grass and
waited for what would happen. When the sun was just going down, along
came a youth, tramping the hill. Suddenly he turned into an ogre,
spread his wings and was about to fly. But the brother flung his ax at
him and struck him on the arm. He began to roar loudly, and then fled
to the western hills. But when the brother saw that it was impossible
to climb the pagoda, he went back and enlisted the aid of several
neighbors. With them he returned the following morning and they
climbed up into the pagoda. Most of the steps of the stairway were in
good condition for the ogre had only destroyed those at the top. But
they were able to get up with a ladder, and then the brother fetched
down his sister and brought her safely home again.

And that was the end of the enchantment.

Note: In this tale the ogre is a Yakscha or a Fe Tian Ya
Tscha.

LVIII

THE FLYING OGRE

There once lived in Sianfu an old Buddhist monk, who loved to wander
in lonely places. In the course of his wanderings he once came to the
Kuku-Nor, and there he saw a tree which was a thousand feet high and
many cords in breadth. It was hollow inside and one could see the sky
shining down into it from above.

When he had gone on a few miles, he saw in the distance a girl in a
red coat, barefoot, and with unbound hair, who was running as fast as
the wind. In a moment she stood before him.

"Take pity on me and save my life!" said she to him.

When the monk asked her what was the trouble, she replied: "A man is
pursuing me. If you will tell him you have not seen me, I will be
grateful to you all my life long!"

With that she ran up to the hollow tree and crawled into it.

When the monk had gone a little further, he met one who rode an
armored steed. He wore a garment of gold, a bow was slung across his
shoulders, and a sword hung at his side. His horse ran with the speed
of lightning, and covered a couple of miles with every step. Whether
it ran in the air or on the ground, its speed was the same.

"Have you seen the girl in the red coat?" asked the stranger. And when
the monk replied that he had seen nothing, the other continued:
"Bonze, you should not lie! This girl is not a human being, but a
flying ogre. Of flying ogres there are thousands of varieties, who
bring ruin to people everywhere. I have already slain a countless
number of them, and have pretty well done away with them. But this one
is the worst of all. Last night t