"What we shall eat to-morrow, I haven't the slightest idea!" said Widow
Wang to her eldest son, as he started out one morning in search of work.
"Oh, the gods will provide. I'll find a few coppers somewhere," replied
the boy, trying to speak cheerfully, although in his heart he also had
not the slightest idea in which direction to turn.
The winter had been a hard one: extreme cold, deep snow, and violent
winds. The Wang house had suffered greatly. The roof had fallen in,
weighed down by heavy snow. Then a hurricane had blown a wall over, and
Ming-li, the son, up all night and exposed to a bitter cold wind, had
caught pneumonia. Long days of illness followed, with the spending of
extra money for medicine. All their scant savings had soon melted away,
and at the shop where Ming-li had been employed his place was filled by
another. When at last he arose from his sick-bed he was too weak for
hard labour and there seemed to be no work in the neighbouring villages
for him to do. Night after night he came home, trying not to be
discouraged, but in his heart feeling the deep pangs of sorrow that come
to the good son who sees his mother suffering for want of food and
clothing.
"Bless his good heart!" said the poor widow after he had gone. "No
mother ever had a better boy. I hope he is right in saying the gods will
provide. It has been getting so much worse these past few weeks that it
seems now as if my stomach were as empty as a rich man's brain. Why,
even the rats have deserted our cottage, and there's nothing left for
poor Tabby, while old Blackfoot is nearly dead from starvation."
When the old woman referred to the sorrows of her pets, her
remarks were answered by a pitiful mewing and woebegone barking
from the corner where the two unfed creatures were curled up together
trying to keep warm.
Just then there was a loud knocking at the gate. When the widow Wang
called out, "Come in!" she was surprised to see an old bald-headed
priest standing in the doorway. "Sorry, but we have nothing," she went
on, feeling sure the visitor had come in search of food. "We have fed on
scraps these two weeks--on scraps and scrapings--and now we are living
on the memories of what we used to have when my son's father was living.
Our cat was so fat she couldn't climb to the roof. Now look at her. You
can hardly see her, she's so thin. No, I'm sorry we can't help you,
friend priest, but you see how it is."
"I didn't come for alms," cried the clean-shaven one, looking at her
kindly, "but only to see what I could do to help you. The gods have
listened long to the prayers of your devoted son. They honour him
because he has not waited till you die to do sacrifice for you. They
have seen how faithfully he has served you ever since his illness, and
now, when he is worn out and unable to work, they are resolved to reward
him for his virtue. You likewise have been a good mother and shall
receive the gift I am now bringing."
"What do you mean?" faltered Mrs. Wang, hardly believing her ears at
hearing a priest speak of bestowing mercies. "Have you come here to
laugh at our misfortunes?"
"By no means. Here in my hand I hold a tiny golden beetle which you will
find has a magic power greater than any you ever dreamed of. I will
leave this precious thing with you, a present from the god of filial
conduct."
"Yes, it will sell for a good sum," murmured the other, looking closely
at the trinket, "and will give us millet for several days. Thanks, good
priest, for your kindness."
"But you must by no means sell this golden beetle, for it has the power
to fill your stomachs as long as you live."
The widow stared in open-mouthed wonder at the priest's surprising
words.
"Yes, you must not doubt me, but listen carefully to what I tell you.
Whenever you wish food, you have only to place this ornament in a kettle
of boiling water, saying over and over again the names of what you want
to eat. In three minutes take off the lid, and there will be your
dinner, smoking hot, and cooked more perfectly than any food you have
ever eaten."
"May I try it now?" she asked eagerly.
"As soon as I am gone."
When the door was shut, the old woman hurriedly kindled a fire, boiled
some water, and then dropped in the golden beetle, repeating these words
again and again:
"Dumplings, dumplings, come to me,
I am thin as thin can be.
Dumplings, dumplings, smoking hot,
Dumplings, dumplings, fill the pot."
