inary
proceedings, Keng gave him a detailed account of their wonderful
deliverance by the fairies, the picking up of the monkey, and the
rescue of Lo-yung, now the great mandarin, who was keeping him confined
in prison. "Ah!" muttered the jailer under his breath, "the lower
animals know how to show gratitude, but men do not."

A few days after this another messenger of the gods came to give his
aid to Keng. A number of crows gathered on a roof which overlooked the
narrow slits through which the prisoner could catch a glimpse of the
blue sky. One of them flew on to the ledge outside, and Keng
immediately recognized it as the one which had been saved from the
floating branch in the turbid river. He was overjoyed to see this
bird, and besought the jailer to allow him to write a letter to his
father, telling him of his pitiful condition. This request was
granted, and the document was tied to the leg of the crow, which flew
away on its long flight to Chung with its important news.

Chung was greatly distressed when he read the letter that his son had
written in prison, and with all the speed he could command, he
travelled post haste to the capital. When he arrived there he made
various attempts to obtain an interview with Lo-yung, but all in vain.
The mandarin had not sense enough to see that the threads of fate were
slowly winding themselves around him, and would soon entangle him to
his destruction.

Very unwillingly, therefore, because he still loved Lo-yung and would
have saved him if possible, Chung entered an accusation against him
before Fau-Kung, the famous criminal judge.

The result of the investigation was the condemnation of Lo-yung, whose
execution speedily followed, whilst Keng was promoted to the very
position that had been occupied by the man who had tried to work his
ruin.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chinese Folk-Lore Tales, by J. Macgowan

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHINESE FOLK-LORE TALES ***

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