Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/207

 snake-bites, declared that after all he was better off than his neighbours, who were ground down and beggared by the iniquities of the tax-gatherer. " Harsh tyrants," he explained, " sweep down upon us, and throw everybody and everything, even to the brute beasts, into paroxysms of terror and disorder. But I, I get up in the morn- ing and look into the jar where my snakes are kept ; and if they are still there, I lie down at night in peace. At the appointed time, I take care that they are fit to be handed in ; and when that is done, I retire to enjoy the produce of my farm and complete the allotted span of my existence. Only twice a year have I to risk my life : the rest is peaceful enough and not to be compared with the daily round of annoyance which falls to the share of my fellow-villagers."

A similar satire on over-government introduces a deformed gardener called Camel-back. This man was extraordinarily successful as a nurseryman :

" One day a customer asked him how this was so ; to which he replied, ' Old Camel-back cannot make trees live or thrive. He can only let them follow their natural tendencies. Now in planting trees, be careful to set the root straight, to smooth the earth around them, to use good mould, and to ram it down well. Then, don't touch them ; don't think about them ; don't go and look at them ; but leave them alone to take care of themselves, and nature will do the rest. I only avoid trying to make my trees grow. I have no special method of cultivation, no special means for securing luxuriance of growth. I only don't spoil the fruit. I have no way of getting it either early or in abundance. Other gardeners set with bent root and neglect the mould. They heap up either too much earth or too

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