people to be pitied, and that they shared a similar destiny. Binu had never known a life of fine clothes and good food, but was well acquainted with one of cold and hunger. She had never met anyone reborn from dragons or phoenixes, but had seen a great many humble people who had emerged from earth and water. What then could be so hard about predicting humble destinies? Taking courage from this thought, she looked for a clean patch of ground, on which she laid Qiliang’s sandal; after reinserting the frog in the sandal, she copied the behaviour of the KindlingVillage sorceresses by drawing a circle in the dirt and sitting inside it, lotus position.
The woman in green offered her the uneaten half of her flatbread, curtsied and said, ‘Forgive me, I could not tell that you were a sorceress. My husband was taken off to Great Swallow Mountain in the summer, and I have received no word from or about him since. Please make a divination for me; ask your frog if my man is still alive.’
With a sideways glance at the woman’s fancy dress and adornments, Binu reached out and touched the sash, on which jewels and pieces of agate hung. ‘You are dressed so beautifully, while your husband has been left shirtless. When the northern winds begin to blow, I am afraid he will not survive.’
‘Will he freeze to death?’ the women asked in unison.
‘No,’ Binu replied. ‘The frog says he will die of a broken heart.’
The shocked woman in green pleaded, ‘What can I do?’
‘Go home and find your husband’s warmest winter clothing. Lay it out in the sun tomorrow, and once it is aired and fresh, you can deliver it to Great Swallow Mountain in person.’
The woman hung her head in shame. ‘I no longer havehis winter clothing,’ she said. ‘I traded it for a bag of grain. I am not your equal. You are a sorceress who can fly across mountains and walk on water. I cannot travel such a long distance, I am much too frail. If I tried, I would die along the way for sure.’
‘You are afraid of dying along the way, but not afraid that your husband might freeze to death, is that what you are telling me?’
The woman in green had no answer for that, but before long began to speak in her own defence: ‘He is suffering, but my days are not pleasant either. What good is it to be a talented embroiderer? Isn’t it the same as waiting here for death to claim me? In any case, I was a butterfly in my previous life, and that is what I will return as. Then I can fly to Great Swallow Mountain to see him.’
A hunchbacked old man with a white beard walked up and handed Binu a sour date. Breathing heavily, he said, ‘My son was on his way down the mountain with kindling to sell when he was taken. The villagers falsely accused him of stealing a goat, for which he was arrested. I went to the county government office, but was driven away with a beating. The yamen officials said that, even if he had stolen a goat, they had no time to arrest him. Please, Elder Sister sorceress, ask your frog if my son actually committed a crime, and tell me where they have taken him.’
‘Your son has committed no crime,’ she said, ‘and he has certainly been taken to Great Swallow Mountain to work on the Great Wall. It is the hardest, most exhausting labour in the world. The men of Blue Cloud Prefecture fear hard, exhausting labour less than anyone else in the world, so they have all gone to Great Swallow Mountain.’
For a brief moment the old man seemed consoled, but then he asked, with a heavy heart, ‘How many days does it take to travel from Bluegrass Ravine to Great Swallow Mountain?’
‘The frog says that by foot it will take until the onset of winter.’
The old man succumbed to despair. ‘Then I will not be able to go. If it were a matter of a few dozen li, I would go with you. But walking makes me breathless, and I could never walk that far. If only I were ten years younger, I’d travel to Great Swallow Mountain, even if it killed me. I
The woman in green offered her the uneaten half of her flatbread, curtsied and said, ‘Forgive me, I could not tell that you were a sorceress. My husband was taken off to Great Swallow Mountain in the summer, and I have received no word from or about him since. Please make a divination for me; ask your frog if my man is still alive.’
With a sideways glance at the woman’s fancy dress and adornments, Binu reached out and touched the sash, on which jewels and pieces of agate hung. ‘You are dressed so beautifully, while your husband has been left shirtless. When the northern winds begin to blow, I am afraid he will not survive.’
‘Will he freeze to death?’ the women asked in unison.
‘No,’ Binu replied. ‘The frog says he will die of a broken heart.’
The shocked woman in green pleaded, ‘What can I do?’
‘Go home and find your husband’s warmest winter clothing. Lay it out in the sun tomorrow, and once it is aired and fresh, you can deliver it to Great Swallow Mountain in person.’
The woman hung her head in shame. ‘I no longer havehis winter clothing,’ she said. ‘I traded it for a bag of grain. I am not your equal. You are a sorceress who can fly across mountains and walk on water. I cannot travel such a long distance, I am much too frail. If I tried, I would die along the way for sure.’
‘You are afraid of dying along the way, but not afraid that your husband might freeze to death, is that what you are telling me?’
The woman in green had no answer for that, but before long began to speak in her own defence: ‘He is suffering, but my days are not pleasant either. What good is it to be a talented embroiderer? Isn’t it the same as waiting here for death to claim me? In any case, I was a butterfly in my previous life, and that is what I will return as. Then I can fly to Great Swallow Mountain to see him.’
A hunchbacked old man with a white beard walked up and handed Binu a sour date. Breathing heavily, he said, ‘My son was on his way down the mountain with kindling to sell when he was taken. The villagers falsely accused him of stealing a goat, for which he was arrested. I went to the county government office, but was driven away with a beating. The yamen officials said that, even if he had stolen a goat, they had no time to arrest him. Please, Elder Sister sorceress, ask your frog if my son actually committed a crime, and tell me where they have taken him.’
‘Your son has committed no crime,’ she said, ‘and he has certainly been taken to Great Swallow Mountain to work on the Great Wall. It is the hardest, most exhausting labour in the world. The men of Blue Cloud Prefecture fear hard, exhausting labour less than anyone else in the world, so they have all gone to Great Swallow Mountain.’
For a brief moment the old man seemed consoled, but then he asked, with a heavy heart, ‘How many days does it take to travel from Bluegrass Ravine to Great Swallow Mountain?’
‘The frog says that by foot it will take until the onset of winter.’
The old man succumbed to despair. ‘Then I will not be able to go. If it were a matter of a few dozen li, I would go with you. But walking makes me breathless, and I could never walk that far. If only I were ten years younger, I’d travel to Great Swallow Mountain, even if it killed me. I
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