NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



231 



asked him. His wife said, "Do not be afraid. 

 Tomorrow you can take a good sleep. If he 

 comes, I can answer him." 



Next morning tlie cousin came and called 

 him. His wife answered saying, "He isn't 

 at home now because a few nights ago a thief 

 came and stole a bamboo tree belonging to a 

 Chinese. This bamboo tree, after it was cut, 

 was carried three days into the forest and its 

 top had not yet been carried out of the 

 bamboo grove. Therefore he went with them 

 to chase the thief." The cousin said, "Where 

 is there such a long bamboo tree? The wo- 

 man said, "If there is not such a long bamboo, 

 that big dyer's jar in which six ducks, after 

 seven days and seven nights of traveling, still 

 could not reach the border, how could there 

 be such a jar?" The cousin then did not dare 

 to ask further. 



Later the husband and the cousin met 

 again. The cousin again said, "Now I still 

 want you to guess. If you can, all right. If 

 not you must give me your wife." He then 

 asked his cousin to tell what it was. The 

 cousin said, "I have a drum. When I strike 

 it with a club, it resounds from the first to 

 the fifteenth of the month. What do you 

 think it is.'*" He was unable to answer. 



As he had done previously, he went to talk 

 it over with his wife. Next morning the wise 

 cousin came and called him. The woman ran 

 out and replied, "Yesterday afternoon a Chi- 

 nese cow, with a very long neck, from the 

 other side of the river stretched its neck over 

 and ate our younger sister, and he went to 

 chase the cow." The wise cousin said, "How 

 can there be such a long-necked cow?" The 

 woman then said, "If this cow does not exist, 

 how can there be a drum which if beaten 

 one stroke on the first of the month will re- 

 sound until the fifteenth?" Then the wise 

 cousin said, "Again I do not dare to expect 

 to get you." 



Later the husband and the cousin met again. 

 The wise cousin said, "I have another queer 

 thing. Please quickly prepare to manage it 

 for me. Tomorrow I must give it to the aged 

 emperor. In all I want fifty-eight demon 

 skins. Please prepare twenty-four of them. 

 If you can, you can go and fulfill the em- 

 peror's orders. If not you can quickly give 

 me your wife and I will prepare them for 

 you." 



When he heard this, he was very sad. Then 

 he went home to talk it over with his wife. 

 His wife said, "Tomorrow I will cover you 

 upstairs in a big basket, and I will be able to 

 catch a demon and skin it." Next morning 

 his wife covered him up in a big basket up- 



stairs. He sat there stooped over In a basket. 

 His cousin soon came and called him. He 

 asked the woman, "Where has he gone?" 

 The wife said, "He has gone outside to catch 

 demons and skin them." The cousin said, 

 "I do not believe it. Where can he catch a 

 demon?" The woman then said, "Don't talk 

 much or a demon may come and hear and 

 harm you." This time the husband was very 

 much afraid lest his cousin come and turn 

 him over, so diat he shivered with fear. Then 

 the cousin said, "Let me go and turn over 

 things and look for him. If he has no demon 

 skins, you will have to go along with me." 

 Then the woman said, "You can go yourself 

 and search." 



The wise cousin searched to the east and 

 to the west, turning the things over. Then he 

 went straight up and turned over the basket. 

 Then the cousin in the basket leaped up, 

 trembling all over. His whole body was 

 covered with coal dust like a black demon. 

 When he leaped up the wise cousin cried, 

 "Aiyah, I fear demons." Then he hurried 

 downstairs and ran outdoors. Then the wo- 

 man hit him a blow with her fist. He said, 

 "Thank you, for if you had not struck me 

 that black demon might have carried you 

 away. Now I do not want you." 



After this he did not dare to think of 

 getting her, and he swore an oath thus, "If 

 I again deceive anybody, I am willing for a 

 demon to catch me and skin me." 



Stupid Sons and a Clever Wife. A Bad Offi- 

 cial Was Killed. An Obstacle Story (112) 



There was a family that had four sons, all 

 of whom were stupid. They could not even 

 count four copper coins correctly. The father 

 had already secured three wives for his older 

 sons. These three daughters-in-law were all 

 stupid. There was only the younger son who 

 had not married a wife. 



The father thought that he ought to get a 

 good wife for his younger son, and that after- 

 ward it would be well. If he did not get a 

 good wife, then the Chinese and the Lolos 

 would constantly cheat the whole family. 

 Later, when they had finished their work in 

 the sixth moon, the three daughters-in-law 

 wanted to return to their mothers' homes to 

 rest. But their father-in-law said, "The wife 

 of my oldest son can have a vacation of half 

 a month. The second oldest son's wife can 

 have a vacation of fifteen days. The wife of 

 the third son can have a vacation of seven and 

 eight days. But you must all go together and 

 come back together. Nobody can stay a day 

 longer than the rest." 



