The Smart Granny
故事全文
Once upon a time, there was an old couple who lived in the mountains of Chiayi County. The granny had poor eyesight, so, grandpa took care of her. One day, grandpa needed to go down the mountain to run some errands. Before leaving, he told granny, “There is a sly fox in the mountains that can disguise itself as a human. Since you can't see clearly, take care not to open the door for strangers.” When grandpa left the house, the sly fox noticed immediately. He laughed gleefully and hid in the woods nearby.
Time passed and it was getting dark. Granny started to wonder why grandpa hadn't returned. Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on the door. Granny walked to the door and peered out through a crack. She saw a woolly cap and a walking stick, and she thought that grandpa had returned. She opened the door happily and said, “Come in. Let's have meat stew for dinner tonight.” When granny reached out to take the woolly cap and walking stick, She felt a pair of hairy paws! She thought to herself, “Grandpa said that the sly fox could disguise itself as a human, could this be the fox?”
Then, the granny thought of an idea. She said, “My dear, could you help me with the fireplace?” The fox roughly grabbed her hands and walked quickly toward the fireplace. Granny immediately knew that this rough person was not grandpa. Granny told the fox, “My dear, you seem wobbly and your voice sounds hoarse. Have you been drinking again?” The fox replied, “Yes! Indeed!” Granny said, “Every time you get drunk, You have to sweat it out in a rice sack. Let's enjoy our meat stew after you have finished sweating.” The fox had no choice but to climb into the rice sack. Granny tied up the rice sack quickly and said, ”You will sweat faster if I hang you over the fire.” She hung the rice sack over the fire and added a lot of firewood. The fox couldn't stand the heat and yelled, “My dear, I have finished sweating. Let me down now.” Granny said, “Sly fox! How dare you still lie to me?”
The fox knew that his plan had failed, and tried to get out of the sack. Grandpa finally got home and knocked the fox senseless with a stick. The next day, grandpa went down the mountain, sold the fox, and went home with a lot of food.
