Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/446

 434 CHINESE LITERATURE

corner of the room ; but when her husband came in he caught sight of it, and asked in a stern voice, " What have you got in that sack ? " His wife was too terrified to answer ; and after an awkward pause a voice from the sack was heard to say, " Only rice."

A scoundrel who had a deep grudge against a wealthy man, sought out a famous magician and asked for his help. " I can send demon soldiers and secretly cut him off," said the magician. "Yes, but his sons and grandsons would inherit," replied the other ; " that won't do." " I can draw down fire from heaven," said the magician, "and burn his house and valuables." " Even then," answered the man, " his landed property would remain ; so that won't do." " Oh," cried the magician, "if your hate is so deep as all that, I have something precious here which, if you can persuade him to avail himself of it, will bring him and his to utter smash." He thereupon gave to his delighted client a tightly closed package, which, on being opened, was seen to contain a pen. " What spiritual power is there in this ? " asked the man. " Ah ! " sighed the magician, " you evidently do not know how many have been brought to ruin by the use of this little thing."

A doctor who had mismanaged a case was seized by the family and tied up. In the night he managed to free himself, and escaped by swimming across a river. W T hen he got home, he found his son, who had just begun to study medicine, and said to him, " Don't be in a hurry with your books ; the first and most im- portant thing is to learn to swim."

The King of Purgatory sent his lictors to earth to bring back some skilful physician. "You must look

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