Seven Maids of Far Cathay: Being English Notes From a Chinese Class BookLedyard, Mary Forman
General
Seven Maids of Far Cathay: Being English Notes From a Chinese Class Book
Ledyard, Mary Forman
Chinese in literature
Two hours after this the boat floated near to a great Mountain. On this
Mountain many beasts had their homes. When the man realized this he was
very much afraid, and he said to himself, "If I stay in this spot, in
this boat I will starve soon; and if I go out and up the Mountain I will
be killed by the wild beasts."
In the very midst of the young man's trouble and wonder who should come
down the Mountain but a female Monkey. This Monkey was the Queen of the
place; she led him to her cave and prepared a dinner for him, and sat
with him at meat.
After a few days the female Monkey made a stately bow before him and
asked him to become her husband.
Then the man said to himself, "If do not consent to her she will kill
me, so I shall have to marry her to save my life, and perhaps after a
time I shall have a good chance to go back to my home again."
So he promised to marry her.
On their wedding day there were many little Monkeys who came to
congratulate her.
After a year the Monkey bore a baby to him.
When the boy was old enough his Mother took him out to hunt for game,
which they carried home for dinner.
The man taught her to cook, so that they could roast the game quite
nicely.
One day the man got very homesick so he went out, wishing to escape from
his wife. Just that time the Monkey and her son were returning from
their hunt. When they saw him come up they were very angry and led him
home.
Next time she went out to hunt she left the boy at home to watch his
Father.
After another year the Monkey bore him another son. When this second son
was old enough his Mother made him a bow and arrow, and taught him to
shoot the animals; from that day forth she always took her second son
with her when she went out to shoot, leaving the oldest son at home to
keep guard over the Father. The man always told this big boy about his
home, and the big boy talked to his little brother about it, so that
after a while the second boy began to refuse to go hunting with his
Mother.
One day the man said to his sons, "If I go home I can only let one of
you go with me," but they said "Surely we will both go with you," and
the man saw that they would both go with him and he was much perplexed
as to how he could bring it to pass.
One day soon after they saw a boat coming toward the Mountain, so they
went down into it, the boat sailed away very quickly. When the Monkey
came home and found that her husband and children were not there she
began to search for them. Then she saw a great boat opposite her in
which three men were sitting, she began to call to them and to cry, but
the three waved their hands to her from the boat and gave her a silent
farewell.
After a few days the boat reached the City in which the man was born.
When the man came to his home and his wife saw him and the two boys, she
was very angry, because she thought that he had married another wife.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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