#104 Due Praise

During the Song Dynasty, there lived a man named Wang Po. He was confused because his melons did not sell.

“These melons are from Western Xia. The people here are ignorant and do not want them. What shall I do?”

Hence, with his glib tongue, Wang Po praised his melons to passers-by.

“Come look at my melons! My melons are fragrant and sweet, guaranteed to make you come back for more! Free tasting!”

After tasting Wang Po’s melons, everyone loved them and word soon spread. The emperor Shen Zong was out on his inspection one day and tasted Wang Po’s melons.

“Mmm. This melon is really good!” said Shen Zong with his thumb up.

“The melons are good! Why do you still need to promote them? Are you afraid that they won’t sell?” asked Shen Zong.

“This melon is a variety from Western Xia. The people here do not know about it. I only managed to sell after praising them myself,” replied Wang Po.

“Sellers should be like Wang Po, who gives due praise to his products,” said Shen Zong to everyone.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Asiapac Books

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#093 All Trades Have Their Experts

During the Song Dynasty, a man named Ye Yuan Qing became the top scholar. Then he walked pass a crowd and heard a woodman talking.

“What’s so great about that? If my family had been rich, I could be top scholar too!”

“Hmph! You want to be top scholar? Don’t overrate yourself. You should just keep chopping firewood for living!”

“There are many things to be learnt in life. I can chop firewood in any way I want. Can you do that?” boasted the woodman.

“Watch me!” said the woodman as he cut the wood in the way he wanted.

“That’s amazing!” said Ye Yuan Qing.

“What’s so great about that?” said an old man who happened to be there.

“Look he can pour oil into the bottle through the hole of a copper coin from such height! Brilliant!” said the woodman.

 

 “I have nothing to be proud of. Each trade has its own top scholar!” said Ye Yuan Qing.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Asiapac Books

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#062 Poor Wise Farmer

Once upon a time there was a poor farm worker in China. One day he had no rice to eat, and decided to ask his landlord for some. Therefore, he killed one of his ducks and took it to the landlord as a present.

The landlord received the present and thanked the farmer.

“How can I divide this duck fairly? I have a wife, two sons and two daughters,” asked the landlord to test the farmer.

The farmer took his knife and cut off the head of the duck. “This is for you,” he said, “Because you’re the head of the family.”

Then he cut off the two legs and gave one to each of the sons. “These are for you,” he said, “Because you will follow in your father’s footsteps.”

Next he cut off the two wings and gave one to each of the daughters. “These are for you,” he said, “Because you will fly away and marry someone.”

Finally, he took the rest for the landlord’s wife as his wife was the one who ran the kitchen. The landlord was very happy and gave the farmer some rice and money as well.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

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#052 The Magic Stick

There was a very clear lake in Yunnan and some farmers living nearby, who kept cows. Every morning, they brought ninety-nine cows to the lake to drink. But, in some strange way, by midday there would be one hundred. A beautiful girl always appeared at the same time. Nobody knew where she came from. The farmers liked her very much. She knew many things and could tell them wonderful stories.

 “There is a magic cow among your cattle,” she told them. “Water will part and make a road when it walks towards it. It can also walk on top of water. A single hair from its body can carry a very heavy weight.”

The farmers asked her which one has the magic cow. She refused to tell them.

“Anyway,” she added, “only an honest man can find out.”

One day, the cows were looking for some corn to eat. The old man looking after them chased them away with a stick. The stick was old and cracked as he had been using it for many years. He did not notice that some cow’s hair had become caught in the cracks.

At the end of the day, when he got ready to return home, he hung two baskets of fire wood on the stick. He was surprised to find it was so light to lift.

“Eh!” he cried. “What has happened?”

He added another basket at each end. It was just as light. He added more and more baskets. Still it was not difficult to lift. He ran all the way home.

From then on, the old man cut woods and took them to the city to sell every day. He got more money than he needed for the first time in his life.

One morning, when he was going to the city to sell his wood, he met a rich man. The rich man was surprised to see him carrying such a heavy load.

“How can you carry such a heavy weight?” he asked.

“This is a magic stick.”

The rich man did not believe him. He asked the old man to let him try. It was true! It was very light.

“I’ll give you five hundred pieces of gold for the stick,” he said.

The old man took the money. It was enough for him for the rest of his life. He gave the rich man the magic stick. The rich man was very happy. He noticed that the stick was cracked. He took it to a carpenter and asked him to repair it. The carpenter used an axe to cut off the part which was cracked. He cut again away the magic cow hairs at the same time.

The rich man told his wife that evening about the magic stick. He asked her to try it. He put a weight at each end of the stick. His wife tried to lift it but she could not.

“What kind of magic stick is this?” she cried. “You’re dreaming. It’s just like any other stick.”

“Women! You know nothing,” said the rich man.

He tried to lift it but he was unable to do so. The magic had left the stick forever.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

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