Chinese Stories in English
Stories Magazine (Page 03)
Stories from Stories Magazine Compilation #145 《故事会合订本145》上海文化出版社
Original Chinese text at page noted after each story; translated from the webpages cited below.
1. Flower on Top 3. Bamboo Horse
2. The Barber 4. Keeping a Pet Bird
1. Flower on Top (顶上开花)
Xu Jiaqing (徐嘉青)
Constitution Wu was a village doctor with decent medical skills. He passed the time with light reading about Feng Shui. Sometimes he’d help people select the best day to build a house or pick the site of a grave using geomancy. Many people laughingly called him "The Immortal", a homophone for his name.
One day Constitution took a nap sitting in his courtyard after lunch. He heard someone calling his name and, when he opened his eyes, he saw it was Become Flowery Ma, a fellow who lived at the east end of the village. With a sad expression on his face, Flowery said: "Old Wu, please take a look at me right away. I'm so embarrassed I could die!"
Constitution rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?"
Flowery pointed to his head, and Constitution noticed that he was wearing a hat. Wasn't he afraid of getting prickly heat on such a hot day? Flowery saw Constitution's doubts, so he took off his hat, turned his head to Constitution and said, "Look at this. Could I get away without wearing a hat?"
Constitution’s jaw dropped at the sight. Why? A flower was in full bloom on Flowery's head. The blossom was very big and quite gorgeous, but however you looked at it, it didn't seem real. It wasn’t much different from the flowers people use to commemorate the departed when they visit a grave, though.
Constitution reached out to pull the flower off Flowery's head, but Flowery immediately stopped him. "No, it’s growing there. It’ll hurt like hell if you pull it out."
This was really strange! Constitution leaned over and carefully lifted the petals. As Old Ma had said, the stalk was growing out from his scalp. He tried pulling it out, but Flowery immediately grimaced in pain and yelled: "Don't pull! It hurts!"
"When did this flower start growing on your head, Old Ma?" Constitution asked.
"I can't say for sure. It was probably yesterday. I didn't feel anything at the time, but people noticed it when I went out today. Everyone laughed. That’s when I knew I had this thing on my head."
Constitution thought for a moment before saying, "This is the first time I’ve encountered such a case. How about we do this first? I’ll use scissors to cut the thing off right at the scalp. We can leave a bit of the root as long as it doesn't grow back. That’ll save you a trip to the hospital, which would cost you a lot of money, not to mention having to undergo surgery to dig out the root.”
Flowery agreed. Constitution went inside to put on rubber gloves, get scissors from the medicine cabinet and sterilize them. He asked Flowery to sit on a nearby chair. Then he grabbed the petals and lifted them up with his left hand. He held the scissors in his right hand and proceeded to cut the flower stem. He didn’t expect Flowery to scream, "Ouch, ouch," as soon as the blade cut a little. He stopped right away and asked: "Are you really in pain, Old Ma, or are you just pretending?"
"It really hurts. Why would I pretend?"
Constitution put down the scissors. "Let me cut it off for you. If you keep screaming, you might as well just go to the hospital."
"No, just cut it off,” Flowery replied quickly. “I’ll grit my teeth and bear it no matter how painful it is."
Constitution picked up the scissors again. The flower stalk was so tough that he had to cut back and forth several times to get through it, even though the scissors were sharp. When he looked at Flowery again, the poor man was gritting his teeth and beads of sweat were dripping down his cheeks.
Constitution threw the cut flower onto a nearby table. "Keep this thing as a souvenir, Old Ma,” he said jokingly."
Flowery took a deep breath of cool air. "Don't make fun of me. man! Cutting this thing off almost cost me my life."
He was about to stand up when Constitution exclaimed, "Don't be in such a hurry, Old Ma. Just sit there and stay still!"
Flowery's butt, which had already left the chair, plopped back down. "What is it?"
Constitution’s eyes were wide open. After a long while he replied, "Old Ma.... Turn your head and look at yourself in the mirror."
When Flowery did so, his jaw dropped. He saw another flower growing on his head, exactly the same as the one that’d just been removed.
