NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



261 



my old mother-in-law." The mother-in-law 

 again exhorted her thus, "Young people must 

 not be deceived in this way. Won't it be all 

 right to marry another?" The daughter-in- 

 law said, "I cannot marry anyone like that." 



Later the mother-in-law again said, "Be- 

 cause you will not marry away, I can get 

 another to be my son (and your husband). 

 Will that be all right?" The daughter-in-law 

 said, "If you, mother, tell me to do this, I 

 will not dare to disobey." The daughter-in- 

 law also said, "According to this, I request 

 mother to be very careful." When the mother- 

 in-law heard these words, she could hardly 

 think out a plan. So when on that day she 

 saw a beggar standing in a cave, she returned 

 home and told her daughter-in-law. The 

 daughter-in-law said, "That is good." The 

 mother-in-law asked, "Why is a beggar 

 good?" She replied, "Because he is a poor 

 man, on the one hand I can live with my 

 mother (in-law) and on the other hand I 

 can assist a poor person without relatives. 

 This is my mind." Her mother-in-law said, 

 "Tomorrow I will bring him here." 



The next day the mother-in-law brought 

 the beggar to be her son and the husband of 

 her daughter-in-law. On the tliird day the 

 old m.other-in-law gave him a tael of silver 

 to buy rice for breakfast with. When he saw 

 the silver he asked the mother, "Is this silver?" 

 The mother said, "Yes." He said, "If that 

 is so, every day in the cave I saw a lot of 

 white silver. I don't know how much rice it 

 would buy." He led her to the cave, and she 

 saw the cave filled full of white silver. The 

 wife and the husband then carried it away 

 during the whole night. The next morning 

 the old mother got up and saw it, and was 

 truly very happy. From this time the hus- 

 band and the wife and the old mother were 

 very rich people. 



Kindness to an Old Woman Was Requited 

 (20) 



There were two small boys. While their 

 parents were still living they secured wives 

 for them. Not long afterward their parents 

 died so that both were orphans with nobody 

 to depend upon.^* They thought about the 

 fact that all had parents, but they two had no 

 mother or father. 



One day there was an old woman who 

 came to their house begging. She was truly 

 very old. When she came to the home of 

 the two boys she said, "If any people ask me, 

 I am willing to work for them." The two 

 were already married. Their wives very har- 

 moniously said, "Since we have no parents, 



^* They were married while quite young. 



are you, old lady, willing to come and be 

 our mama?" The old woman did not refuse, 

 and lived in their home. The old woman 

 said, "Although I am acting as your mother, 

 my eyes are very painful. I request my 

 daughters-in-law to touch my eyes with their 

 tongues. How will that be?" The two daugh- 

 ters disregarded the uncleanliness and with 

 their tongues licked the old woman's eyes. 

 The old woman's eyes then opened wide and 

 she saw clearly.^ ^ 



That year the old woman said, "This year 

 you must plant the six grains, planting small 

 rice, and when you get the six grains you 

 can make biscuits of them and plaster them 

 on the wall until they have dried, and keep 

 them for next year. During the famine you 

 can use them to satisfy your hunger." The 

 sons did according to the words of the old 

 woman. 



When the next year had come there was 

 a great famine. Other people ate up every- 

 thing before the year of famine had passed 

 so that many died of hunger, and it was truly 

 hard. Only this family, which used the bis- 

 cuits to satisfy their hunger, was not harmed. 



The next year the old woman again said, 

 "This year, in the fourth lunar month, you 

 must plow the fields and plant them. In the 

 eleventh and twelfth moons you must weed 

 the rice plants. Then in the second and third 

 moons you will certainly reap a rice crop. 

 But when you are reaping the rice you must 

 cut down all the rice stalks and with a knife 

 cut them up fine and keep them, and put 

 them in a bin. We will have a use for it." 

 The sons did not dare to oppose her, and 

 prepared to do according to her words. 



When the next year had arrived, suddenly 

 in Hsiao Ts'ao a pestilence broke out which 

 no medicine could cure. Then the Immortal 

 Kuan looked out and said that if only people 

 could find green rice straw and eat it they 

 would get well. If not, then all the people 

 would die off. Kuan the Immortal looked 

 at the stars of heaven. Since the straw was 

 to be had, he told the people of Hsiao Ts'ao 

 to buy it so they might be healed. Then 

 Kuan the Immortal reported this to the offi- 

 cials, and the officials sent men to search and 

 buy it in all directions. They reached this 

 home before they found that kind of straw. 

 They took it away and then healed the people 

 of Hsiao Ts'ao. But the price of the straw 

 was a tael of silver an ounce. In less than half 

 a month all the rice straw in this home was 

 sold and the illness of the people in Hsiao 



35 It is considered a very filial act to lick the 

 sore eyes of an aged parent, and it is supposed to 

 heal the sore eyes. 