Would those three minutes never pass? Could the priest have told the
truth? Her old head was nearly wild with excitement as clouds of steam
rose from the kettle. Off came the lid! She could wait no longer. Wonder
of wonders! There before her unbelieving eyes was a pot, full to the
brim of pork dumplings, dancing up and down in the bubbling water, the
best, the most delicious dumplings she had ever tasted. She ate and ate
till there was no room left in her greedy stomach, and then she feasted
the cat and the dog until they were ready to burst.
"Good fortune has come at last," whispered Blackfoot, the dog, to
Whitehead, the cat, as they lay down to sun themselves outside. "I fear
I couldn't have held out another week without running away to look for
food. I don't know just what's happened, but there's no use questioning
the gods."
Mrs. Wang fairly danced for joy at the thought of her son's return and
of how she would feast him.
"Poor boy, how surprised he will be at our fortune--and it's all on
account of his goodness to his old mother."
When Ming-li came, with a dark cloud overhanging his brow, the widow saw
plainly that disappointment was written there.
"Come, come, lad!" she cried cheerily, "clear up your face and smile,
for the gods have been good to us and I shall soon show you how richly
your devotion has been rewarded." So saying, she dropped the golden
beetle into the boiling water and stirred up the fire.
Thinking his mother had gone stark mad for want of food, Ming-li stared
solemnly at her. Anything was preferable to this misery. Should he sell
his last outer garment for a few pennies and buy millet for her?
Blackfoot licked his hand comfortingly, as if to say, "Cheer up, master,
fortune has turned in our favour." Whitehead leaped upon a bench,
purring like a sawmill.
Ming-li did not have long to wait. Almost in the twinkling of an eye he
heard his mother crying out,
"Sit down at the table, son, and eat these dumplings while they are
smoking hot."
Could he have heard correctly? Did his ears deceive him? No, there on
the table was a huge platter full of the delicious pork dumplings he
liked better than anything else in all the world, except, of course, his
mother.
"Eat and ask no questions," counselled the Widow Wang. "When you are
satisfied I will tell you everything."
Wise advice! Very soon the young man's chopsticks were twinkling like
a little star in the verses. He ate long and happily, while his good
mother watched him, her heart overflowing with joy at seeing him at last
able to satisfy his hunger. But still the old woman could hardly wait
for him to finish, she was so anxious to tell him her wonderful secret.
"Here, son!" she cried at last, as he began to pause between mouthfuls,
"look at my treasure!" And she held out to him the golden beetle.
"First tell me what good fairy of a rich man has been filling our hands
with silver?"
"That's just what I am trying to tell you," she laughed, "for there was
a fairy here this afternoon sure enough, only he was dressed like a bald
priest. That golden beetle is all he gave me, but with it comes a secret
worth thousands of cash to us."
The youth fingered the trinket idly, still doubting his senses, and
waiting impatiently for the secret of his delicious dinner. "But,
mother, what has this brass bauble to do with the dumplings, these
wonderful pork dumplings, the finest I ever ate?"
"Baubles indeed! Brass! Fie, fie, my boy! You little know what you are
saying. Only listen and you shall hear a tale that will open your eyes."
She then told him what had happened, and ended by setting all of the
left-over dumplings upon the floor for Blackfoot and Whitehead, a thing
her son had never seen her do before, for they had been miserably poor
and had had to save every scrap for the next meal.
Now began a long period of perfect happiness. Mother, son, dog and
cat--all enjoyed themselves to their hearts' content. All manner of new
foods such as they had never tasted were called forth from the pot by
the wonderful little beetle. Bird-nest soup, shark's fins, and a hundred
other delicacies were theirs for the asking, and soon Ming-li regained
all his strength, but, I fear, at the same time grew somewhat lazy, for
it was no longer necessary for him to work. As for the two animals, they
became fat and sleek and their hair grew long and glossy.
But alas! according to a Chinese proverb, pride invites sorrow. The
little family became so proud of their good fortune that they began to
ask friends and relatives to dinner that they might show off their good
meals. One day a Mr. and Mrs. Chu came from a distant village. They were
much astonished at seeing the high style in which the Wangs lived. They
had expected a beggar's meal, but went away with full stomachs.