Constitution said, " I’ve never encountered anything like this in all my years practicing medicine. For example, even a fungal infection takes hours or days to grow! The flower on your head grew out in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. I tell you the truth, Old Ma, your disease might not respond to treatment even if you go to the hospital."
"What can I do? I can't wear a hat every day, can I?" Flowery was almost in tears.
"The more I think about this, the weirder it seems,” Constitution answered after a moment’s thought. “I just remembered something. What day was yesterday?"
"The fifteenth of July! The Ghost Festival, when spirits return from Heaven and Hell to roam the world!"
"Did you go to a grave?"
"Yes! I never miss a year visiting my father's grave to make an offering! Sending flowers has become popular in the last couple of years, so I brought flowers to his grave, too!"
“Heh, heh.” Constitution looked at him and laughed. "Which father's grave did you visit?"
Flowery got a bizarre expression on his face when he heard that. It turned out that his biological father had died before he was ten years old and his mother brought another husband into the family. His stepfather was a very upright person who got up early and went to bed late every day to support the family. After Flowery reached adulthood, his stepfather helped him get married and set up a household of his own. When his stepfather finally reached an age to enjoy a peaceful life, he fell seriously ill and died. Flowery attended to his burial, buy it was Constitution who picked the site using geomancy. At the time, Flowery told Constitution up front that raising a child is more important than siring one, so the man was his true father. When Flowery’s mother reached her allotted span, the two would be buried together. But go figure -- when Flowery's mother did pass away, he buried her with his biological father, leaving his stepfather out of the picture. He even stopped visiting his stepfather's grave after the third anniversary of his mother's death.
Flowery felt a little guilty when he thought about this. But what did it have to do with the flower growing on his head?
Constitution’s tone became serious after hearing this story. "I'm not saying anything bad about you, Old Ma, but we need to understand some principles in this life. You said you bought flowers and visited a grave, but how come you missed that grave? He’s not your biological father, so whether he’s buried with your mother or not, you don’t give him a second thought. For better or worse, though, he is the one who raised you. You can't forget about buying him flowers and visiting his grave, can you? If it were me, I’d stick a flower on your head, too, as a warning. See if you can ever forget it!"
Flowery hung his head and said nothing.
Constitution grabbed Flowery's hat and put it back on his head. "Go buy a bigger bunch of flowers to give to your stepfather!"
Flowery was skeptical when he left, but not long afterwards, he rushed back. As soon as he came in the door, he announced, "Look, Constitution, I can’t feel the flower on my head, so it must be gone.”
As soon as Constitution looked, he saw that it was true. The flower was gone. He looked at the table and found that the flower he’d cut from Flowery's head had also disappeared.
Text at p. 1-42. Translated from 福塔美文 at
http://m.futashop.cn/showinfo-35-26497-0.html
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2. The Barber (剃头匠)
Zhang Zhengyang (张正阳)
Enemies Meet
Legend has it that a barber whose last name was Wu was living in North China that year. He took his time when shaving a customer's head, first massaging it for half an incense stick of time. His palms were so unusually large that he could press down on the head’s key acupuncture points with just three fingers, and then use the right amount of pressure to make the customer feel like an Immortal floating on air. People had therefore given him the nickname "Three Fingers" Wu.
A bandit named Crooked Mouth Li, who controlled a mountainous area, had dozens of armed men under his command. They often looted and plundered people’s homes and the locals hated them. One day when Crooked and his underlings were leaving a restaurant after a gluttonous meal, Crooked's legs each went their separate ways. His men wanted to find a place for him to rest up and, by chance, they saw Three Fingers shaving a customer's head not far away.
The bandits had heard of Three Fingers, so they helped Crooked over to him. One of them, a dollar in his left hand and a Mauser C96 pistol in his right, told Three Fingers, "If you serve him well, you’ll be rewarded. If you make him angry, hmph…."
Three Fingers was startled and his usually steady hands trembled slightly. He took a deep breath and asked, "Sir, how do you like to have your head shaved? A short buzz cut or completely bald?"
Crooked, in a daze, mumbled, "Whatever you want. Just be quick."
