Método histórico

Among the people of the south there is a tradition that before the Ch’in and Han dynasties there lived a cave-master called Wu.

People called the place the Wu cave. He had two wives. One wife died. She had a daughter called Yeh-hsien, who from childhood was intelligent and good at making pottery on the wheel. Her father loved her. Aft er some years the father died, and she was ill-treated by her stepmother, who would always order her to collect fi rewood in dangerous places and draw water from deep pools.¹ Once Yeh-hsien caught a fi sh about two inches long, with red fi ns and golden eyes. She put it into a bowl of water. It grew bigger every day, and aft er she had changed the bowl several times, she could fi nd no bowl big enough for it, so she threw it back into the pond. Whatever food was left over from meals she put into the water to feed it. When Yeh-hsien came to the pond, the fi sh always swam up and rested its head on the bank, but when anyone else came, it would not come out.

Th e stepmother watched for the fi sh, but it did not once appear. So she tricked the girl, saying, “Haven’t you worked hard! I am going to give you a new dress.” She then made the girl change out of her tattered clothing. Aft erwards she sent her to get water from a spring that was very far away. Th e stepmother put on Yeh-hsien’s clothes, hid a sharp knife up her sleeve, and went to the pond. She called to the fi sh. Th e fi sh at once put its head out, and she chopped it off and killed it. Th e fi sh was now more than ten feet long. She cooked it, and when she served it up, it tasted twice as good as an ordinary fi sh. She hid the bones under the dung-hill.

Th e next day, when the girl came to the pond, no fi sh appeared.

Th e girl ran out into the fi elds, howling with grief. Suddenly there appeared a man with his hair loose over his shoulders, dressed in coarse clothes.² He descended from the sky, and he consoled her, saying, “Don’t cry so! Your stepmother has killed the fi sh and its bones are under the dung-heap. Go back, take the fi sh’s bones and hide them in your room. Whatever you want, you have only to ask

Yeh-hsien

² I wonder who the man is. He is very wise and knows what Yeh-hsien should do.

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the fi sh bones for it.” Th e girl followed his advice, and from then on she was able to provide herself with gold, pearls, dresses, and food whenever she wanted them.

When the time came for the cave festival, the stepmother took her own daughter with her, and left Yeh-hsien to keep watch over the fruit trees in the garden. Th e girl waited until they were far away, and then she followed them, wearing a cloak of material spun from kingfi sher feathers and shoes of gold. Her stepsister saw her and said to the stepmother, “Th at girl looks like my sister.” Th e stepmother suspected the same thing. Th e girl was aware of this and went away in such a hurry that she lost one shoe. It was picked up by one of the people of the cave.

When the stepmother got home, she found the girl asleep, with her arms round one of the trees in the garden, and thought no more about it.

Th e cave was near an island in the sea, and on this island was a kingdom called T’o-han. Th e man who had picked up the gold shoe sold it in T’o-han, and it was brought to the king.

He ordered all the women of the court to put it on, but it was too small even for the one among them that had the smallest foot. He then ordered all the women in his kingdom to try it on, but there was not one that it fi tted. It was as light as down, and it made no noise even when treading on stone. His search fi nally took him to the place where Yeh-hsien lived with her stepmother, and the shoe fi tted her perfectly. She put on the other shoe, and her cape of feathers, and she was as beautiful as a heavenly being. Taking the fi sh bones with her, she returned with the king to T’o-han and became his chief wife. Th e fi rst year, the king was very greedy and asked the fi sh bones for jade and pearls without limit.³ Th e next year, the fi sh bones no longer granted his requests. He buried them by the sea shore and covered them with a hundred bushels of pearls, and aft er a while they were washed away by the tide.

Th e stepmother and stepsister were struck by fl ying rocks, and died. Th e cave people buried them in a stone pit, which was called the Tomb of the Two Women. Men would come there and make off erings, and the girl they prayed for would become their wife.

Details such as the cave-master, deep pools, fi sh bones, a cave festival, and fruit trees are specifi c to the place and time where this fairy tale was fi rst told.

³ At fi rst I thought

Yeh-hsien would be the only one who could use the fi sh bones. But here I fi nd out that the king could also ask the bones for jade and pearls.

This surprises me

because this detail is not like the version of this fairy tale I know.

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After Reading

Retell the Story: Ask students what the point of view of the story is. Then have students take turns telling the story from one of the following points of view: the narrator, Yeh-hsien, the man, or the stepmother. Ask students to explain how their point of view aff ects the details they add or leave out.

Use Copying Master number 1 to prompt students to discuss questions they had.

Cultural Perspective

The story of Cinderella is at least 1,000 years old.

Although the main character has diff erent names, the tale has been found in North America, Scandinavia, Africa, the Middle and Far East, Asia, and around the Mediterranean. The story was fi rst recorded in written form in the ninth century in China.

“I wonder . . .”

Think and Respond

1. Yeh-hsien and her stepmother treat the fi sh diff erently. What do these diff erences tell you about each person’s character? Possible responses: The stepmother was cruel, greedy, and dishonest. To her the fi sh was nothing more than food. Yeh-hsien was caring, brave, hardworking, and loyal. She treated the fi sh as a being worthy of respect and continued to care for it, no matter what.

Analytical

2. How are the characters in this fairy tale like or unlike other versions of the Cinderella story? Possible responses: They all tell about a girl who is mistreated by a family member and whose life is changed for the better by a magical helper.

Yeh-hsien includes details about Chinese culture and has its own special ending.

Genre

3. Why do you think authors write fairy tales? Possible response: They carry the memory of other times, places, and people. They teach important lessons about the consequences of good and bad behavior. Author’s Purpose

123 Yeh-hsien

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Genre: Biography

Comprehension Strategy: Monitor Comprehension Think-Aloud Copying Master number 8