Chapter V

Chapter V Among the Fairies

WHEN the daughter heard what her father

had to say, she hurried into her room and

said to Cloudlet : " The priestess who

came here to play the harp was from Cho ; her age

was eighteen or thereabouts. Now Hoi-nam is the

same as Cho, and the age corresponds. I have more

suspicion than ever of this priestess. If the winner

is the same as she, he will undoubtedly come to see

my father. Now I want you to take note of his

coming and obtain a careful view of him."

Cloudlet replied : " I did not see the other person

who came, and so even though I see this one face to

face how should I recognise him ? I think it would

be much better if your ladyship would peep through

a chink and see him for yourself." Thus they laughed

and talked together.

Yang So-yoo had passed both the Hoi [21] and

the Chon examinations, winning the highest place

of all. He was recorded a hallim [22], a master of

literary rank, and his name shook the city. All the

nobility and the peers who had marriageable

daughters strove together in their applications

through go-betweens, but Yang declined them all.

He went instead to Secretary Kwon of the Board

of Education, and made proposals of marriage

with the house of Justice Cheung, asking a letter

of introduction. This the secretary readily gave.

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

Yang received it, placed it in his sleeve, and went

at once to Justice Cheung's and sent in his card.

Cheung, seeing that it was the card of the winner,

said to his wife : " The champion of the kwago has

come to see us."

He was at once shown into the guest-room. His

head was crowned with the victor's wreath of flowers.

Government musicians followed in his train, sing-

ing his praises.

He bowed to the Justice and made his salutation.

Exceedingly handsome, modest and respectful in

his manner, he so impressed the Justice that he looked

on with open-mouthed wonder. The whole house,

with the exception of the daughter, was in a state of

excitement, anxious to catch a glimpse of him.

Cloudlet inquired of one of the lady's attendants :

" I understand from the conversation of the master

and mistress that the priestess who came the other

day and played the harp is a cousin of the gentle-

man who has won the honours. Do you see any

marks of resemblance ? "

The attendant caught at the suggestion at once,

saying : " Really now that must be true. They re-

semble each other wonderfully in looks and manner.

However could two cousins be as much alike as they ?"

At this Cloudlet hurried to the apartment of the

young lady and said : " There is no mistake, your

ladyship is correct."

The young mistress replied : "Go again and

hear what he says and come and tell me."

Cloudlet went, and after a long time returned to

say : "On our master's proposing marriage, the

winner Yang bowed very low, and said : ' Your

Among the Fairies

humble servant has heard many reports of your

daughter's excellence, of how gifted and beautiful

she is, and so boldly and presumptuously had set

his hopes high upon her. For this reason I went this

morning to Secretary Kwon and asked a letter of

introduction, which he wrote and kindly gave me.

Now, however, since I see how far inferior my family

is to yours, I find we should be ill-mated like bright

clouds and muddy water, or like the phoenix with a

common crow bird. Such being the case I had not

thought of presenting the introduction, which is

still in my sleeve pocket, too ashamed and afraid

was I.'

" He then gave it to the Justice, who, after read-

ing it with a very agreeable countenance, ordered

wine and refreshments to be brought."

The young lady gave a start of alarm, saying :

** No one ought ever to decide marriage in this light

and hasty way. Why has my father made such a

reckless decision ? "

Before she had finished speaking a servant came

to call her to her mother.

She went at once and the mother said to her :

" Yang So-yoo is the winner of the examination,

and his praises are in everyone's mouth. Your father

has just decided on his marriage with you, so we

two old folks will have a place of support and will

no longer be anxious or troubled."

The daughter replied : " I have just learned from

the servant that Master Yang's face is like that of

the priestess who came the other day to play the

harp. Is that so ? "

The mother said : " The servant is quite right

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

about that. The priestess musician was like a very

goddess, and I quite fell in love with her beauty.

Her looks have been constantly in my mind so that

I wished to call her again just to see her, but I have

not had the opportunity. Now that I see Master Yang

he is indeed the very image of the priestess. You will

know by that how wonderfully handsome he is."

