<h2 class="label">III</h2>
<h2 class="main">A STORY OF THE FOX</h2></div>
<div class="divBody">
<p class="par first">[The Fox.—Orientals say that among the
long-lived creatures are the tortoise, the deer, the crane and the fox,
and that these long-lived ones attain to special states of spiritual
refinement. If trees exist through long ages they become coal; if pine
resin endures it becomes amber; so the fox, if it lives long, while it
never becomes an angel, or spiritual being, as a man does, takes on
various metamorphoses, and appears on earth in various forms.]</p>
<hr class="tb">
<p class="par"></p>
<p class="par">Yi Kwai was the son of a minister. He passed his
examinations and held high office. When his father was Governor of
Pyong-an Province, Kwai was a little boy and accompanied him. The
Governor’s first wife being dead, Kwai’s stepmother was the
mistress of the home. Once when His Excellency had gone out on an
inspecting tour, the <i>yamen</i> was left vacant, and Kwai was there
with her. In the rear garden of the official quarters was a pavilion,
called the Hill Pagoda, that was connected by a narrow gateway with the
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN name="xd21e936" href="#xd21e936" name=
"xd21e936">39</SPAN>]</span>public hall. Frequently Kwai took one of the
<i>yamen</i> boys with him and went there to study, and once at night
when it had grown late and the boy who accompanied him had taken his
departure, the door opened suddenly and a young woman came in. Her
clothes were neat and clean, and she was very pretty. Kwai looked
carefully at her, but did not recognize her. She was evidently a
stranger, as there was no such person among the dancing-girls of the
<i>yamen</i>.</p>
<p class="par">He remained looking at her, in doubt as to who she was,
while she on the other hand took her place in the corner of the room
and said nothing.</p>
<p class="par">“Who are you?” he asked. She merely laughed
and made no reply. He called her. She came and knelt down before him,
and he took her by the hand and patted her shoulder, as though he
greeted her favourably. The woman smiled and pretended to enjoy it. He
concluded, however, that she was not a real woman, but a goblin of some
kind, or perhaps a fox, and what to do he knew not. Suddenly he decided
on a plan, caught her, swung her on to his back, and rushed out through
the gate into the <i>yamen</i> quarters, where he shouted at the top of
his voice for his stepmother and the servants to come.</p>
<p class="par">It was midnight and all were asleep. No one replied, and
no one came. The woman, then, being <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN name=
"xd21e953" href="#xd21e953" name="xd21e953">40</SPAN>]</span>on his back,
bit him furiously at the nape of the neck. By this he knew that she was
the fox. Unable to stand the pain of it, he loosened his grasp, when
she jumped to the ground, made her escape and was seen no more.</p>
<p class="par">What a pity that no one came to Kwai’s rescue and
so made sure of the beast!</p>
<p class="par signed"><span class="sc">Im Bang.</span> <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN name="xd21e961" href="#xd21e961" name=
"xd21e961">41</SPAN>]</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div id="ch4" class="div1 chapter"><span class="pagenum">[<SPAN href="#xd21e246">Contents</SPAN>]</span>
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