ff with them.

When the Prince awoke he paid no attention to his dream till he
heard the report of the scarcity of water, when, reflecting on the
singularity of his dream, he thought there might be some hidden meaning
in it. He therefore had recourse to the packet again, and discovered
that his dream-visitors had been dragons, who had taken the waters of
Peking away with them in their magic baskets; the packet, however,
contained directions for the recovery of the water, and he at once
prepared to follow them.

The Pursuit of the Dragons

In haste the Prince donned his armour, mounted his black steed, and,
spear in hand, dashed out of the west gate of the city. He pressed on
his horse, which went swift as the wind, nor did he slacken speed till
he came up with the water-stealing dragons, who still retained the
forms in which they had appeared to him in his dream. On a cart were
the two identical baskets he had seen; in front of the cart, dragging
it, was the old woman, while behind, pushing it, was the old man.

An Unexpected Flood

When the Prince saw them he galloped up to the cart, and, without
pausing, thrust his spear into one of the baskets, making a great hole,
out of which the water rushed so rapidly that the Prince was much
frightened. He dashed off at full speed to save himself from being
swallowed up by the waters, which in a very short time had risen more
than thirty feet and had flooded the surrounding country. On galloped
the Prince, followed by the roaring water, till he reached a hill,
up which he urged his startled horse. When he gained the top he found
that it stood out of the water like an island, completely surrounded;
the water was seething and swirling round the hill in a frightful
manner, but no vestige could he see of either of the dragons.

The Waters Subside

The Prince was very much alarmed at his perilous position, when
suddenly a Buddhist priest appeared before him, with clasped hands and
bent head, who bade him not be alarmed, as with Heaven's assistance
he would soon disperse the water. Hereupon the priest recited a short
prayer or spell, and the waters receded as rapidly as they had risen,
and finally returned to their proper channels.

The Origin of Chen-shui T'a

The broken basket became a large deep hole, some three _mu_ (about
half an English acre) in extent, in the centre of which was a fountain
which threw up a vast body of clear water. From the midst of this
the