The daughter replied : " Master Yang is very

handsome I know, but I dislike him and so am

opposed to the marriage."

" Really," exclaimed the mother, " this is a start-

ling thing to say. You have been brought up within

our women's enclosure, while Master Yang has

lived in Hoi-nam. You have had no conceivable way

of knowing each other — ^what possible dislike can

you have for him ? "

The daughter replied : " I am very much ashamed

to say why, or to speak of it, and so I have not told

you before, but the priestess who came to play the

harp the other day is none other than the famous

Master Yang. Disguised as a Taoist acolyte he found

his way in here and played in order to see me. I was

completely taken in by his cunning ruse, and so sat

two full hours face to face with him. How can you

possibly say that I have no reason to dislike him ? "

The mother felt a sudden shock of surprise that

rendered her speechless.

In the meantime Justice Cheung had dismissed

Yang, and now came into the inner quarters. Delight

and satisfaction were written over his broad coun-

tenance. He said to his daughter : " Kyong-pai,

Jewel, you have truly mounted the dragon in a way

that's wonderful."

Among the Fairies

But the mother told Justice Cheung what her

daughter had said, and then the Justice himself made

fresh inquiry. When he learned that Master Yang had

played the Phoenix Tune in her presence he gave a

great laugh, saying: "Well, Yang is indeed a

wonder ! In olden times Wang Yoo-hak dressed as a

musician and played the flute in Princess Peace's

Palace, and later became the winner of the kwago

(examination). This is a story handed down, famous

till to-day. Master Yang, too, in order to win his

pretty bride, dressed as a woman. It would prove him

to be a very bright fellow. For a joke of this kind why

should you say you dislike him ? On the other hand,

you saw only a Taoist priestess ; you did not see

Master Yang at all. You are not responsible for the

fact that he made a very pretty girl musician, and

your part is not to be compared with that of Princess

Tak-moon who peeped through the hanging shades.

What reason have you to harbour dislikes ? "

The daughter said : "I have nothing to be

ashamed of in my heart, but to allow myself to be

taken in thus makes me so angry I could almost die."

The Justice laughed again : " This is not a matter

for your old father to know anything about. Later on

you can question Yang about it yourself."

The lady Cheung asked : " What time have you

fixed for the wedding ? "

The Justice answered : " The gifts are to be

sent at once, but we must wait till autumn for the

wedding ceremony, so as to have his mother present.

After she comes we can decide the day."

" Since matters stand thus," said the mother,

" there is no hurry as to the exact time." So they

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

chose a day, received the gifts, and invited Yang to

their home. They had him Uve in a special paviUon

in the park. He fulfilled all the respectful require-

ments of a son-in-law, served them well, and they

loved him as their very own.

On a certain day Cheung See, while passing

Cloudlet's room, saw that she was embroidering a pair

of shoes, but fanned to sleep by the soft days of eariy

summer, she had placed her embroidery frame for her

pillow and was deep in dreamland. The young mistress

went quietly in to admire the beautiful work. She

sighed over its matchless stitches, and as she thought

of the loving hands that worked them, she noticed a

sheet of paper with writing on it lying under the

frame. She opened it and read a verse or two written

as a tribute to her shoes. It read :

" Pretty shoes, you've won the rarest gem for mate,

Step by step you must attend her all the way.

Except when lights are out, and silence holds the

silken chamber ;

Then you'll be left beneath the ivory couch for-

gotten."

The lady read this through, and said to herself :

" No hand can write like Cloudlet's. It grows more

and more skilful. The embroidered shoes she makes

herself, and the rare gem is me, dear girl. Till now

she and I have never been separated. By and by when

I marry she speaks of being pushed aside. She loves

me truly." Then she sighed and said : " She would

like to share the same home and the same husband.

Evidently this is the wish of her heart."

