bring it with me to the fields. But, if you like I will go there for it."
"May I accompany you?" asked the tiger, delighted with what he had just heard.
"No, you had better remain here," replied the farmer, "if the villagers see you with me they may become alarmed and perhaps beat you to death. Wait here. I will find what you need and return."
And the farmer took a few steps, as if to set off homeward. But then he turned around and with wrinkled brow addressed the tiger.
"I am somewhat disturbed by the possibility that during my absence you might be seized with the desire to eat my buffalo. I have great need of it in my daily work. Who would repay me for such a loss?"
The tiger did not know what to say.
The farmer continued: "If you consent, I will tie you to a tree; then my mind will be free."
The tiger wanted the mysterious wisdom very much—so much, in fact, that he was willing to agree to anything. He permitted the farmer to pass ropes round his body and to tie him to the trunk of a big tree.
The farmer then went home and gathered a great armload of dry straw. He returned to the big tree and placed the straw under the tiger and set it on fire.
"Behold my wisdom!" he shouted at his unfortunate victim, as the flames encircled the tiger and burned him fiercely.
The tiger roared so loudly that the neighboring trees trembled. He raged and pleaded, but the farmer would not untie him.
Finally the fire burned through the ropes and he was able to free himself from cremation. He bounded away into the forest, howling with pain.
In time his wounds healed, but he was never able to rid himself of the long black stripes of the ropes which the flames had seared into his flesh.
THE SUPERNATURAL CROSSBOW
THIS IS a legend taken from the ancient Chronicles. More than 2,300 years ago the king of the realm of Thuc sought to marry a princess from the house of the Hong Bang, which was reigning in the kingdom of Van Lang. Embittered by the refusal that he received, he swore the ruin of the Hong Bang; but he died without satisfying his hatred, leaving the task to his descendants.
This was the origin of the continual wars between the kingdoms of Thuc and Van Lang.
For many years the Hong Bang were victorious. But powerful in their success and certain of the protection of the genii, they relaxed their vigilance and lived in idleness and indolence. Their enemy, Thuc Phan, a king of the realm of Thuc, began a long series of military preparations; he chose the right moment to invade Van Lang and crushed the Hong Bang.
* * *
Thuc Phan united the two kingdoms of Thuc and Van Lang under the name of Au Lac and took the name of An Duong Vuong for himself. He established his capital in the territory of Phong Khe. Desirous of protecting his realm against the bandits of the north, he ordered a mighty wall to be built at the northern extremity of his capital. But as soon as the wall was finished, a violent storm broke out and rain poured down in torrents. A strong wind howled and roared until the wall fell with a deafening crash.
An Duong Vuong rebuilt the wall three times; but as soon as it was completed, it was destroyed again in the same way.
At last a council of ministers was called; one minister, more clever than the others, arose and bowed.
"Will the Son of Heaven be pleased to hear my humble opinion?" he asked. "Since the wall has been destroyed so many times in the same way, it must be that the gods are against us. Let us attempt to appease them by erecting an altar and making sacrifices to ask them for advice and help."
This suggestion met with general approval. Accordingly, the king ordered the erection of an altar on the river bank outside the Eastern Gate. Cows and buffaloes were sacrificed and prayers were said. The king himself fasted for three days and nights and prostrated himself for hours before the altar, asking for guidance.
On the seventh day of the third month, a genie in the shape of an enormous golden tortoise appeared to the king in a dream and spoke in a human voice.
"Son of Heaven," he said, "your prayers have been heard by the gods, who have been pleased to send me here to help you." Then the tortoise instructed him in the proper way to build the wall. "This is a land of rivers and mountains, populated by spirits; the spirits of the mountains have caused your wall to crumble," he—continued, "for they are very mischievous and like to play tricks on human beings to show their power."
When the king awoke the next morning, he remembered all that the tortoise had told him. He followed instructions exactly and built a great wall of fortifications in the form of a sea shell or conch. He called it Co Loa and the capital became known as Co Loa Tanh, or the "City of the Conch."
An Duong Vuong now felt that his wall would resist the elements and that his city was secure. But he also realized that he was surrounded by powerful enemies and that he might not always be able to defend it.
The golden tortoise understood his doubts and again appeared to him in his sleep.
"Prosperity or misfortune depends on the will of Heaven," he said, "but if men are deserving, Heaven will aid them. Since you manifest such great confidence in me, I will make you a present of one of my claws, which you can use as a trigger for your crossbow. It will drive away evil spirits and it will even defeat an entire army in battle. But never forget that the ultimate safety of your realm depends on your vigilance." The tortoise pulled off one of his claws and entrusted it to the king; he then returned to the river and disappeared.
The king was very happy when he awoke and found the magic claw in his hand. He ordered a precious crossbow to be made with the magic claw as trigger, and a beautiful crystal case was made to contain the crossbow. The king was very grateful to the tortoise, for now he firmly believed his realm would enjoy peace and order for many years.
At that time China was under the rule of the powerful Emperor Shih Huang of the Ch'in dynasty; Shih Huang had conquered all his feudal neighbors and his armies reached to the South Sea. In the same year that An Duong Vuong began the Great Wall, he sent a great army of men and horses down from southern China to conquer the Kingdom of Au Lac. But this army was flung back time after time and was finally destroyed by the magic crossbow, before it even approached Co Loa Thanh.
Three years later Shih Huang sent forth another army, 500,000 strong, under the leadership of the great General Trieu Da and the northern part of Au Lac easily fell into Chinese hands. The Chinese hordes came in three sections—on horse, on foot, and by boat; they came with flags floating in the air, forests of weapons clashing together, and fierce-looking officers riding forward on their foaming steeds. Trieu Da deployed his troops on the Mountain of the Rusty Axe, his junks on the river, and besieged the capital.
King An Duong Vuong watched calmly from a window of his citadel as the three sections poured on towards Co Loa Thanh like a powerful swarm of ants. Then he walked to the ramparts, taking with him the magic crossbow with the holy tortoise's claw, and fired three arrows at the multitude of enemy soldiers. Twang! 10,000 Chinese soldiers fell like dry leaves; with the second arrow another 10,000 fell, and with the third arrow, another 10,000.
