May 15 2009

Two ancient Chinese Fables Part II

2.Long, long ago, a man wondered why a good friend of his had not called on him for a long time. One day he bumped into the friend and asked the reason. The friend answered:

“When you entertained me with wine last time, I saw a snake in the cup as I was going to drink the wine. I felt nausea then but I still drank it up. However, I was taken ill. The host remembered that there had been a horn-decorated bow on the wall of his room so that the so-called “snake” in the cup might be the reflection of the bow.