Page:Leaves from my Chinese Scrapbook - Balfour, 1887.djvu/226

 to touch the flowers, or trespass in the domain on any pretext whatever. So Tsiu and his friends went in a triumphal procession back to the garden, where they found the moutan-flowers blooming more splendidly than ever; and all the neighbours gave the old gentleman a banquet of wine, to cheer him after his sufferings; after which he invited them in his turn, and the feasting was kept up for several days on end.

From this time forward Tsiu began to follow the directions of the flower-fairy. He lived entirely on flowers, and abjured the use of cooked food altogether. Soon his hair, which had been white with age, turned black again; the wrinkles in his face disappeared; his complexion became as fair and fresh as that of a beautiful boy. At last, as he was sitting one radiant summer's day among his flowers, a warm, sweet wind began to blow; the air filled with clouds, bright with all the colours of the rainbow; white storks, the emblems of longevity, disported themselves in the sky; lovely melodies came floating on the breeze; and a faint, rich perfume was wafted into his nostrils. Raising his eyes in wonder, he saw, approaching from above, a bevy of fairy maidens carrying waving flags, in the midst of whom was the Flower Goddess. "Come," she said," your period of probation is finished. I have reported your good deeds to God, and He ordains that you shall be raised to the ranks of the genii as Guardian of the Flowers, with power to bless all who love them, and punish all who violate their purity." Then the whole lovely vision rose solemnly into the air, and Tsiu, gazing after it, rose too; and all the flowers in his garden, seemingly endowed with life, accompanied their beloved master; who,