THE WEAVER"S WIFE.

The cranes carving,used as a coffee table.


THE WEAVER’S WIFE
copyright(c)byMayFam.2005

Along the shores of Shanghai, there once lived a weaver. He weaved brocade of silk tapestry for the rich and sewed brocade gowns for the ladies. He lived alone on a hill top.

When ever there was a big storm or strong wind all the sea birds came to find refuge in his garden. He grew a lot of big trees and had huge caves at the back of his house. The cranes usually came to seek shelter in the caves.

The Chinese believe that cranes bring you luck and if you feed them and care for them you’ll have a long and happy life. Brother Wong always like to watch the cranes doing their elaborate and spectacular courtship dance. He noticed a group of eight cranes; they were always together and seldom mixed with the other cranes.

One night after a big storm, he saw a lot of the cranes were very wet and could not fly. He put fresh straw and grains out for them. As he was walking back to his house, lying on his veranda was a crane.

It had blood on its head and one of the wings was broken. Its eyes were closed, fearing that it was dying; he quickly went in for warm water and towels to clean it.

After he had bandaged its wing, he gently carried it to the house. That night he sat next to it, singing softly, cuddling its head in his lap. The next morning, he was more afraid. The crane lay, not moving.

He covered it with more blankets and went down to the shops to get some Chinese medicine. After boiling the herbs, he trickled some down its throat and rubbed some on the broken wing.

That night the crane opened its eyes and Brother Wong was very happy. He took care of the crane for 4 weeks before it was well enough to fly.
Brother Wong also noticed that while the crane was wounded the other seven cranes were always around in his garden.

As the crane was ready to fly away, Brother Wong said, ‘You have very loyal and faithful friends, they waited around for you while you were wounded’.
Three days later, Brother Wong woke to a knock on his door.

All my stories are extracts from my yet to be published book of chinese fables. If there is a publisher who would like to help me publish it please contact me at,
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THE BEGGAR'S GOLD COIN.

THE BEGGAR’S GOLD COIN

There once was an old beggar, living in an old broken temple. He had no one and he lived by begging in the streets. His daily spot was in front of the big temple in the middle of the village; a cool spot, under some big trees. He could see people from all walks of life coming to the temple to give offerings and prayers.

The rich had maids to carry big baskets of fruits, lots of paper money, joss sticks and red candles. Others came with just their children. Some grandmothers even came with baskets of chickens and ducks.

His only friend was a young man called Ah Kam. One day while digging around the old temple looking for something worth while to sell, he found gold coins, lots and lots of them. He was so happy, all he did was toss them around and laugh, saying, ‘I’m rich, I’m rich!’

When his friend Ah Kam, came to see him, he asked him to swear not to tell anyone about this finding. The beggar then told Ah Kam, ‘Let’s go for a meal fit for a king.’

While waiting for their food, the beggar looked around him and whispered, ‘Everyone knows about my gold, I have to go back and rebury it. I’m not eating.’ Without another word he ran back to the temple to bury his gold.

Ah Kam brought back some food for him, but he refused to eat, saying, ‘I’m sure someone knows about this gold, I’ll count it again.’

This went on for weeks, the beggar counting his coins, burying them, digging them up again, burying them in different holes, not eating, not sleeping till he became sick with worry and was very miserable.

The Goddess took pity on him, one night, while he slept; she took away his memory and left just one piece of gold coin. Next morning, he went to dig and found this gold coin.

He was so happy he called Ah Kam to celebrate his good fortune with him, but his friend told him, ‘Don’t you think you should keep this for a rainy day, and not spend this all today?

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Copyright(c)by MayFam2005.

The Husband Hill

In China, most of the fables and legends handed down are said to be true. Some are still there for the generations to wonder and ponder.

HUSBAND HILL LOOKOUT
A Chinese legend
Retold
By
May Fam

In a remote fishing village in China, lived an orphan, Su Ling. She lived with her grandma in a broken down shack. Su Ling’s parents died when she was 6 years old. They were out fishing when the storm hit their old boat; they never came home.

Her mother always told her, ‘Never marry a fisherman, the risks are high, and the returns are small’. When Su Ling was 16 years old, she found that all the males in the village were fishermen. She had no choice but to fall in love with a fisherman.

Wu Hin, also an orphan,was a hard working man; he took risks, going into storms when on one else would go. The villagers called him,
‘Looi koong’ meaning ‘thunder’ in Cantonese. He sold his fish in the market square every week.

