spect
there was of profitably disposing of their wares. In short, the people
were prosperous and happy, food was plentiful, the troops brave, the
monarch just, his ministers virtuous, and all enjoyed the blessings
of peace.

A Drought and its Cause

While everything was thus tranquil, a sudden and untoward event
occurred which spread dismay and consternation on all sides. One day
when the Prince went into the hall of audience one of his ministers
reported that "the wells are thirsty and the rivers dried up"--there
was no water, and the people were all in the greatest alarm. The
Prince at once called his counsellors together to devise some means
of remedying this disaster and causing the water to return to the
wells and springs, but no one could suggest a suitable plan.

It is necessary to explain the cause of this scarcity of water. There
was a dragon's cave outside the east gate of the city at a place
called Lei-chen K'ou, 'Thunder-clap Mouth' or 'Pass' (the name of a
village). The dragon had not been seen for myriads of years, yet it
was well known that he lived there.

In digging out the earth to build the wall the workmen had broken into
this dragon's cave, little thinking of the consequences which would
result. The dragon was exceedingly wroth and determined to shift his
abode, but the she-dragon said: "We have lived here thousands of years,
and shall we suffer the Prince of Yen to drive us forth thus? If we
_do_ go we will collect all the water, place it in our _yin-yang_
baskets [used for drawing water], and at midnight we will appear in a
dream to the Prince, requesting permission to retire. If he gives us
permission to do so, and allows us also to take our baskets of water
with us, he will fall into our trap, for we shall take the waler with
his own consent,"

The Prince's Dream

The two dragons then transformed themselves into an old man and
an old woman, went to the chamber of the Prince, who was asleep,
and appeared to him in a dream. Kneeling before him, they cried:
"O Lord of a Thousand Years, we have come before you to beg leave to
retire from this place, and to beseech you out of your great bounty
to give us permission to take these two baskets of water with us."

The Prince readily assented, little dreaming of the danger he was
incurring. The dragons were highly delighted, and hastened out of
his presence; they filled the baskets with all the water there was
in Peking, and carried them o