived at the cave he told the de- 

 mon to go and drink, and the demon stepped 

 on him with his foot and he fell down into 

 the cave. Then the demon took his things 

 and carried them away. 



Then the centipede carried him out of the 

 cave, and he pursued the demon. They pur- 

 sued him as far as a village. Then he spoke 

 to the demon, but he could not equal the 

 demon in the discussion. Then he seized the 

 dem.on and led him to the magistrate. 



He told the magistrate what had previously 

 happened, and the magistrate beat the demon 

 and shut him up in prison. Then the student 

 stayed in the village for the night. 



The official then wrote a decree and had it 

 pasted up on a wall, saying that he wanted to 

 select a son-in-law to marry his daughter. 

 Then the student went and tore up the paper 

 on which the decree was written. 



The runners of the magistrate saw him. 

 They then seized him and took him to the 

 magistrate. The magistrate said, "If you were 

 my son-in-law you would be able to go 

 through the wall and talk with my daughter, 

 then would be reckoned as my son-in-law." 



Then the centipede spoke to him in a dream 



saying, "Do not fear. Take me and move me 

 about (near the wall) and there will be a big 

 path by which you can walk into the room of 

 the daughter." 



He actually took the centipede and moved 

 it about near the wall, and there was a path 

 into the woman's room. Then he went in and 

 spoke to the daughter. The runners then re- 

 ported it to the magistrate saying, "This is 

 truly your son-in-law. Although the wall is 

 so tall, yet he can get into the room." 



The magistrate did not believe it, but went 

 to listen. This thing was actually true. 



Then the magistrate said, "I have a city in 

 which many robbers have come. You take 

 one hundred soldiers and go and conquer 

 them, and I will acknowledge diat you are 

 my son-in-law." 



That day he took his centipede and went. 

 The centipede bit the brigands to death. 

 When he came back the magistrate said, "Al- 

 though the brigands are all dead, tomorrow 

 I will carry out thirty sedan chairs. If you are 

 able to seize the one that contains my daugh- 

 ter, she will then be your wife. If you cannot 

 seize her, then I will execute you." 



Next day thirty sedan chairs came out. He 

 then took the centipede and moved it about, 

 and a swarm of dragonflies came out. Then 

 he v/cnt and seized the sedan chair, and the 

 sedan chair actually contained the daughter 

 of the magistrate. 



The magistrate said, 'Tou can do everj'- 

 thing. I will give my daughter and my office 

 to you." In this way he became a magistrate. 



The Doings of Nie Ta/ or The Magic Fan 

 (504) 



In ancient times there was a son in a cer- 

 tain family who was lazy and would not do 

 anything. His father thought of a plan to 

 kill him. 



One day his fadier told him to go and cut 

 down some wood. His father told him to 

 climb up on the top of the tree. When the 

 tree was cut down, the father ran back home 

 believing that the son was dead. The son 

 did not die, but carried the tree back home. 

 When he arrived at the door the oldest 

 daughter came out and saw him and re- 

 turned and said to the father, "Your son has 

 come back carrying that big tree." Then the 

 father went out and saw that he had actually 

 come home. Then the father said, "Why did 

 you not die.?" 



Later, after three years, the son said to the 

 father, 'Tou prepare for me a piece of iron 



^ Nie means grasp, ta means divide. 



