Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/355

Rh care that his pigtail should be plaited with the brightest of red silk.

Also she was particular in having his head shaved in just the right way, with a tuft sticking straight up in the luckiest place.

And so Pei-Hang got safely over the troubles of his babyhood, and grew from a baby into a big boy, and then to a tall, handsome youth. Then he left off wearing his fish-net shirt, but still wore the silver chain round his neck and had red silk in his pigtail.

"It is time that Pei-Hang saw a little more of the world," said his father. "He must go to Chang-ngan and study under the wise men there."

Chang-ngan was the ancient capital of China, a very large city indeed, and Pin-Too, the teacher to whom Pei-Hang was sent, was the wisest man there.

Pei-Hang soon learned what the world was thinking about, and many other things also. As soon as he was eighteen he took the red silk out of his pigtail and the silver chain from his neck, because grown-up people were supposed to be able to protect them-