Three Fingers didn't say anything else and directly started in with his unique skills. He stretched out his fingers and pressed on Crooked’s head. As soon as his three fingers pushed down, Crooked felt that the headache he had from drinking was greatly relieved. As Three Fingers kneaded and rubbed slowly, Crooked felt a tingling sensation on his scalp. He was comfortable and, still under the influence of the alcohol, he entered dreamland after a few moments.
This amazed the bandits standing nearby. Believe it or not, though, when it came time for others waiting in line to get their heads shaved, a few of them felt that something wasn’t right. They knew Three Fingers was usually fast and accurate, but now, his clippers moved extremely slowly, and he seemed all aflutter. Could he be afraid of Crooked's power? At this thought, they all looked at Three Fingers with a bit of contempt in their eyes.
Three Fingers got ready to shave Crooked's face after he was done shaving his head. He picked up a towel from the hot water basin and squeezed out some of the water. He waited until he felt that the temperature was right before covering Crooked’s face. The warmth relaxed every pore on Crooked’s face and woke him up. But when the wet towel was removed and he opened his eyes, he looked into Three Fingers's eyes and wanted to cry out in fear.
Before Crooked could react, Three Fingers's razor was already touching him. He didn't dare breathe, staring at the razor as it moved bit by bit. Soon he was sweating profusely.
Crooked’s underlings knew nothing of this. When Three Fingers put away the razor, they threw him a dollar and complimented him, "You are indeed talented."
Crooked bounced up from his chair before they finished speaking, grabbed a Mauser and pointed it at Three Fingers's head. Everyone was shocked, since they didn’t know why Crooked was freaked out. They only heard him ask, "Are you Honorable Wu's son?"
Three Fingers nodded. "I am."
Missed Opportunity
Several of the underlings were taken aback. Honorable Wu had been a wealthy landowner outside the city. Ten years before, the bandits were concerned about his power, so they wiped out the entire Wu family and stole all their money. Now, looking at Three Fingers again, they saw he really did look like Honorable.
They wondered, Three Fingers was gesturing around Crooked’s head with his clipper and razor just now. If he’d wanted to avenge that blood feud, couldn't he have done it as quickly as the thought crossed his mind?
Crooked sneered. "You had a great opportunity to get your revenge just now, but you didn't dare do anything. You really are a pussy!" He put away the gun, laughed and walked away.
It wasn’t long before the story got around. The more zealous men of all generations looked down on Three Fingers. They said that killing Crooked would’ve only cost one life, since he was a bachelor, but he could’ve avenged a sea of blood and punish a scourge upon the people as well. Why go on with such an ignoble existence? He deserved to be considered one of the "dregs of society"! No one was willing to let Three Fingers shave his head after that, saying they were afraid of being tainted by his fecklessness.
Three Fingers lost his business and had to live on his savings. One day not long afterwards, a middle-aged man who said his last name was Wang came to Three Fingers’ house and asked, "I heard you haven't worked for a while. Are you still good at your craft?"
Three Fingers thought Mr. Wang looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he’d seen him. He nodded and said, "How could I dare leave behind the skills taught to me by a master?" He asked his guest to sit down, but Mr. Wang shook his head, "It's not me who wants to have his head shaved." Before Three Fingers could ask, Mr. Wang shouted to several strong men outside, and they escorted a man into the house. Three Fingers looked closely and noted that the man had no good flesh on his body, but his mouth was markedly crooked. Wasn't this Crooked Mouth Li?
Three Fingers clenched his fists and asked, "What’s the meaning of this, Mr. Wang?"
"It appears you really don't remember me,” Mr. Wang replied. I used to work as a farmhand for your family, and Honorable Wu treated me very well. Now I’m lucky enough to have made a name for myself in the world and I wanted to repay him, but I didn't expect that he’d have fallen victim to a blackard." He pointed at Crooked. "I heard about you, so I brought him here today for you can take revenge with your own hands."
Crooked’s hands and feet were shackled, and he’d been placed on a chair so he couldn’t move. He looked up at Three Fingers and snorted, "I never thought I’d die at the hands of a weakling like you after being a warrior all my life!"
