Reading Notes: Chinese Fairy Tales Part A

There was a daughter of a prince who had the worst luck. It came time for her to marry, and she chose to marry a beggar because she saw that he was a man of good luck. This angered her father so she was kicked out of the castle and sent to live with her husband. After many years of little food, the beggar set off on a quest to find his fortune. The princess waited for 18 years as a beggar. When the beggar finally returned he was an emperor. He asked his wife if she wished to marry another since her husband was gone for so long, and she said no. Then the emperor revealed himself to be her husband, and the two left to be very happy. The princess was still a woman of poor luck so after 18 days, she died.

A father found seven wild duck eggs in the forest. He brought them home and planned to eat them himself. His wife, however, secretly gave an egg to each of their seven daughters. This angered the father, so he took two of them to the mountains and left them there to die. Instead the daughters found a cave with many jewels. They killed the owners of the jewels, a wolf and a fox, during the night. The father returned for the daughters and they lived happily as a rich family.

A panther killed a mother and her son on a road. He then dressed as the mother and went to the mother’s home. He planned to eat her daughters next. The daughters realized it was not their mother so they scared off the panther; however, they knew he would return. They cried on the road as different vendors came by and asked what was wrong. They explained and each vendor gave them an item to put in the house. This created a “Home Alone” sort of trap. The panther fell for each trap and ran off into the jungle.

Black Panther

Photo By: Rute Martins of Leoa's Photography. Wiki

Bibliography:

The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Link