Page:Chinese Fables and Folk Stories.djvu/137

Rh "A young man was about to be married. He could find no flowers. So he took some of my leaves and branches to put in his house. The birds come to me for shelter from the cold wind and snow. They say the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing is a good home for them.

"The winter is cold, cold every day, but I grow greener and greener. The woodcutter comes and stands by my side and says that I keep the cold wind away from him. I know the Creator made me for good."

Then Confucius awoke. He looked up, and he looked down, and he looked all about him. There was no living thing near except the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing and the Mön-Tien-Sing, and he said:

"It was a dream, but surely I heard the Mön-Tien-Sing trying to quarrel with the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing. I know that the things of the world have deep meaning, and this is my lesson: I would not be as the Mön-Tien-Sing, but I wish to be like the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing."

He arose and laid his hand gently on the Fa-Nien-Ts'ing and said, "The time is long that you stand here, patient one. The cold heart of winter does not change your nature more than it does that of birds, beasts, men, or even your enemy, the Mön-Tien-Sing.

"The cold weather makes you better, for you grow