Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/371

Rh spread a report that he was dead, and had invited all her friends to attend a wedding feast in honor of her daughter's marriage with the yellow-faced old mandarin.

The wedding had not taken place when Pei-Hang arrived, but Yun-Ying was already arrayed in her wedding dress, and was standing beneath a peach tree which stood in front of the house. As soon as she saw him she threw herself into his arms, and shed tears of joy at his safe return.

He put down the pestle and mortar and kissed Yun-Ying's tears away. Then her mother came, and said:

"You are too late to marry my daughter, but I'll buy the pestle and mortar from you with some of the money the mandarin gave me."

"Oh, no, you will not," replied Pei-Hang. He then dropped one of his white seeds into the mortar, and it at once became so large that it covered the whole grass plot under the peach tree, and it was filled to the brim with glittering precious stones. He then climbed into a branch overhanging it, and from there he threw down to the wedding guests handfuls of jewels, and the yellow-faced man-