Hakka Folktales (2)

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

   Hakka Folktales (2)
   Excerpts from the Studies In Hakka Folktales
   by Wolfram Eberhard
   edited by Lou Tsu-Kuang

The Father-in-law Who Wanted To Become Rich and Cheapted the Poor

Once there was a man with three daughters. The oldest was married to a 
rice merchant, the second to a businessman, and both had much money; 
therefore, the father thought highly of them. The third daughter was 
married to a frog-catcher, who was very poor, and the father-in-law did 
not esteem him. He studied very hard and finally passed the examination 
as the best one. But his father-in-law did not know this. 

Now the father-in-law had his birthday and had invited people, and all 
three daughters and their husbands also came to congratulate him. Now, 
the third son-in-law still wore his torn old clothes, and when he 
congratulated his father-in-law, the man did not care about him. The 
husband of the oldest girl said, laughingly:

"If you ever make it, I will carry your sedan chair from the east street 
to the west street, from the north street to the south street."

The second son-in-law also said laughingly:

"If you ever make it, I will carry your bagge."

Now the man took off his old clothes and came forth in the robe of an 
official. Father-in-law and brothers-in-law were frightened. Now, the 
father-in-law knew that it is not right to be greedy and mistreat the 
poor, and the two brothers-in-law also knew that they had been wrong, and 
they were very ashamed. The oldest brother-in-law carried his sedan 
chaie, and the second one carried his baggage, from the east to the west, 
from the south to the north street.

Told by a 49-year old farmer from Xin Zhu, Taiwan.