reading notes China folktales B

 1. the little hunting dog 

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

As a scholar is trying to sleep one night, 2 inch tall knights rode into his room on horses the size of grasshoppers. He watched as more and more knights, hunters, falcons, hunting dogs, footmen, and horsemen came into his room and made it their own. The falcons hunted flies and gnats, the dogs tracked fleas. the scholar watched in shock and amazement and when they finally filed out of his room, he got up to see where they came from but they were gone. A lone hunting dog was left behind and he did his best to take care of it. But since the tiny dog slept in bed with him, one night the dog got squished. 

    story about a rescue mission to retrieve the last dog? 

2. fox-fire

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

I think the concept about this story is really interesting. A fox is brewing the elixir of life when a young farmer is walking by, sees what is going on, and steals the ball from the fox. He swallows it right then and runs away from the fox. From then on, the young farmer could become invisible, see ghosts and devils, and interact with the spirit world. He could bring back souls and plead for sinners, he earned a lot of money. When the young farmer turned 50, the gift was taken back from him by the fox. 

    story more about the fox? and the elixir? getting it back?

Fox in a Garden. Source: Flickr