Author: Various

About: Fourth in the Folk Tales from China series. In addition to the title story, contains the famous "Three Episodes of Fanjiangshan."

Excerpt:

A twenty-year-old pregnant woman called Male demanded silence, waving her hand above her head. “Be quiet, all of you!” she cried.

All fell silent.

She went on: “The boy was right when he said the sun is far from us. I don't think it's possible to get there even in ninety years. I think you had better let me go. For one thing, I am strong and neither towering mountains nor serpents nor wild beasts can daunt me. In addition, I am with child. If I can't reach my goal, my child can certainly do so.”

Hearing this, all clapped approval. So it was decided that Male would journey to the sun, and, when she got there, that she should burn a fire as a signal.

She set out eastward. After eight months or so she gave birth to a bonny baby. She took her baby along. She walked and walked till the seventieth year when she was too exhausted to drag her body further. So she stayed in a peasant's house and told her child to carry on.

During the long period of seventy years this, mother and her child, had scaled tens of thousands of high mountains, crossed tens of thousands of big rivers and come across tens of thousands of serpents and wild beasts. They had experienced all sorts of suffering and hardship, and on many occasions had even risked their lives. But they had come through all this safe and sound. For one thing, both were strong enough to scale the mountains and clever enough to elude the serpents and wild beasts.

On their way, Male and her child met many people who, hearing they were going to the sun, were anxious to help them, guiding them through the mountains, ferrying them across rivers, giving them clothes and shoes, and cooking them meals.