The wonderful stone from the Chinese. In the prefecture of Huntin there lived a
man named Singh Yun Fei, who was an amateur meteorologist and would pay any
price for a good specimen. One day, as he was fishing in the
river, something caught his net, and diving down, he brought up a
stone about a foot in diameter, beautifully carved on all sides to resemble clustering
hills and peaks. He was quite as pleased with this as if he had
found some precious stone, and having had an elegant sandalwood stand made for it,
he set his prize upon the table. Whenever it was about to rain,
clouds which from a distance looked like new cottonwool, would come forth from
each of the holes or grottoes on the stone and appear to close them up.
By and by, an influential personage called at the house and begged to
see the stone, immediately seizing it and handing it over to a lusty servant
at the same time whipping his horse and riding away. Hassan was in despair,
but all he could do was to mourn the loss of his stone and
indulge his anger against the thief. Meanwhile, the servant who had carried off
the stone on his back, stopped to rest at a bridge, when all
of a sudden his hands slipped and the stone fell into the water. His
master was extremely put out at this and gave him a sound beating, subsequently
hiring several divers, who tried every means in their power to recover the stone,
but were quite unable to find it. He then went away, having
first published a notice of reward, and by these means many were tempted to
seek for the stone. Soon after, Saying himself came to the spot,
and as he mournfully approached the bank lo the water became clear and he could
see the stone lying at the bottom. Taking off his clothes, he quickly
jumped in and brought it out, together with the sandal wood stand which was
still with it. He carried it off to his home, but, being
no longer desirous of showing it to people, he had an inner room cleaned
and put it in there. Some time afterwards, an old man knocked at
the door and asked to be allowed to see the stone, whereupon Saying replied
that he had lost it a long time ago. Isn't that it in the
inner room, said the old man, smiling. Oh, walk in and
see for yourself if you don't believe me, answered to Sing, And the
old man did walk in, and there was a stone on the table.
This took Sing very much back, and the old man then laid his hand
upon the stone and said, this is an old family relic of mine.
I lost it many months since how does it come to be here? I
pray you now restore it to me. Hassang didn't know what to say,
but declared he was the owner of the stone, upon which the old man
remarked, if it is really yours, what evidence can you bring to prove
it. Hassang made no reply, and the old man continued to show you
that I know this stone. I may mention that it has altogether ninety two
grottos, and that in the largest of these are five words a stone from
heaven above. Hassan looked and found that there were actually some small characters,
no larger than grains of rice, which, by straining his eyes a little,
he managed to read. Also that the number of grottoes was as the
old man had said. However, he would not give him the stone,
and the old man laughed and asked, pray, what right have you to
keep other people's things? He then bowed and went away, Hassaying escorting him
as far as the door. But when he returned to the room, the
stone had disappeared. In a great fright, he ran after the man,
who had walked slowly and was not far off, and, seizing his sleeve,
entreated him to give back the stone. Do you think, said the
latter, that I could conceal the stone a foot in diameter in my sleeve.
But Hassan knew that he must be superhuman and led him back to the
house, where he threw himself on his knees and begged that he might have
the stone. Is it yours or mine, asked the old man. Of
course it is yours, replied Singh, though I hope you will consent to
deny yourself the pleasure of keeping it. In that case, said the old
man, it is back again, And going into the inner room, they
found the stone in its old place. The jewels of this world, observed
the saying's visitor, should be given to those who know how to take care
of them. This stone can choose its own master, and I am very
pleased that it should remain with you. At the same time, I must
inform you that it was in too great a hurry to come into the world
of mortals, and has not yet been freed from all contingent calamities. I
had better take it away with me in three years. Hence you shall have
it again. If, however, you insist on keeping it, then your
span of life will be shortened by three years, that your terms of existence
may harmonize together. Are you willing? A saying said he was. Whereupon
the old man, with his fingers, closed up three of the stone's grottoes,
which yielded to his touch like mud. When this was done, he
turned to Saying and told him that the grottoes on that stone represented the years
of his life. And then he took his leave, firmly, refusing to
remain any longer, and not disclosing his name. More than a year after
this, Hussaying had occasion to go away on business, and in the night
a thief broke in and carried off the stone, taking nothing else at all.
When the scene came home, he was dreadfully grieved, as if his
whole object in life was gone, and made all possible inquiries and efforts to
get it back, but without the slightest result. Some time passed when,
one day, going into a temple, the saying noticed a man selling stones,
and among the rest he saw his old friend. Of course, he
immediately wanted to regain possession of it, but as the stone seller would not
consent, he shouldered the stone and went off to the nearest mandarin. The
stone cellar was then asked what proof he could give that the stone was his,
and he replied that the number of grottos was eighty nine. Hassan inquired
if that was all he had to say, and when the other acknowledged that
it was, he himself told the magistrate what were the characters inscribed within,
also calling attention to the finger marks at the closed upper grottos. He therefore
gained his case, and the Mandarin would have bambooed the stone seller had he
not declared that he bought it in the market for twenty ounces of silver,
whereupon he was dismissed. A high official next offered Hassan one hundred ounces of
silver for it, but he refused to sell it even for ten thousand,
which so enraged the would be purchaser that he worked up a case against Hassingh
and got him put in prison. Hassan was thereby compelled to pawn a great
deal of his property, and then the official sent some one to try if
the affair could not be managed through his son, to which Hassan, on
hearing of the attempt, steadily refused to consent, saying that he and the
stone could not be parted even in death. His wife, however, and
his son laid their heads together and sent the stone to the high official,
and the Saying only heard of it when he arrived home from the prison.
He cursed his wife and beat his son, and frequently tried to make away
with himself, though luckily his servants always managed to prevent him from succeeding.
At night, he dreamed that a noble looking personage appeared to him and said,
my name is Shing Chiang has se stone from heaven. Do not grieve.
I purposely quitted you for a year and more. But next year,
on the twentieth of the eighth moon, at dawn, come to the high
tide gate and buy me back for two strings of cash. The Saying was
overjoyed at the stream and carefully took down The day mentioned Meanwhile, the stone
was at the official's private house, but as the cloud manifestations ceased, the
stone was less and less prized, and the following year, when the official
was disgraced for maladministration and subsequently died, Hussayang met some of his servants at
the high tide gate, going off to sell the stone, and purchased it
back from them for two strings of cash. Hussayang lived till he was eighty
nine, and then, having prepared the necessities for his interment, bade his
son buried the stone with him, which was accordingly done. Six months later,
robbers broke into the vault and made off with the stone, and his
son tried in vain to secure their capture. However, a few days afterwards,
he was traveling with his servants when suddenly two men rushed forth, dripping
with perspiration, and looking up into the air, acknowledged their crime, saying,
mister Singh, please don't term it us. Thus we took the stone
and sold it for only four ounces of silver, assaying. Son and his
servants then seized these men and took them before the magistrate, where they at
once acknowledged their guilt, asking what had become of the stone. They said
they had sold it to a member of the magistrate's family, and when it
was produced, that official took such a fancy to it that he gave it
to one of his servants and bade him place it in the treasury. Thereupon,
the stone slipped out of the servant's hand and broke into a hundred pieces,
to the great astonishment of all present. The magistrate now had the thieves
bambooed and sent them away, But Hassaying son picked up the broken pieces of
the stone and buried them in his father's grave.