Page:Chinese Merry Tales (1909).djvu/58

Chinese Merry Tales liver will be torn to pieces and will cause immediate death. He repeated this thrice, then he went out. After the teacher had gone, the servant killed the chicken and boiled the ham. He drank the wines in their order. Suddenly he became drunk and laid on the ground. When the teacher returned and opened the door, he saw the servant lying on the ground and the chicken and ham both gone. He could not suppress his anger. He kicked him to conscienceness and questioned him minutely. The servant sobbing said: "After master left, your servant (addressing himself in the third person, which according to Chinese etiquette is the polite way of servants when speaking to their master) attentively kept watch. Unthought of, a cat came in and took the ham away. Suddenly a dog also walked in and chased the chicken until there was no trace of it. Your servant is really very sorry about it, and does not wish to live. I then thought of the words when you left, saying the red and the white arsenic, if drunk, would cause sudden death. Your servant first drank all the red arsenic and did not feel any effects. Afterwards I drank the whole bottle of white arsentic; even then I did not die. Now my head is in a swoon and brains are aching. I feel half dead. I lie here struggling between life and death."

HERE was a man with one thousand taels in his possession. One day he met a poor man, to whom he boasted of his wealth. He braggingly said: "My wealth is worth a thousand taels; why do you not respect me?" The poor man replied: "If you possess a thousand taels, it is yours; what matter to me. Why should I pay respects to you?" The wealthy man said: "I will divide one half with you, then you should respect me." The poor man answered in a more expressive manner: "Since you have got a thousand taels, if you keep