Three Fingers said nothing. He treated him he had before, first massaging and then shaving his head, and finally trimming his beard. He treated him just like any other customer. At the end, Crooked couldn't help but curse, "You mother**er! If you’re going to kill me, just do it. What’re are you wasting your time for?"
Go figure -- Three Fingers said "OK" and put the scissors away. Mr. Wang asked in surprise, "Aren’t you going to kill him?" When Three Fingers shook his head, Mr. Wang informed him, "Crooked’s men have been caught, so you needn’t worry. No one will bother you if you kill him."
"Do you think I'm really afraid of them?" Three Fingers suddenly became excited. "I didn't kill him because I'm a barber. How can a barber's knife be stained with blood?"
Stow the Knife at the Sight of Blood
Three Fingers said that he’d been lucky enough to escape the day his family was slaughtered, but he’d had nowhere to go. Fortunately an old barber took him in. Later, he wanted to become an apprentice, but the old barber refused. "If one day your enemy comes to you and wants you to shave his head,” he asked, “will you take the opportunity to get revenge?"
"Of course I will!"
"That’s why I won't take you on as an apprentice!" The old barber shook his head. "We barbers work on people's heads. What reason would customers have to give us their heads? Because they trust our profession! If you’re quick with the knife and take revenge with pleasure, and the customers know about it, how could they not be afraid to see a barber ever again?" The old barber reminded him that barbering has professional rules: a barber must not have the intention to kill, and the barber's knife must not be stained by a drop of blood!
Three Fingers continued, "It'd be easy to cut off Crooked’s head, but that would ruin the reputation of the barber business. I’ve sworn a solemn oath. Even if I had a mind to cut Crooked into a thousand pieces, I’d have to stifle it!"
"So that’s how it is!" Mr. Wang sighed and had his men take Crooked away. Then he took out some gold bars and handed them to Three Fingers. "Take these. It's my way of repaying Mr. Wu's kindness."
Three Fingers waved them away. "I have hands and feet, and I make a living by my abilities." Mr. Wang nodded and smiled, "That's so. A barber like you will naturally have no worries about your livelihood."
Three Fingers's business picked up a few days after Mr. Wang left. His old customers returned and said it was really admirable of Three Fingers to repay the old barber 's kindness and protect the reputation of the entire barber business by not seeking revenge!
One day Three Fingers came home after a busy day and, as he was tidying up his tools in his courtyard, he suddenly felt someone coming in. He looked up and found it was Mr. Wang.
"It's like this. I'm planning to go on a long trip. I don't know if I can come back... " Mr. Wang threw a leather case to Three Fingers and said, "It's just a farewell gift, nothing valuable."
It was a brand new set of bright, shiny barber’s tools. Three Fingers took one look and liked it, but he didn't want to take it for free. When he tried to pay for it, however, Mr. Wang waved it off. "Forget it, I don't need the money. Just shave my head for me!"
Three Fingers took special care of Mr. Wang. When he finished, Mr. Wang looked in the mirror and declared, "Not bad. It’ll give the Japs some insight into the spirit of our nation!"
Three Fingers didn’t appear to understand, so Mr. Wang clarified, "I’ve been in the habit of wandering around the rivers and valleys of our country these last few years. It’s made me mad. I can't stand the Japanese running wild here, so I decided to take my brothers to make war against them!" With that, he laughed and went out.
Japanese soldiers entered the city before long. One day, Three Fingers was shaving someone's head when a fat man came along. Three Fingers recognized him as the translator who usually accompanied the Japanese officers. The fat translator got straight to the point. "Pack up your things right now and come with me. Some bigwigs need your services!"
"Just a minute." Three Fingers kept doing what he was doing, The fat translator glared at him and shouted, "You can shave the heads of an enemy who wiped out your entire family, but you’re not willing to serve the Japanese?" Three Fingers immediately sent the man he was working on away and packed up his gear. "As a barber, how could I be so rude to a customer?"
"That's right!” The fat translator responded. “There's no need to butt heads with the Japanese! We caught a gangster named Wang a few days ago. We offered him a high position but he refused to take it and insisted on going against the Japanese. Can you guess how he ended up? Not even an intact carcass was left!"