Fearing to disturb her in her happy dreams Cheung

Among the Fairies

See softly withdrew and went into her mother's

room. There her mother was busy with the servants,

overseeing meals for the young master. Jewel said :

" Since Master Yang came here to live, you, mother,

have had much anxiety on his behalf, seeing to bis

clothes and his food and the directing of his servants.

I am afraid that you are worn out. These are duties

that rightly fall to me. Not only should I dislike to do

them, however, but there is no precedent or warrant

in the law of ceremony for a betrothed girl to serve

her master. Cloudlet, however, is experienced in all

kinds of work. I should like if you would appoint her

to the guest chamber in the park, and have her see to

what pertains to Master Yang. It would lessen at

least some of your many responsibilities."

The mother replied : " Cloudlet with her marked

ability and her wonderful attractiveness can do any-

thing well, but Cloudlet's father was our most faithful

attendant, and she herself is superior to the ordinary

maid. For this reason, your father, who thinks so

much of her, desires a special choice of husband and

that she may have her own home. Is not this the

plan ? "

The daughter replied : " Her wish, I find, is to be

with me always and never to leave."

" But when you are married," said the mother,

" she could not go with you as an ordinary servant.

Her station and attainments are far superior to that.

The only way open to you in accord with ancient

rites would be to have her attend as the master's

secondary wife."

The daughter answered : " Master Yang is now

eighteen, a scholar of daring spirit who even ventured

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

into the inner quarters of a minister's home and made

sport of his unmarried daughter. How can you expect

such a man to be satisfied with only one wife ? Later,

when he becomes a minister of state and gets ten

thousand bales of rice as salary, how many Cloudlets

will he not have to bear him company ? "

At this point Justice Cheung came in, and his wife

said : " This girl wants Cloudlet to be given to the

young master to care for him, but I think otherwise.

To appoint a secondary wife before the first marriage

takes place is something I am quite opposed to."

The Justice answered : " Cloudlet is equal to our

daughter in ability and also in beauty of face. Their

love for each other is so great that they will have to be

together always and must never be parted. They are

destined for the same home, so to send Cloudlet ahead

will really make no difference. Even a young man

devoid of love for women, being thus alone, would

find but poor companionship in his solitary candle,

how much more one so full of life as Yang ! To send

her at once and have her see that he is well looked

after would be very good indeed ; and yet to do so

before the first ceremony comes off would seem

somewhat incongruous. Might it not cause complica-

tions for his first wedding ? What do you think ? "

The daughter replied : " I have a plan, however,

by means of which Cloudlet may wipe' out the dis-

grace that I have suffered."

The Justice asked : "What plan, pray? Come, tell

me about it."

" With the help of my cousin," said the daughter,

" I wish to carry out a little plan that will rid me of my

mortification over what he has done to me."

Among the Fairies

The Justice laughed unrestrainedly. " That is a

plan," said he.

Among the many nephews of the Justice was one

known familiarly as Thirteen, a fine young fellow,

with honest heart and clear head, jolly and full of fun.

He had become a special friend of the young master

and was most intimate with him.

The daughter returned to her own room and said

to Cloudlet : " Cloudlet, I have been with you ever

since the hair grew on our brows together. We have

always loved each other since the days when we

fought with flower buds. Now I have had my wedding

gifts sent to me, and you too are of a marriageable

age. You have no doubt thought of being married. I

wonder who you have thought of for a husband ? "

Cloudlet replied : " I have been specially loved by

you, my dearest mistress, and you have always been

partial to me. Never can I repay a thousandth part of

what you have done. If I could but hold your dressing

mirror for you for ever I should be satisfied."

" I have always known your faithful heart," said

Jewel, " and now I want to propose something to you.

You know that Master Yang made a ninny of me

when he played the harp in our inner compound. I

am put to confusion by it for ever. Only by you,

Cloudlet, can I ever hope to wipe out the disgrace.

