Once, in a city not very far from Shanghai, there lived a scholar, His learning was such that it was fully expected that when "he took the forthcoming district examination he would pass with honours and confer further brilliancy upon the fortunate city in which he was good enough to deign to dwell. As a matter of fact it was his immediate Prospects which, led to his undoing.
Living near a temple, it was his practice every evening' to rest his!
ved eyes and recuperate a weary body by taking a gentle walk, up past the temple, round by ' the market place, to the temple again, and then home, hands behind his back and his eyes fixed on his thoughts which were far away.
His landlord was the friend of the city god who one night when the former had dropped off to sleep, came in and eat on a chair sighing heavily, until the landlord had to what was the matter.
suffering from, too much politeness, my "friend, remarked the wandering deity, "Your lodger is the dane of my life, I know he is going to become the cha-yuen in this coming examination, and every time he passes my place, T have to stand up in deference to his coming rank, and be on my best behaviour. Tt wouldn't be so bad if he would drop round when I'm supposed to duty, but every time I take a. moment or two off to have a chat with the little lady on the lotus, leaf, blessed if he doesn't come Popping round the come "it's all right now, my boy. You can tear thet wall' down Jast as 800m as you like."
But why?" asked the landlord." Being only a god you may not know that walls cost money and I cant bbe putting them up and down for you all my days."
"rim not afraid of that scholar now. He hat departed from virtue by writing a bill of divorcement. He won't pass the examination, another has been chosen to come out first, and T don't have to stand up every" time. your lodger passes. Besides, my little lotus flower wants alittle more fresh air." You see the wite' went and hanged herself When she knew she was divorced.
the wall was demolished, 'A Tittle later the scholar asked the landlord why this had taken "Well, it was put up because of you, and pulled down for the same reason. You may not know it, but you were chosen to be the next (Cha-yuen, and the little old chap next door had to stand every time So we fixed up the fin. Now you have been meddling in another man's married affairs, and the wife has committed ide, it has been decided that not be first in the coming The scholar, his hopes dashed to the ground fied to his room, and overcome with remorse stabbed himself 30 that he, too, died.
And the moral of this story is that no one shoul leave sharp knives about—nr.P-0,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.