The Proposal

MIAO TRIBAL FOLK TALE

THERE was once a beautiful maiden called Shihmei. Her father and mother had died when she was still young, so she lived alone on the mountain, getting her living by farming and cutting firewood. When she was eighteen, she declared: “ I want to get married. Whoever wishes to marry me can come up the mountain and speak to me himself.”

As this news spread, young men from miles around climbed the mountain to propose. Each day brought more than ten of them. But none of them met with Shih-mei’s approval.

There was one young man called Lung-wang, so poor that he could not afford to marry. At first, when he heard the news, he was ready to try his luck. But after considering that he had neither money nor influence, he felt it was no use and gave up the thought. Later, hearing that neither rich nor poor had been able to win Shih-mei, he grew curious and decided to see for himself what kind of young man it was that Shih-mei wanted.

After work one day, Lung-wang tidied himself up and quietly went to the mountain, afraid that others might laugh if they saw him go.

Without stopping even once, Lung-wang climbed to the top. Beside Shih-mei, he saw two young men who had also come to ask for her hand. Seeing this, Lung-wang tried to turn back, but Shihmei called to him: “Come on! Why are you so shy?”

Lung-wang flushed. But all he could do was to walk slowly toward the three.

Shih-mei looked at Lung-wang. He hung his head and dared not say a word. Shih-mei laughed and said: “Tell me, you three, what do you have to offer?”

The two young men answered eagerly. One said: “I have money. I can sing!”

The second said: “ I have land. I can ride and shoot with a bow and arrow!”

But Lung-wang did not say a word, for he was thinking: “ I have neither riches nor ability; I might as well not speak.”

Seeing that he kept silent, Shih-mei asked: “Why don’t you speak? Can it be that you are dumb?”

Lung-wang felt he had been pricked with a pin. He raised his head immediately and said in a loud voice: “I am not deaf, I am not dumb. I have no money and own no land. All I can do is to farm with one hand !”

Shih-mei thought his words very strange, so she asked: “ It’s clear that you have two hands. Why do you say that you can only farm with one hand?”

Lung-wang answered her: “Come with me and see.”

Shih-mei’s curiosity was aroused, so she agreed to follow Lung-wang and see for herself.

Lung-wang led Shih-mei down the mountain, with the other two young men following. They wanted to see what Lung-wang could do and were waiting for Shih-mei’s answer.

The four of them went many miles until they came to a very high mountain. Rising straight like a wall, it was overgrown with trees and grass but had no path leading up. Raising her head, Shihmei saw maize growing on many newly cultivated ledges of soil midway up the mountain as well as on its crest. Astounded, she asked: “No one can climb this mountain. How is it that someone has planted up there?”

Lung-wang answered, smiling: “I have farmed the mountain. I can climb it!”

Grasping the branches of a nearby tree and some wild grass, he clambered right and left like a monkey, and very soon he was halfway up the mountain.

Afraid he would fall, Shih-mei called: “Come back! I only wanted to see how you work with one hand. I did not come to see you climb a precipice!”

Calling from above, Lung-wang answered: “ I want you to see how I work with one hand.”

So saying, he got a tight hold of a pine tree with his left hand, planted his two feet on the mountain face, and with his right hand took a little hoe down from the tree and began to hack the earth from a place where even birds could not perch. As he dug, the earth fell down near Shih-mei’s feet.

Lung-wang was like a dragon on the mountainside. He hung on to the tree branch, and the mountain opened as he hacked. All around him the red earth flew like sparks of fire. Quickly a new terrace appeared.

Then Shih-mei understood. She could not help praising Lung-wang softly: “Oh, so this is how he works. What a good farmer!”

Lung-wang took a deep breath, hung his hoe on the pine tree, and, grasping the branches, came down the mountain.

Shih-mei welcomed him with loving eyes. He blushed and hung his head.

Shih-mei turned to the two young men standing behind her and said: “Go home. I have already decided to marry this good youth who can farm with only one hand. If you become as brave and capable as he, you will certainly find good maidens too.”