Maonan folktales: The Lazy and Peacocky Father

(Narrator: Dr Mike Tianqiao Lu)
Aug. 22, 2008

The lazy and peacockish father

       Now I’m going to tell you another story. The story took place near our village. The story happened in the neighborhood of our village. In our village, well, there is a village called ‘Dong Sa’. There were a grandpa and a grandma, as well as a husband and a wife who had just given birth to a child. They used to have enough clothing and food. They had a very comfortable time. Afterwards, the grandpa and grandma died. They spent a lot of money to hold funerals for them. Then, it could only rely on the mother’s hard work, so that they could have enough rice, buffalos and oxen. Afterwards, the mother became ill and died because she had worked so hard. Well, the father and the child at home. They ate all the rice in the house and used up all the money. The bed, well, was also sold out. Now life was hard for them. And there was no way out. But they just didn’t want the others to know what had happened to the family. Well, the rice had been sold out by now. And they had nothing to eat. Now there was no wine, either. He then thought,
         ‘We were well off before. We could eat meat. Now let’s make something fake to cheat other people.’
         He then said to the child,
         ‘When we go out to the street and when people ask us “what have you eaten today”, you just say that we have just eaten meat and my father has drunk wine, too.’
         ‘Well, do you have a bed to sleep on?’
         ‘Well, we don’t feel cold at all! We have very thick quilt. You just tell them that. That’ll be good.’
        one day, the child and the father went out together. They went to other people’s house to chat. When they are chatting, the others asked,
         ‘Hey, little brother, it was so cold last night. Did you feel cold?’
         ‘Well, I didn’t fell cold at all. We, we have a very thick quilt.’
         Well, the father felt very happy about this. He had taught the child to be smart. They then went home. They got home. The next day they went there again. They went there the next day. The father went alone. The father went there. He kept

bragging to the others.
         ‘We, now, you look at my mouth. It’s shining. I often eat meat.’ Actually he didn’t have any meat to eat. When he went out, he rubbed his lips with a piece of ham to make them shining. In this way, he often deceived the other people. He often bragged about this. Today he went again and kept bragging. Suddenly, the child who was staying at home ran there
       ‘Hey, Father! Hey, Father! The cat at home took away the piece of meat. I chased but couldn’t catch up with him. Then when we are going out, what shall we rub onto my lips?’
         The father felt very embarrassed at this. Then he dragged the child and ran home. Well, they went home. The third time when they went back, his father said,
         ‘Well, it was embarrassing what you have done. Now, next time, don’t you jabber about our bed!We sleep on straws. Just don’t tell the others about this. You just say we sleep on the bed. Don’t talk about straws.’
         Now he said
         ‘Oh, my child has become smart now.’
         This time he took his child with him to the other people’s house to chat. During chatting, the child kept looking at his father and said,
         ‘Father, I am hungry. Let’s go home.’
         ‘Ah? No hurry. Let me chat for a while. I enjoy it.’ Suddenly the child said,
         ‘Hey, Father. There is a bed on your head.’ Then the father felt about his head. He could feel a straw on his head.
         ‘See what you have done!’
         He then pulled the child and fled home.
         ‘This made me embarrassed.’
         The story just goes like that.

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