Three Fingers paused but said nothing. He threw the razor in his hand to one side.
The fat translator asked curiously, "What did you do that for?"
Three Fingers reached in a drawer and took out the set of barber’s tools that Mr. Wang had given him. "Of course I have to switch to a new set of implements to serve such distinguished guests," he replied.
The fat translator took a look and said happily, "Yes, that's logical! Things will definitely be all right for you as long as you serve the Japanese well!"
The fat translator brought Three Fingers into the Japanese military camp. Three Fingers was very capable and gave trims to more than a dozen Japanese soldiers in one afternoon, after which the fat translator took him to see an officer named Sato, the highest commander of this division of the Japanese army. The fat translator made a point of ordering Three Fingers to serve him well.
Three Fingers used all his skills to carefully groom every hair on Sato's head with a pair of small scissors. It was like he was polishing up a precious work of art. Sato eventually looked at himself in the mirror and was very satisfied. Just as he was about to compliment the barber, he felt a sharp pain in his throat -- Three Fingers had jabbed him with the small scissors given to him by Mr. Wang.
Sato was dead.
The fat translator grabbed Three Fingers and yelled at him through clenched teeth: “You! Didn't you say that a barber's blade should never be stained with blood?"
Three Fingers's eyes turned red and he laughed contemptuously. "My brother villagers have sacrificed their heads to fight the Japanese, so why would they need a barber like me anymore?"
Text on p. 1-50. Translated from 天天故事网at
http://vertical.591adb.cn/journal/article_wqjd_3784013.html
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3. A Horse Made of Bamboo Strips (篾马)
Liu Xuezhu (刘学柱)
In olden times, a woman named Heroine Feng was married to a scholar named Confucian Wang. Confucian came from a wealthy family and liked to recite poems and paint. He loved Heroine very much.
Heroine was happy to have married such a man, but there was one thing that bothered her a little. Namely, Confucian liked to go sightseeing and visit friends, and Heroine never heard from him while he was away. She naturally worried about that. What should she do if he encountered some danger or met a very close lady friend?
Confucian had been gone again for a few days, and Heroine didn't know when he might return. She was lonely and bored at home, so she rode a donkey back to her parents' home to visit. On the way, she stopped at the entrance of a village and happened to run into Feathers Huang. Feathers and Heroine were from the same village and had often played together when they were children. Meeting by chance after not seeing each other for many years made them feel particularly warmhearted.
The two chatted for a long time, then went to Feathers's home hand in hand. Feathers was well-dressed and polite, and seemed to be living a good life. When Heroine walked into the house, however, she learned that Feathers's situation was quite miserable. It turned out that Feathers's husband had passed away more than a year before and she kept up the house by herself, making a living by crafting bamboo articles. She was clever and skillful and made exquisite things, especially the lifelike flowers, birds, and animals woven from bamboo strips. Heroine admired the various bamboo articles in Feathers's home and commented, "I didn't expect your weaving skills to have reached such a level!" The two chatted some more before Heroine got up to say goodbye some time later.
Heroine only stayed at her parents' house for one night. She was concerned that Confucian might come home early and worry if he didn’t see her, so she rushed home early the next morning.
When she arrived and confined her donkey in the corral, she noticed that Confucian's donkey was already there. She searched around the house and finally found him lying on the bed in the bedroom. His face was sallow, beads of sweat kept oozing from his forehead, and he was holding his stomach and crying in pain.
Concerned, Heroine hurried to him and asked, "I went to my mother's house to stay overnight, my Husband. When did you get home? What happened to you?"
Confucian perked up when saw her. "I picked some wild fruit on the road and ate them, Heroine. I'm afraid I've been poisoned. My stomach aches something fierce. Go to town right away and ask the herbalist, Doctor Hua, to prescribe some medicine for me…."
"Ah!" Heroine cried and stood up." Just hold on for a while. I'll go get some silver for Doctor Hua and be back soon."
