he Lord of the Heavens gave me a
triple command, and that is the reason I have hurried down from the
skies. There are eight thousand of us under way in all directions to
catch this monster. If you do not tell the truth, monk, then you are
sinning against heaven itself!"

Upon that the monk did not dare deceive him, but pointed to the hollow
tree. The messenger of the skies dismounted, stepped into the tree and
looked about him. Then he once more mounted his horse, which carried
him up the hollow trunk and out at the end of the tree. The monk
looked up and could see a small, red flame come out of the tree-top.
It was followed by the messenger of the skies. Both rose up to the
clouds and disappeared. After a time there fell a rain of blood. The
ogre had probably been hit by an arrow or captured.

Afterward the monk told the tale to the scholar who wrote it down.

Note: This flying ogre is also of the Yakscha tribe.

LIX

BLACK ARTS

The wild people who dwell in the South-West are masters of many black
arts. They often lure men of the Middle Kingdom to their country by
promising them their daughters in marriage, but their promises are not
to be trusted. Once there was the son of a poor family, who agreed to
labor for three years for one of the wild men in order to become his
son-in-law. At the end of that time the wedding was celebrated, and
the couple were given a little house for a home. But no sooner had
they entered it than the wife warned her husband to be on his guard,
since her parents did not like him, and would seek to do him harm. In
accordance with the custom she entered the house first with a lighted
lantern, but when the bridegroom followed her she had disappeared. And
thus it went, day by day. During the daytime she was there, but when
evening came she disappeared.

And one day, not long after they had been married, his wife said to
him: "To-morrow morning my mother celebrates her birthday, and you
must go to congratulate her. They will offer you tea and food. The tea
you may drink, but be sure not to touch any of the food. Keep this in
mind!"

So the following day the wife and husband went to her mother's home
and offered their congratulations. Her parents seemed highly pleased,
and served them with tea and sweets. The son-in-law drank, but ate
nothing, though his wife's parents, with kind words and friendly
gestures, kept urging him to help himself. At last the son-in-law did
not know