Page:Chinese Merry Tales (1909).djvu/47

33] CAT was sitting at a place with eyes shut and purring. Two rats saw the cat, at a long distance, and said in a low voice: "Mr. Cat, you have to-day changed your character from fierceness to kind-heartedness. He is saying his prayers there. We may go out to play." As soon as they got out of the hole, the cat ran up and caught one of them. He ate the whole rat, even the bones. The other rat hastily ran back into the hole and told all the other rats: "I thought Mr. Cat with eyes shut, was saying prayer. He must have become benevolent. Who would suppose that what he did was most disgusting? He is really like the old saying: 'One who eats a man without throwing up the bones.'"

HERE was a scholar conceited beyond measure. One day he said to the others: "A sage born to the world is a very rare occurrence. In the beginning 'Pan Ku' made heaven and earth, men and all animals. Who could be compared with him?" He bent one of his fingers and said: "I must place him first in the list. Afterwards came Confucius, who wrote the books of poetry and arranged the book of rites and music. He is most prominent among men. For generations he has been worshipped as a saint. Who does not respect him?" Then he bent his second finger and said: "Besides these two men, there is no one else that I could bend my fingers to count." After having said this, he thought for a while, nodded his head, and said: "Just so; do you not think it is difficult to be a saint?" He bent his third finger and said: "Counting myself there are only three."