Now I must tell you ; we have a summer pavilion, you

know, in a secluded part of South Mountain not far

from the capital. Its surroundings and views are

beautiful, like a world of the fairies. We could prepare

a marriage chamber there, and get my cousin Thirteen

to lead Master Yang into the mystery of it. If we do

this he will never again attempt a disguise or to

8l F

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

deceive anyone with his harp ; and I shall have

wiped out the memory of those hours that we sat face

to face. I am only desirous that you, Cloudlet, will not

mind taking your part in it."

Cloudlet said in reply : " How could I think of

crossing your dear wishes, and yet on the other hand

how could I ever again dare to look Master Yang in

theiace ? "

The young mistress made answer : " One who has

played a joke upon another never feels as bad when

put to shame as one who has simply had the joke put

upon him."

Cloudlet laughed and said : " Well then, even

though I die I'll go through with it and do just as

you say."

In spite of Master Yang's turn in office with the

business it involved, he had abundant leisure and

many days free. He would then pay visits to friends

or have a time of amusement in some summer pavilion

or go for jaunts on his donkey to see the willows in

bloom. On a certain day his friend Thirteen said to

him : " There is a quiet spot in the hills to the south

of the city where the view is unsurpassed ; let's go

there, brother, you and I, to satisfy our longings for

the beautiful."

Master Yang replied : " Happy thought ! That's

just what I should like to do."

Then they made ready refreshments, dispwised

with their servants as far as possible, and went three

or four miles into the hills where the green grass

clothed the mountain sides and the forest trees bent

over the rippling water. The lovely views of hill and

valley calmed all thoughts of the dusty world.

Among the Fairies

Master Yang and Thirteen sat on the bank of the

stream and sang songs together, for the time was the

opening days of summer. Flowers were all about

them in abundance, adding to each other's beauty.

Suddenly a bud came floating down the stream. The

master saw it and repeated the lines :

•' Spring is dear, fairy buds upon the water

Now appear,

Saying ' Garden of the fairies, here ! ' "

" This river comes from Cha-gak Peak," remarked

Thirteen. " I have heard it said that at the time the

flowers bloom and when the moon is bright you can

hear the music of the fairies among the clouds, but

my affinities in the fairy world are all lacking, so that

I have never found myself among them. To-day with

my honoured brother I would like just once to set

foot in the city where they live, see their wing prints,

and peep in at the windows on these angel dwellers."

The young master, being by nature a lover of the

wonderful, heard this with delight, saying : " If

there are no fairies of course there are none, but if

there are, surely they will be here. Let us put our

dress in order and go to see if we can find them."

Just at this moment a servant from Thirteen's

home, all wet with perspiration and panting for

breath, came to say : " The master's lady has been

suddenly taken ill and I have come to call you."

Then Thirteen reluctantly arose and said : "I

wanted so much to go with you into the region of the

g^i and enjoy ourselves, but my wife is ill, and so

my chance for meeting the fairies is ended. It is only

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

another proof of what I said, that I have no aflSnity

with fairies." He then mounted his donkey and rode

hurriedly away.

Master Yang was thtis left alone. He was not

yet satisfied with what he had seen. He followed

up the stream into the enclosing hills. The babbling

waters were clear and bright and the green peaks

encircled him solemnly about. No dust was there

here of the common world. His mind was exalted and

refreshed by the majesty of it as he stood alone on the

bank of the stream or walked slowly on.

Just then there came floating by on the water a leaf

of the cinnamon tree with a couplet of verse written

on it. He had his serving-boy fish it out and bring it

to him. The writing said :

" The fairy's woolly dog barks from amid the

clouds,

For he knows that Master Yang is on the way."

Greatly astonished, he said : " How could there by

any possibiUty be people living on these mountains,

and why should any living person ever write such a

thing as this ? "So he pushed aside the Creeping vines

and made his impatient way over rocks and stones.

His boy said to him : " The day is late, sir, and the

road precipitous. There is no place ahead at which to

put up for the night ; please let us go back to the

city."