Heroine rushed to the cabinet to get the silver and noticed a bamboo horse there, a handicraft of woven bamboo strips. She took a closer look and saw it was very lifelike, not as majestic as a real horse but particularly well-crafted. It was obviously meant for women to enjoy. Heroine thought it looked familiar and suddenly remembered the bamboo artifacts she’d seen at Feathers's house the day before. The weaving method and style of this one were exactly the same as what she’d seen there. Yes, she figured that Feathers was the only person in those parts who could weave such an exquisite piece. But how could her husband have a bamboo horse woven by Feathers? Did they know each other?
Heroine remembered that she’d mentioned Feathers to Confucian and praised her beauty, virtue and cleverness. Confucian said he’d like to meet such a beautiful and intelligent woman if he had the chance. Heroine was quite unhappy and regretted telling her husband about the other women. Now she’d discovered a bamboo horse woven by Feathers in her home, so why wouldn’t she be suspicious? She imagined things in her mind’s eye, so she hid the bamboo horse in her sleeve while she was getting the silver. Then she got on her donkey to go to town and see Doctor Hua.
Her head was buzzing along the way. She kept thinking how radiant Feathers looked even though her life was so bleak. Was it because she had a lover? Confucian liked to recite poems, paint, and travel. This time when he left home, he’d said he was going to meet friends and acquaintances. Could he have secretly met up with Feathers? It was possible, of course, that the two had simply met by chance and fallen in love at first sight, and Feathers gave him the bamboo horse as a token of her love. Who could’ve known he’d get greedy for wild fruit and return home in unbearable pain, so he didn't have a chance to hide the bamboo horse and that's how she found it.... It seems that the thing she’d worried about had happened. Why hadn’t she realized that Confucian might meet Feathers! Hrumph, what's the big deal about eating some wild fruit? If he’d really betrayed her, let his stomach ache for a while. It’d be a punishment ordained by God!
Heroine was so distracted that she accidentally fell off the donkey. She wasn’t seriously injured, fortunately, but it delayed her for some time. She picked her things up and got back on the donkey.
Although she was suspicious, she still had Confucian’s best interests in her heart. She planned to wait until he recovered from his illness before having it out with him. She eventually arrived at Doctor Hua's clinic in town. He was a well-known doctor who’d had comings and goings with Confucian before.
Heroine met with him and told him the truth about Confucian's condition.
Doctor Hua boxed up some medicine at once, " I was traveling with Brother Wang for the last few days,” he said, “and he kept saying he was going to bring you some wild fruit to try. He must’ve seen the wild fruit on the roadside after I left him and tried them out to see how they tasted. That’s how he happened to eat some poisonous wild fruit. Don't worry, I’m good at detoxification, but time is tight. I’m missing a certain medicine here. You can get it from the Tong Ren Tang pharmacy for me. I’ll go to your house to check on the situation first. You should get the medicine and go home ASAP." After giving Heroine these instructions, Doctor Hua hurried out of the clinic with his medicine bag on his back.
When Heroine learned that Doctor Hua had been traveling with Confucian these last few days, her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t have time to think about it, though, and went straight to Tong Ren Tang. On the way, Heroine had another strange thought: Doctor Hua and Confucian had been friends for many years. When he saw me coming to see him, did he pretend to be in such a hurry? Would he and Confucian team up to fool me? The truth about Confucian eating wild fruit might not be what Doctor Hua said.... These thoughts delayed Heroine a bit on her errand.
She rode her donkey home after getting the medicine from Tong Ren Tang. She knew that being sick was no joke and she couldn't delay the treatment no matter what.
Just as she arrived at the door of her house, Heroine was surprised to see Doctor Hua walking out, his face pale. She immediately had an ominous premonition. When the doctor saw her, he said sadly: "He’s gone...."
She couldn't believe it. She was bewildered for a long time before she threw herself on Confucian and burst into tears. Then she thought of the bamboo horse in her sleeve. She took it out and threw it to the ground, "It's all because of this bamboo horse,” she screamed. “It killed my husband!"
Heroine was actually blaming herself for becoming suspicious and jealous when she saw the bamboo horse. That’s what ultimately led to her missing the chance to save her husband.
