Wang's Adventure

Once upon a time, a simple man named Wang lived in a village during the early Han times. Only a narrow, rough path led to this village, so merchants, officials and travellers rarely visited. To sell his charcoal, Wang knew he must become a traveller, and make the journey to the city.

Wang shouldered his long carrying pole. At each end, swung wide bamboo baskets stacked high with charcoal.

"What present would you like me to bring you?" he asked his pretty young wife.

"A comb!" she cried. "A beautiful comb like those, of the imperial court!" The combs they used in the country at that time were made of wood. "A comb like that!" she cried, pointing to the crescent of the golden moon.

After a long trip, Wang arrived safely at the city gates. He sold his charcoal for a good price. He looked around the city for his wife's present. However, he had forgotten what his wife wanted! It was getting dark. Suddenly, he noticed the moon. It was round, so very round. "She wanted something round," he thought. He looked in shop after shop for something to make his young wife happy.

Suddenly, he spotted the perfect gift. He wrappedhis purchase in a piece of cotton cloth and hurried off, with only one bow to the shopkeeper. Wang had bought a mirror. He did not even know what a mirror was. He only knew that it was round.

Magic Broom and Cloth

There was a poor little girl, named Wulan, who lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her father was a merchant, who always left home very early in the morning and arrived home late at night. He never knew that Wulan was treated very badly by her stepmother and stepsisters. Wulan had to do the house chores herself. She had no time to rest, until her father came home.

One day, Wulan helped an old woman. In return,the woman gave her a magic broom and cloth, to help her with the house chores. She just needed to say, "Broom and cloth, please clean the house." and they would start cleaning the house. When she said, "It's done, thank you:',   they would stop working. Since then,Wulan did not need to work hard.

Wulan's stepmother and stepsisters knew how Wulan did the house chores. Then, they tried to use the magic broom and cloth. They asked them to clean their bedrooms. However, they didn't know how to stop the broom and cloth, after everything was done. Finally, the broom and the cloth kicked them out of the house. Since then, Wulan lived happily.

The Generous Rich Man

Once, there lived a wealthy man named Mr. Hartawan. He had vast rice fields, a lot of cattle, big houses with many rooms and five housemaids. He also had good children, a daughter named Arina and a son named Pandu. They always helped their parents do the work although there were housemaids.

One day, Mr. Hartawan told his family that he wasbored with his life. This was because everyone in the house didn't allow him to work. So, he decided to give his farms and cattle to poor people. He wanted to live in a smaller and simpler house, so that he had time to work. Mrs. Hartawan and her children agreed with Mr. Hartawan.

The next morning, Mr. Hartawan and his family moved to a smaller and simpler house, which made Mr. Hartawan happy.

Junha's Wonders

Once upon a time, there was a small village in Baghdad, with a small population. In this village, everybody knew each other and about every problem in the village. There was a bakery that was popular for its delicious bread.

One day, a poor old man was walking along the street. When he passed, the bakery, he stopped to smell the scent of the bread being emitted.

Suddenly, the baker caught the old man and shouted at him, demanding the price of the bread's scent. He almost dragged him to the police.

A very famous wise man named Junha heard the baker shouting. So, he approached him and asked about the problem. Junha stood calmly listening to the baker, as he thought about a solution.

After a few minutes, Junha's eyes glistened and an amused smile was on his face. He asked the baker, "How much money do you want?" The baker and the poor man were astonished, but the baker answered, "3 dinars." Junha took the money out of his wallet andput it in his pocket and shook the money. "Did you hear the sound of the money?" Junha asked. "Yes,

I did," the baker replied and with a big smile Junha said, "Well then, this costs the same as your bread's scent."

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