The master, however, paid no attention but

pushed on for another ten or eight li, till the rising

moon was seen over the sky-Une of the eastern hills.

By its light he followed his way through the shadows

Among the Fairies

of the trees and crossed the stream. The frightened

birds uttered cries of alarm, and monkeys and other

eerie night creatures voiced their fears. The stars

seemed to rock back and forth over the wavy tips of

the tree-tops, and the dewdrops gathered on all the

needles of the pine. He realised that deep night had

fallen and that no trace of human habitation was any-

where to be seen. Neither was there any place of

shelter. He thought that perhaps a Buddhist temple

might be nigh at hand or a nunnery, but there was

none. Just at the moment of his deepest bewilder-

ment he suddenly saw a maiden of sixteen or so

dressed in fairy green, washing something by the

side of the stream.

Being alarmed by the stranger she arose quickly and

called out : " My lady, the Master is coming."

Yang hearing this was beside himself with astonish-

ment. He went on a few steps farther but the way

seemed blocked before him, till unexpectedly he saw a

small pavilion standing directly by the side of the

stream, deeply secluded, hidden away in the recesses

of the hills — just such a place as fairies were wont to

choose to live in.

A lady dressed in red then appeared in the moon-

light, standing alone below a peach tree. She bowed

gracefully, saying : " Why has the Master been so

long in coming ? "

So-yoo in fear and wonder looked carefully at her

and saw that the lady was dressed in a red outer coat

with a jade hairpin through her hair, an ornamented

belt about her waist, and a phcenix-tail fan in her

hand. She was beautiful seemingly beyond all human

realisation. In deepest reverence he made obeisance,

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

saying : " Your humble servant is only a common

dweller of the earth, and never before in all his life had

a moonlight meeting like this. Why do you say that

I have been late in coming ? "

The maiden then ascended the steps of the pavilion

and invited him to follow. Awe-struck, he obeyed her,

and when they had seated themselves, each on a

separate mat, she called to her maid, saying : " The

Master has come a long way ; I am sure he is hungry ;

bring tea and refreshments."

The servant withdrew and in a little while brought

in a jewelled table, dishes and cups. Into a blue

crystal cup she poured the red wine of the fairies, the

taste of which was sweet and refreshing, while the

aroma from it filled the room. One glass, and he was

alive with exhilaration. Said he : " Even though this

moimtain is isolated it is under heaven. Why is it

that my fairy ladyship has left the Lake of Gems and

her companions of the crystal city and come down to

dwell in such a humble place as this ? "

The fairy gave a long sigh of regret, saying : " If I

were to tell you of the past only sorrow would result

from it. I am one of the waiting maids of the Western

Queen Mother [23] and your lordship is an officer of

the Red Palace where God dwells. Once when God

had prepared a banquet in honour of the Western

Mother, and there were many officers of the genii

present, your lordship thoughtlessly singled me out,

and tossed me some fruit of the fairies in a playful

way. For this you were severely punished and driven

through transmigration into this world of woe. I,

fortunately, was more lightly dealt with and simply

sent into exile, so here I am. Since my lord has found

Among the Fairies

his place among men and has been blinded by the

dust of mortality, he has forgotten all about his past

existence, but my exile is nearly over and I am to

return again to the Lake of Gems. Before going I

wanted just once to see you and renew the love of the

past, so I asked for an extension of my term, knowing

that you would come. I have waited long, however.

At last, through much trouble, you have come to me

and we can unite again the love that was lost."

But scarcely had they had a chance to express their

love or recall the awakened secrets of the past, when

the birds of the mountains began to twitter in the

branches of the trees, and the silken blinds to lighten.

The fairy said to the Master : " I must not detain you

longer. To-day is my appointed time of return to

heaven. When the officer of the genii, at the command

of God, comes with flags and banners to meet me, if

he should find you here we should be accounted

guilty. Please make haste and escape. If you are true

to your first love we shall have opportunities to meet

again." Then she wrote for him a farewell verse on a

piece of silk which ran thus :

" