A hopeless show of strength (To John Guo)

[CHUNG Yoon-Ngan <chungyn@mozart.collective.com.au>]

   A hopeless show of strength (To John Guo)    

   A long time ago donkeys were not known to inhabit the 
Southwest province of Guizhou. The people of Guizhou province 
had not heard of or seen a donkey before. They absolutely had 
no idea of what kind of animals the donkeys were. 

   One day an idle member of the local rich imported a donkey 
from another province in the North. He intentionally let loose 
the donkey at the foot of the hill not far from his home village.
Unfortunately, there were tigers in the hill and they 
occasionally preyed on livestock in the area.
 
  By chance a tiger met the donkey but, being the novelty that 
it was, the donkey was a strange sight. Fearing that it might 
lose should a fight take place with the donkey, the tiger 
stayed well clear. Just then the donkey made a loud cry and 
the tiger bolted away in sheer terror.
 
  A few days later the same tiger met the donkey again in the 
same location. This time the tiger did nothing but watched the 
donkey closely. It looked at the donkey for a long time. The tiger 
got used to its shape, its size and the noise it made occasionally.
Familiarity bred contempt. The tiger was not afraid of the donkey 
anymore.
 
  In order to test the ability of the donkey the tiger went near 
it and swang its paw. The donkey became angry and made a loud cry, 
the old trick exhibited a few days earlier. But this time the tiger
retreated but did not run away. The tiger went near the donkey 
again. The donkey turned around and raised its hind legs to kick 
at the tiger. Its kicks were weak and harmless. 

  The donkey had betrayed its strength and ability. The tiger knew 
that although it had a reasonable size, it was a feeble animal. The 
tiger went even nearer and the donkey persisted with its futile kicks. 
The tiger pounced on it and killed it for dinner.   

 "Qian2 Lu2 Ji4 Qiong2"  or Guizhou Donkey.

CHUNG Yoon-Ngan.   chungyn@mozart.collective.com.au