--Written by Spencer Alise, Feb.2013
Long ago, in a village located just near the outskirts of Sichuan Province, there
Long ago, in a village located just near the outskirts of Sichuan Province, there
lived a mighty
dragon. However this wasn’t just any old dragon. This dragon, being of
multiple colors,
was knowledgeable on the subject of wisdom, and all who knew him,
went to him to
be instructed in whatever aspects of wisdom they so chose.
Everyone
in this small village referred to him as The Wise Dragon, and knew his
character very
well. One day, during summer, two young boys, Fu-Han and Hong-Li,
went to visit
The Wise Dragon for instruction on how to behave properly with their
elders. Now
these boys were sent to the dragon by their parents, who, having respected
the dragon greatly,
wanted to instill in their sons the proper way to behave and show
respect,
something that these boys lacked. These two young boys were twins, identical in
fact, and both
lacked multiple Confucian values that they should have contained,
especially at
such a young age. This disappointed their parents greatly, and so they sent
Fu-Han and
Hong-Li off to be educated by The Wise Dragon.
Fu-Han
and Hong-Li were not that pleased to hear of their parents’ decision, for
they fought back
in every way possible, and tried to avoid being educated by the dragon.
“But why do you
make us go father?” Hong-Li asked one evening. “We absolutely have
no need! We
don’t like being educated by The Wise Dragon!” Upon hearing his son’s
remark, Hong-Li’s
father became angry. “Son, it is my duty to make sure you and your
brother learn
respect and grow up into wise young men. For if you do not, I have not
done my duty as
a father.” Hong-Li said nothing in response to this. He just huffed and
puffed,
(something he did not learn from the dragon) and stomped off in anger.
As the summer days went by, and
Fu-Han and Hong-Li had been seeing The Wise
Dragon for some
time, Hong-Li did not find the lessons to be that effective. “Brother,”
Hong-Li said to
Fu-Han one day after walking back from the village, “We have had
enough. Don’t
you see that we are not learning anything from The Wise Dragon?” Fu-
Han looked at
Hong-Li intently. “I have actually been enjoying my time Hong- Li," said
Fu-Han. “Maybe
father and mother are right. We ought to learn how to be wise and show
respect.”
Hong-Li could not believe what he had just heard his brother say. “How could
you say that Fu-
Han? You know we are meant to be bad, and play tricks and show
revenge, and do
many other things those of which mother and father would not approve!”
Hong-Li was
becoming angry, very angry. “If I could blow fire at you right now I
would!” Hong-Li
yelled, and ran off in the distance, where eventually Fu-Han caught up
with him back at
home.
Later
that night, after Hong-Li had settled down, Fu-Han approached him before
preparing for
bed. “My brother,” he said, “Let us make a deal. If you do not want to
continue being
taught by The Wise Dragon, you do not have to worry.” Hong-Li looked
up at his
brother with great confusion. “What do you mean?” But Fu-Han had a plan. He
explained to
Hong-Li that they would convince their parents to let each boy go to lessons
on separate
days, making the excuse that they fight too much when they are together, and
yet would fight
less if they were apart. But being that they were identical, and could fool
many who knew
them well, they decided that only Fu-Han, since he was the one who
enjoyed the
dragons’ teachings, would attend the lessons, while Hong-Li would pretend
to leave, then
go off in the distance. Fu-Han would take on the role of himself one day,
then pretend to
be Hong-Li the next day. “That’s brilliant Fu-Han,” said Hong-Li when
he heard of it.
“You will be doing what you love, and I will be doing what I love!” But
Fu-Han knew that
there would be a price he had to pay. However, without the boys
knowing, their
mother had been standing outside the door that same night Fu-Han had
revealed his
plan to Hong-Li.
That
next week, before heading to their lessons, their mother stopped them in
their tracks.
“Young men, why are you planning on deceiving me and your father today?
Has not The Wise
Dragon taught you two anything?” The boys looked shamefully at each
other. “How did
you know mother?” Fu-Han asked. “I overheard you two talking last
night,” she
said. “I did not want to say anything to you two. I wanted to see if you would
actually go
about doing this plan.” The two boys looked at their mother and apologized.
“You will have a
price to pay,” their mother told them. From that point on, Fu-Han and
Hong-Li were escorted
to their lessons by their mother, who stayed there with them until
the day was
complete. So Fu-Han and Hong-Li continued to go see The Wise Dragon,
and as the
summer days passed by, Fu-Han and Hong-Li did begin to show more respect,
and stopped
playing tricks. So in a sense Fu-Han and Hong-Li learned multiple lessons
that summer, and
from that point on they kept in mind the famous Chinese proverb that
states, ‘There
are always ears on the other side of the wall.’ The end.
I hope you enjoyed this tale :)
Jia you! 加油 (Keep Going!)
~Spencer Alise
