There was in Chō-sen a king called His Majesty Cheng-chong, who was celebrated in all the kingdom for his goodness. One night, disguised as a countryman, and accompanied only by a single companion, he started out from the midst of the capital to make a circuit in order to inform himself of the temper of his subjects, and to become himself acquainted with the details of their life. Arrived at a certain point he looked in the window. There was a miserable house, of which the outer dilapidation, extremely pitiable as it was, led him to suspect in the interior a state of things difficult to imagine. Eagerly wishing to know what it was, he punched a peep-hole in the paper door and perceived an old man weeping, a man in mourning singing, and a nun or widow dancing. Unable to divine the cause of this spectacle, he ordered his companion to call the master of the house. The king’s servant doing so, said: “Is the proprietor of the house at home?” Hearing this voice the man in mourning made his appearance. His Majesty saluting him said: “We have never before met.” “True,” said the man in mourning, “but whence are you? How is it that you should come to find me at midnight? To what family do you belong?” Cheng-chong answered, “I am Mr. Ni, living at Tong-ku-an. As I was passing before your house, I was attracted by strange sounds. Then by a hole which I made in the door, I saw an old man weeping, a nun who danced, and a gentleman in mourning who sang. Why did the old man shed tears, the nun dance, and the man in mourning sing? Unable to fathom the motive I have made my friend call the householder with the purpose of informing myself.” The man in mourning rejoined, “Have you any business to know other people’s matters? What is your reason for acting thus when it concerns you so little? The night is well gone. Get back as quickly as possible.” “No, not at all. I acknowledge that it is not becoming to pry into the affairs of others, but this is such an extraordinary case I beg of you give me some light on the matter.” “Alas!” said the man in mourning, “why is the gentleman so eager to know other people’s matters?” Cheng-chong replied, “It is important that I should be somewhat informed.” “Since the gentleman wishes so much to know, I cannot do other than tell. This is why. My family has always been poor. In my hut one could never find sufficient grain for a meal and one flea would not have enough room upon my land to squat upon. I have no victuals for my old father. This is why, morning and evening, in default of all other resource, my wife has often cut off a tress of her hair and gone and sold it to buy a cup of bean-soup, which she graciously offers to my father. This evening she clipped and sold all of her hair that remained, and by this she has become bare-headed like a nun. My old father, seeing that for his sake his young daughter-in-law has become a nun, broke out into mourning in these terms: