Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling

Author:Pu Songling [Songling, Pu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780140447408
Publisher: Penguin UK
Published: 2006-05-25T06:00:00+00:00

66

MYNAH BIRD

Wang Fenbin once told this story about a man in his native town who kept a mynah bird.

The man taught it to speak, and they became so intimate that the man took the bird with him every time he went travelling. A few years passed in this way. One day the man was passing through the town of Jiangzhou when he found that he had no money for the voyage home and became quite despondent.

‘Why don’t you sell me?’ said the mynah. ‘The Prince will pay a good price for me, and then you will not need to worry about the journey home.’

‘I couldn’t bear to part with you,’ replied the man.

‘Don’t worry. Just leave as soon as you have the money. Wait for me under the big tree six miles west of the town.’

The man agreed to do this. He took the bird into the town, where they began talking to each other, gradually gathering quite a crowd. A eunuch from the Prince's court saw them and reported it to his master, who summoned them and expressed his desire to purchase the bird.

‘But I have always depended on this bird for a living,’ said the man. ‘I do not want to part with him.’

The Prince addressed the mynah. ‘Do you wish to live here?’

‘Yes, I do,’ replied the bird.

The Prince was delighted.

‘Give him ten taels of silver,’ continued the bird. ‘Not an ounce more.’

The Prince was more delighted than ever, and immediately gave the man ten taels. The man took his leave, making a great show of how aggrieved he felt at the transaction.

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