Page:Chinese Merry Tales (1909).djvu/66

Chinese Merry Tales Chapter XCI— The Brother Liars. (兄弟兩謊. Xiōngdì liǎng huǎng)

HERE were two brothers by adoption; both were fond of lying. One day the elder brother said to the younger one: "Yesterday I ate a very large cake (煮餑餑 Zhǔ bō bo); there is no other larger. It contained 100 catties of flour, 80 catties of meat, and 20 catties of vegetables; all these were made into a cake. After it was cooked, it took eight square tables to hold it. It required more than 20 people going around continuously to eat it. After eating at it a whole day and night, it was not half eaten. When the feast was at its height, we lost two persons. We looked for them everywhere and could not find a trace of them. Suddenly we heard some one talking under the crust of the cake. We lifted the crust and saw the two men standing inside, eating away at the meat part of it. Do you not consider that cake large?" The younger one said: "Yesterday I also ate a very large meat dumpling (肉包子 ròu bāozi) (a steamed bread stuffed with meat) that you may say is a large one. Several tens of people ate of it for three days and three nights; even then they could not see the meat stuffing. They ate very heartily toward the centre, then a piece of stone was met, on which was written: 'The meat is still 30 li away.' Do you not consider this dumpling large?" The elder brother asked him: "What kind of a pot was used to steam your dumpling?" "The same as the one used for cooking your cake," said the younger one.

Chapter XCIL— Talking of The Sky. (譚天 Tán tiān)

HERE was a gathering of people to talk about the sky, that is, to debate about the degree of inclination of the sky and its distance, Each one had his own idea. Their