"It's the best stuff I ever ate," said Mr. Chu, as they entered their
own tumble-down house.
"Yes, and I know where it came from," exclaimed his wife. "I saw Widow
Wang take a little gold ornament out of the pot and hide it in a
cupboard. It must be some sort of charm, for I heard her mumbling to
herself about pork and dumplings just as she was stirring up the fire."
"A charm, eh? Why is it that other people have all the luck? It looks as
if we were doomed forever to be poor."
"Why not borrow Mrs. Wang's charm for a few days until we can pick up a
little flesh to keep our bones from clattering? Turn about's fair play.
Of course, we'll return it sooner or later."
"Doubtless they keep very close watch over it. When would you find them
away from home, now that they don't have to work any more? As their
house only contains one room, and that no bigger than ours, it would be
difficult to borrow this golden trinket. It is harder, for more reasons
than one, to steal from a beggar than from a king."
"Luck is surely with us," cried Mrs. Chu, clapping her hands. "They are
going this very day to the Temple fair. I overheard Mrs. Wang tell her
son that he must not forget he was to take her about the middle of the
afternoon. I will slip back then and borrow the little charm from the
box in which she hid it."
"Aren't you afraid of Blackfoot?"
"Pooh! he's so fat he can do nothing but roll. If the widow comes back
suddenly, I'll tell her I came to look for my big hair-pin, that I lost
it while I was at dinner."
"All right, go ahead, only of course we must remember we're borrowing
the thing, not stealing it, for the Wangs have always been good friends
to us, and then, too, we have just dined with them."
So skilfully did this crafty woman carry out her plans that within an
hour she was back in her own house, gleefully showing the priest's charm
to her husband. Not a soul had seen her enter the Wang house. The dog
had made no noise, and the cat had only blinked her surprise at seeing a
stranger and had gone to sleep again on the floor.
Great was the clamour and weeping when, on returning from the fair in
expectation of a hot supper, the widow found her treasure missing. It
was long before she could grasp the truth. She went back to the little
box in the cupboard ten times before she could believe it was empty, and
the room looked as if a cyclone had struck it, so long and carefully did
the two unfortunates hunt for the lost beetle.
Then came days of hunger which were all the harder to bear since the
recent period of good food and plenty. Oh, if they had only not got used
to such dainties! How hard it was to go back to scraps and scrapings!
But if the widow and her son were sad over the loss of the good meals,
the two pets were even more so. They were reduced to beggary and had to
go forth daily upon the streets in search of stray bones and refuse that
decent dogs and cats turned up their noses at.
One day, after this period of starvation had been going on for some
time, Whitehead began suddenly to frisk about in great excitement.
"Whatever is the matter with you?" growled Blackfoot. "Are you mad from
hunger, or have you caught another flea?"
"I was just thinking over our affairs, and now I know the cause of all
our trouble."
"Do you indeed?" sneered Blackfoot.
"Yes, I do indeed, and you'd better think twice before you mock me, for
I hold your future in my paw, as you will very soon see."
"Well, you needn't get angry about nothing. What wonderful discovery
have you made--that every rat has one tail?"
"First of all, are you willing to help me bring good fortune back to our
family?"
"Of course I am. Don't be silly," barked the dog, wagging his tail
joyfully at the thought of another good dinner. "Surely! surely! I will
do anything you like if it will bring Dame Fortune back again."
"All right. Here is the plan. There has been a thief in the house who
has stolen our mistress's golden beetle. You remember all our big
dinners that came from the pot? Well, every day I saw our mistress take
a little golden beetle out of the black box and put it into the pot. One
day she held it up before me, saying, 'Look, puss, there is the cause of
all our happiness. Don't you wish it was yours?' Then she laughed and
put it back into the box that stays in the cupboard."
"Is that true?" questioned Blackfoot. "Why didn't you say something
about it before?"
