Author: Translated by Gladys Yang

About: This book contains twelve folk stories from eleven of the Chinese nationalities--Han, Hui, Mongolian, Miao, Zhuang, Hani, Dongxiang, Tu, Oroqen, Blang and Li. Written in a lively, interesting and humorous style, these stories express the Chinese people's longing for a free and happy life and their pursuit of noble ideals to bring about that better life.

Excerpt:

The whirring of the spinning-wheel was like the tender sighing of a woman. While she wept, the fourth sister whispered to her fifth, sixth and youngest sisters: “They are wolves that have changed themselves into young men. They will eat us!”

The younger sisters began to sob because they were too afraid to cry aloud.

The youngest sister said to the sixth sister, “You are older than I, you must save me.”

And the sixth sister turned to the fifth sister and said: “You are older than I. It's your duty to save us.”

The fifth sister, not knowing what to do, turned to the fourth sister and said, “You are older than I. You must think of a way to save us all.”

The fourth sister knew that they could not run away from these beasts, but must think of some Way to trick them. So she said to her fifth, sixth and youngest sisters, “Our three elder sisters only thought of their own safety. Since they have run away without warning us, we must think of a way to save ourselves. Each of us must try to think of something or we shall all be eaten by the wolves.”

The fifth, sixth and seventh sisters agreed with what the fourth sister said. They continued to spin while they went on discussing the problem.

The spinning-wheel no longer sounded like the sighing of a sorrowful woman. The sisters cried no more, for they had thought up a clever idea. The fourth sister stood up and spoke to the guests, “We're so sleepy. Are you ready to leave now?”