HAPPY AND FREE EXCURSION (3)

1“Shihui was a close friend of Chuang Tzu. They both were then famous scholar. They did not look down on each other, on the contrary, they often discussed something on their own research when they chatted or had tea together.”

2 Someday they met again in a suburban tea house. Shihui said to Chuang Tzu,

3“Prince of Wei gave me some seeds of super-size gourd months ago. I planted it on the backyard. Last week a gourd fruit became mature. Wow, such a big gourd. It could contain five bushels of rice. When I want to use it to contain water, however, it is too heavy for me to carry.

4 I cut it into halves as ladle. It is however too big to put in the barrel.

5 My friend, from this point we know that sometime big is not necessary good.The right size; however,is always good. The big gourd is totally useless to me. Therefore I broke it and threw it away.”

6 Chuang Tzu shook his head and said disapprovingly,

7“Man, You are wrong. You should know how to use it. Thing with its own size should be used in its own way. Rigid way makes mistake.

8 Once upon a time a family had a descended secret recipe that was specialized in curing the happed hand in winter. Thanks to the secret recipe, they prevented their hands from chapping so they could occupy the sector of clothes dying from generation to generation.

9 A merchant someday heard the news about the secrete recipe. He decided to buy out the recipe at a price of one hundred liang of gold.

10 The family thought that we had been engaged in clothes dying for generations but just make profit of several liang gold every year; now at a high price of one hundred liang of gold some one would like to buy it. Lets sell it!

11 Contributing the secret recipe to Prince of Wu, the shrewd merchant suggested that Wu soldiers’ chapped hands in war is a problem that the army of Wu was obsessed by because the country is located in the watery area; thus the salve made according to the secret recipe would improve the soldiers’ battle effectiveness.

12 Prince of Wu accepted his suggestion. Late evidence showed that the salve improved battle effectiveness of the naval of Wu and defeated Yue’s army at last.

13 In reward from Prince of Wu according to each one's contribution, the merchant consequently was rewarded a large fiefdom to be a feudal lord in the country.

14 Look, The same salve had different works: the family used it for toilsome clothes dying while the merchant employed it ingeniously to become a feudal lord.

15 Different application methods cause world-apart results. Now that you had the so big gourd, why not use it as buoy to tie on your waist. It was much prettier than the sheepskin raft.

16 What you think only is that it was too big to put in the barrel and couldn’t be used as ladle so that you threw it away. What a pity!

17 It was silly to think so. Wish you would not be angry about my remark.”