"You remember the day Mr. and Mrs. Chu were here, and how Mrs. Chu
returned in the afternoon after master and mistress had gone to the
fair? I saw her, out of the tail of my eye, go to that very black box
and take out the golden beetle. I thought it curious, but never dreamed
she was a thief. Alas! I was wrong! She took the beetle, and if I am not
mistaken, she and her husband are now enjoying the feasts that belong
to us."
"Let's claw them," growled Blackfoot, gnashing his teeth.
"That would do no good," counselled the other, "for they would be sure
to come out best in the end. We want the beetle back--that's the main
thing. We'll leave revenge to human beings; it is none of our business."
"What do you suggest?" said Blackfoot. "I am with you through thick and
thin."
"Let's go to the Chu house and make off with the beetle."
"Alas, that I am not a cat!" moaned Blackfoot. "If we go there I
couldn't get inside, for robbers always keep their gates well locked. If
I were like you I could scale the wall. It is the first time in all my
life I ever envied a cat."
"We will go together," continued Whitehead. "I will ride on your back
when we are fording the river, and you can protect me from strange
animals. When we get to the Chu house, I will climb over the wall and
manage the rest of the business myself. Only you must wait outside to
help me to get home with the prize."
No sooner arranged than done. The companions set out that very night on
their adventure. They crossed the river as the cat had suggested, and
Blackfoot really enjoyed the swim, for, as he said, it took him back to
his puppyhood, while the cat did not get a single drop of water on her
face. It was midnight when they reached the Chu house.
"Just wait till I return," purred Whitehead in Blackfoot's ear.
With a mighty spring she reached the top of the mud wall, and then
jumped down to the inside court. While she was resting in the shadow,
trying to decide just how to go about her work, a slight rustling
attracted her attention, and pop! one giant spring, one stretch-out of
the claws, and she had caught a rat that had just come out of his hole
for a drink and a midnight walk.
Now, Whitehead was so hungry that she would have made short work of this
tempting prey if the rat had not opened its mouth and, to her amazement,
begun to talk in good cat dialect.
"Pray, good puss, not so fast with your sharp teeth! Kindly be careful
with your claws! Don't you know it is the custom now to put prisoners on
their honour? I will promise not to run away."
"Pooh! what honour has a rat?"
"Most of us haven't much, I grant you, but my family was brought up
under the roof of Confucius, and there we picked up so many crumbs of
wisdom that we are exceptions to the rule. If you will spare me, I will
obey you for life, in fact, will be your humble slave." Then, with a
quick jerk, freeing itself, "See, I am loose now, but honour holds me as
if I were tied, and so I make no further attempt to get away."
"Much good it would do you," purred Whitehead, her fur crackling
noisily, and her mouth watering for a taste of rat steak. "However,
I am quite willing to put you to the test. First, answer a few polite
questions and I will see if you're a truthful fellow. What kind of food
is your master eating now, that you should be so round and plump when
I am thin and scrawny?"
"Oh, we have been in luck lately, I can tell you. Master and mistress
feed on the fat of the land, and of course we hangers-on get the
crumbs."
"But this is a poor tumble-down house. How can they afford such eating?"
"That is a great secret, but as I am in honour bound to tell you, here
goes. My mistress has just obtained in some manner or other, a fairy's
charm----"
"She stole it from our place," hissed the cat, "I will claw her eyes out
if I get the chance. Why, we've been fairly starving for want of that
beetle. She stole it from us just after she had been an invited guest!
What do you think of that for honour, Sir Rat? Were your mistress's
ancestors followers of the sage?"
"Oh, oh, oh! Why, that explains everything!" wailed the rat. "I have
often wondered how they got the golden beetle, and yet of course I dared
not ask any questions."
"No, certainly not! But hark you, friend rat--you get that golden
trinket back for me, and I will set you free at once of all obligations.
Do you know where she hides it?"
"Yes, in a crevice where the wall is broken. I will bring it to you in
a jiffy, but how shall we exist when our charm is gone? There will be
a season of scanty food, I fear; beggars' fare for all of us."
