In Africa, the natives believe that even trees must guard their shadows. This is especially true of the trees that have medicinal leaves. A Kaffir doctor runs up very quickly to one of these medicinal trees and tries to avoid stepping on its shadow lest the shadow inform the tree of his coming and give it time to withdraw the healing properties of its leaves into the trunk. One of the strangest customs that has existed since the time of the Greeks is still practised in southeastern Europe. It is that of measuring a strong man’s shadow and then of building the measuring line into the foundations of a building. The people believe that the strength of the man goes into the structure. In Roumania one frequently hears when passing a building under construction this warning cry: “Beware lest they take thy shadow.” There are certain people who go about stealthily measuring the shadows of strong men. They sell these shadow measuring lines to the architects. Gradually the superstitious fear of shadows passed. In the place of this fear came an interest in using shadows for entertainment. This may have been suggested by the shadows that fell on the walls of the sacred tent while the priests within were performing the holy rites. Shadow plays originated in the Orient and are known in every Eastern country. Here is a tale of their Chinese origin. An emperor grew angry with his two court fools, and ordered their heads cut off. When his anger cooled, he began to feel that life was dull. He then ordered his grand vizier to bring his fools back to life. At this command, the vizier was almost at his wit’s end for he knew that he would lose his own head if he could not fulfil the royal command. One day he met a fisherman with two great fishes. It suddenly occurred to him that he might take the skins of these fishes, dry them, and cut out from them two figures that would look like the two jesters. He succeeded in doing this, and after much thought and labor, he was able once more to show the Emperor his fools, this time as shadows against a lighted curtain, acting for his entertainment. These shadows seemed to please the Emperor even more than the living jesters.