l reward you." The next day the woodcutter kept the appointment,
and received from Lei Kung a book. "If you consult this work," he
explained, "you will be able at will to bring thunder or rain, cure
sickness, or assuage sorrow. We are five brothers, of whom I am the
youngest. When you want to bring rain call one or other of my brothers;
but call me only in case of pressing necessity, because I have a bad
character; but I will come if it is really necessary." Having said
these words, he disappeared.

Yeh Ch'ien-chao, by means of the prescriptions contained in the
mysterious book, could cure illnesses as easily as the sun dissipates
the morning mist. One day, when he was intoxicated and had gone to
bed in the temple of Chi-chou Ssu, the magistrate wished to arrest and
punish him. But when he reached the steps of the _yamen_, Ch'ien-chao
called Lei Kung to his aid. A terrible clap of thunder immediately
resounded throughout the district. The magistrate, nearly dead with
fright, at once dismissed the case without punishing the culprit. The
four brothers never failed to come to his aid.

By the use of his power Ch'ien-chao saved many regions from famine
by bringing timely rain.

The Mysterious Bottle

Another legend relates that an old woman living in Kiangsi had her arm
broken through being struck by lightning, when a voice from above was
heard saying: "I have made a mistake." A bottle fell out of space, and
the voice again said: "Apply the contents and you will be healed at
once." This being done, the old woman's arm was promptly mended. The
villagers, regarding the contents of the bottle as divine medicine,
wished to take it away and hide it for future use, but several of
them together could not lift it from the ground. Suddenly, however,
it rose up and disappeared into space. Other persons in Kiangsi were
also struck, and the same voice was heard to say: "Apply some grubs
to the throat and they will recover." After this had been done the
victims returned to consciousness none the worse for their experience.

The worship of Lei Kung seems to have been carried on regularly from
about the time of the Christian era.

Lei Chen-tzu

Another Son of Thunder is Lei Chen-tzu, mentioned above, whose name
when a child was Wen Yue, who was hatched from an egg after a clap
of thunder and found by the soldiers of Wen Wang in some brushwood
near an old tomb. The infant's chief characteristic was its brilliant
eyes. Wen Wa