Su Ling, working for a wealthy family, was often asked to do the shopping. Su Ling would say to Wu Hin, ‘My mistress likes your fish very much, and said this is always the best she has eaten. She told me to buy from your stall and no other’.

Meeting and talking every week, they soon fell in love. When her grandma passed away, they got married and were very happy. There were times when Wu Hin would see that his wife was sad. One day, he asked her, ‘Is something bothering you, you have been edgy the past few days’.

Su Ling with tears in her eyes said, ‘It’s the weather, there is going to be storm, it brings back memories of my parents. I wish you would not go out the next few days till the storm is over. I also wish you would change your work, do something else, and give up your fishing. I do not wish to lose my husband to the sea.’

Wu Hin replied, ‘Have no fear, I’m blessed by the gods, even the villagers call me ‘looi koong’. I was born a fisherman; I don’t know any other work. I know there are always dangers when we go out in a storm, I can only promise you that from now on, I won’t go during a bad storm. I’ll be very careful.’

When the wind and rain subsided Wu Hin and his friends went out to sea. Three days out to sea and the weather changed, the winds and rain came down in torrents. After the fifth day, the day when her husband usually came home, she went to the hill at the back of their house.

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Copyright© by May Fam 2005.

The Silver Canary

THE SILVER CANARY
A Chinese fable
RETOLD
BY
MAY FAM
Long, long ago, in a remote part of China lived a farmer and his family. He lived with his wife, 2 sons and a daughter. Living near the edge of a forest he often went hunting with his sons for small games.

One day while looking for a rabbit that he shot with his arrow, he heard a bird in distress. Searching for the bird, he found a beautiful yellow canary lying among the dried leaves. Gently he picked it up and put it in his pouch.
When he got home, he called his wife and children, ‘come, come quickly, see what I found.’ His wife said, ‘This is a beautiful bird, it is also a song bird, it sings beautifully, what is wrong with it?’

The daughter said, ‘Look mama, there are ants on its feet and one of the wing is red. We’ll have to clean it up; I’ll call it Golden Bird, because it is like a lump of gold’.

The farmer made a nice new cage and in a week, the bird was singing everyday. He gave the bird the best grains and changed the water and saw dust every day. He hung the cage on a tree every morning so every one who passed by could hear it sing.

His neighbours said, ‘It is indeed a beautiful singing canary, this is a priceless bird’. Someone asked, ‘Where did you find it?’
The farmer replied, ‘Out in the forest, I was looking for a rabbit and found this bird, I think it must have fallen from its nest.’ The farmer was a proud man showing off his singing bird.

One day an old friend came to see the farmer’s canary, after hearing the canary sing, he said, ‘I think this is not the golden canary everyone is talking about, the colour is not so bright, this is the silver one. So the one I heard singing so beautifully must still be in the forest’

His daughter answered, ‘But papa, this is the Golden Canary, none other can sing better’.

This is only an extract from my story, if there is a publisher or someone who can help me do a ebook, please contact me at
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copyright(c)byMayFam2005.

CHINESE FABLES

CHINA IS THE THIRD LARGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. CHINA SHARES ITS BORDERS WITH MANY OTHER, INCLUDING, RUSSIA, KOREA,VIETNAM, INDIA AND NEPAL.
CHINA HAD A LOT OF BRILLIANT INVENTORS AND ARE ALSO GREAT STORY TELLERS
THEY BELIEVE IN MYTHS, FOLK TALES, LEGENDS AND MAGIC.
THEY HAVE STORIES FOR NEARLY EVERY FESTIVALS.
STORIES TOLD LONG LONG AGO ARE STILL BEING TOLD TODAY, MAYBE , SOME HAVE BEEN CHANGED BUT THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS STILL THE SAME.
A LOT OF THE FABLES HAVE TO DO WITH HEROES , DRAGONS AND MONSTERS.
(c)by May Fam 2005.

Chinese Fables For Children And Adults

Do you remember the Children's stories read to you when you were little? Some were exciting and some were scary but they all had something to keep you coming back for more.
China, the Land of Magic, Myths, Fables and Legends. Some call it the Land of the Dragon.
Most of the Fables and legends have a meaning and are used as a teaching tool. Stories are told while waiting for justice from the Emperor. News going up and down would take 6 months to a year.
Well, here are some really delightful Chinese Fables for your enjoyment, whether you're young or old.