Page:Chinese Fables and Folk Stories.djvu/199

Rh their names as Beauty, and seventeen as Moon, while all the others wanted to be called Lily. They expected the teacher would allow them to have those as their school names.

In the summer time the scholars had a vacation and the teacher went away for a time.

One day they were all on the playground playing "Theater." They took nine of the prettiest boys and put red and white on their faces and dressed them like ladies and bound their feet to make them small. Six boys put on false beards. Then they piled up chairs and tables high to make a mountain, and the boys with bound feet were to cross over to the other side. The boys who had to climb over the mountain from the opposite side were careless, and when all met at the top, they tumbled and fell down in a heap. One boy broke his arm, one broke his finger, and one hurt his eye. The other boys did not stay to help or see what they could do for those who were hurt. All but the three girls, who were dressed like boys, ran away in fear, and left the wounded children lying on the ground.

One girl ran for the doctor. The other two stayed and gave the hurt ones water to drink, fanned their faces, kept the flies away, and cared for them like little mothers.