The Old Lady of Guchao – Excerpt From: In Search of the Supernatural
故事全文
Once upon a time in Guchao County, a river suddenly flooded and swelled. When the water receded a few days later, people discovered a huge fish stranded in a small harbor outside the small county. It weighed roughly 5000 kg. As the water was too shallow, the fish died on the third day. All the residents of the county ate the flesh of the big fish except for an old lady who felt sorry for the fish.
Suddenly, an old man appeared in front of the old lady and told her, “This fish is my son, who met a tragic end. Since you were the only person who did not eat my son, I will reward you handsomely. Let me tell you a secret: There is a stone turtle outside the city’s eastern gate. When its eyes turn red, your city will soon be flooded and submerged.”After hearing the old man’s words, the old lady would go out of the city’s eastern gate every day to check if the stone turtle’s eyes turned red. A child felt curious, and asked the old lady, “Why do you come to look at the stone turtle every day?” So, the old lady told the child what the old man told her.
The child wanted to play a prank on the old lady. One day, he painted the stone turtle’s eyes red. When the old lady saw that the turtle’s eyes had turned red, she quickly went out of the city. Suddenly, there appeared a little child dressed in blue robes who told the old lady, “I am the Dragon King’s son.”He led the old lady to the top of a mountain. When she turned and looked back upon the city, she saw that it had been submerged, and nothing remained but a lake.