Doctor Hua sighed when he saw the bamboo horse. "Confucian asked me to go out with him for a good time. We met a village girl on the way who could make bamboo trinkets. He asked her to make a bamboo horse for him because you were born in the year of the horse and he wanted to give it to you. How could a man so full of life pass away just like that?"
Although Doctor Hua hadn’t said much, every word hit Heroine's heart. She was stunned and cried out, "I’m such a fool! Why didn't I remember that I was born in the year of the horse?"
Text at p. 1-55. Translated from 名人轶事网 at
https://www.storyren.com/thread-81697-1-1.html
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4. Keeping a Pet Bird (不是什么鸟都能养)
Huang Chaopeng (黄超鹏)
A certain Mr. Huang had opened a new restaurant on a commercial street, but it was struggling due to fierce competition. Mr. Huang didn’t lack for mental effort attempting to improve the situation: he hired a great chef, redecorated, offered special discounts.... He tried every trick in the book, but none of them worked.
One day he disguised himself and visited the most popular restaurant on the street, intending to learn from its operators. He spent some time observing and concluded that the dishes, prices and services of this restaurant were actually similar to those of his own establishment. The reason this place was doing so well was that it had two mynas who were able to talk. Whenever customers came through the door, the birds would greet them warmly: "Welcome, and may you prosper!" When the customers paid and left, the mynas would cry out: "Farewell! Please come again!"
Some customers even took videos which they uploaded to the Internet. The restaurant became an overnight sensation and many netizens sought it out.
Mr. Huang was inspired and decided to go back to his place and follow suit. He bought a large parrot for a lot of money because he felt that, since having a bird was the same tactic as his competitor, the type of bird must be better to attract customers. People said there were many kinds of parrots, but he didn't know anything about that, so he relied on his social connections and had someone buy him a blue and yellow macaw. It was larger than ordinary parrots, had bright feathers and looked noble. It was also particularly good at talking: It wasn’t limited to "hello" and "welcome" but could also answer customers’ questions. The answers were often unexpected, funny and interesting.
Sure enough, within a few days, the parrot attracted lots of customers to see the marvel. Mr. Huang's business caught fire. Reporters even came around to interview him.
Facing the camera’s lens, Mr. Huang boasted: "Others have lucky cats and lucky dogs, but I have a lucky bird. Isn't keeping pets all the rage now? This is the specialty of our business. We welcome more customers to come and enjoy both the exotic bird and the food!”
Mr. Huang treated the parrot as though it were the God of Wealth. He fed it good food and took meticulous care of it. He hoped that this precious parrot would attract more customers, but he didn't expect that the police would come before long, too. They didn’t come to patronize the business, though -- they took Mr. Huang and the parrot back to the police station and held them while they investigated the legal responsibilities.
When Mr. Huang learned that he had violated the law by keeping the bird, he was quick to defend himself. "First, I didn't kill and eat it,” he said, “and second, I didn't raise it for resale. I just kept it as a pet. Is that against the law?"
"The bird you have isn’t an ordinary one," the police explained. "Blue and yellow macaws are specially protected wild animals and cannot be purchased through illegal channels. You need to know the law when you raise pets. You have to know the type of animal you have and its protected status. You can't just look for something novel or exotic. Not all birds can be kept as pets."
The police also told Mr. Huang that the dealer who’d sold him the parrot had been arrested and would be subject to legal sanctions.
Mr. Huang was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't speak for a long time....
Lawyer's comments:
This story touches on a legal problem, namely, the state’s prohibition of the random purchase, trade, breeding and killing of protected animals.
Under the law, wildlife resources belong to the state. Wildlife under special state protection is divided into first- and second-level protected wildlife. The state encourages the domestication and breeding of wild animals, but persons who do so are required to hold a license....
In the story, Mr. Huang asked someone to buy a parrot for him. It was purchased through an illegal channel and was identified as a national second-level specially protected wild animal, so it could not be purchased or raised at will. Naturally, without a domestication or breeding license, it was illegal to put it in the restaurant as a "lucky bird". Of course, appropriate measures could resolve the case if the purchase was done unwittingly, but otherwise the result will be severe punishment under the law.
Text on p. 1-60. Translated from 刊APP下载 at