"Live on the memory of your good deed," purred the cat. "It is splendid,
you know, to be an honest beggar. Now scoot! I trust you completely,
since your people lived in the home of Confucius. I will wait here for
your return. Ah!" laughed Whitehead to herself, "luck seems to be coming
our way again!"
Five minutes later the rat appeared, bearing the trinket in its mouth.
It passed the beetle over to the cat, and then with a whisk was off for
ever. Its honour was safe, but it was afraid of Whitehead. It had seen
the gleam of desire in her green eyes, and the cat might have broken her
word if she had not been so anxious to get back home where her mistress
could command the wonderful kettle once more to bring forth food.
The two adventurers reached the river just as the sun was rising above
the eastern hills.
"Be careful," cautioned Blackfoot, as the cat leaped upon his back for
her ride across the stream, "be careful not to forget the treasure. In
short, remember that even though you are a female, it is necessary to
keep your mouth closed till we reach the other side."
"Thanks, but I don't think I need your advice," replied Whitehead,
picking up the beetle and leaping on to the dog's back.
But alas! just as they were nearing the farther shore, the excited cat
forgot her wisdom for a moment. A fish suddenly leaped out of the water
directly under her nose. It was too great a temptation. Snap! went her
jaws in a vain effort to land the scaly treasure, and the golden beetle
sank to the bottom of the river.
"There!" said the dog angrily, "what did I tell you? Now all our trouble
has been in vain--all on account of your stupidity."
For a time there was a bitter dispute, and the companions called each
other some very bad names--such as turtle and rabbit. Just as they were
starting away from the river, disappointed and discouraged, a friendly
frog who had by chance heard their conversation offered to fetch the
treasure from the bottom of the stream. No sooner said than done, and
after thanking this accommodating animal profusely, they turned homeward
once more.
When they reached the cottage the door was shut, and, bark as he would,
Blackfoot could not persuade his master to open it. There was the sound
of loud wailing inside.
"Mistress is broken-hearted," whispered the cat, "I will go to her and
make her happy."
So saying, she sprang lightly through a hole in the paper window, which,
alas! was too small and too far from the ground for the faithful dog to
enter.
A sad sight greeted the gaze of Whitehead. The son was lying on the bed
unconscious, almost dead for want of food, while his mother, in despair,
was rocking backwards and forwards wringing her wrinkled hands and
crying at the top of her voice for some one to come and save them.
"Here I am, mistress," cried Whitehead, "and here is the treasure you
are weeping for. I have rescued it and brought it back to you."
The widow, wild with joy at sight of the beetle, seized the cat in her
scrawny arms and hugged the pet tightly to her bosom.
"Breakfast, son, breakfast! Wake up from your swoon! Fortune has come
again. We are saved from starvation!"
Soon a steaming hot meal was ready, and you may well imagine how the old
woman and her son, heaping praises upon Whitehead, filled the beast's
platter with good things, but never a word did they say of the faithful
dog, who remained outside sniffing the fragrant odours and waiting in
sad wonder, for all this time the artful cat had said nothing of
Blackfoot's part in the rescue of the golden beetle.
At last, when breakfast was over, slipping away from the others,
Whitehead jumped out through the hole in the window.
"Oh, my dear Blackfoot," she began laughingly, "you should have been
inside to see what a feast they gave me! Mistress was so delighted at
my bringing back her treasure that she could not give me enough to eat,
nor say enough kind things about me. Too bad, old fellow, that you are
hungry. You'd better run out into the street and hunt up a bone."
Maddened by the shameful treachery of his companion, the enraged dog
sprang upon the cat and in a few seconds had shaken her to death.
"So dies the one who forgets a friend and who loses honour," he cried
sadly, as he stood over the body of his companion.
Rushing out into the street, he proclaimed the treachery of Whitehead
to the members of his tribe, at the same time advising that all
self-respecting dogs should from that time onwards make war upon the
feline race.
And that is why the descendants of old Blackfoot, whether in China or
in the great countries of the West, have waged continual war upon the
children and grandchildren of Whitehead, for a thousand generations of
dogs have fought them and hated them with a great and lasting hatred.
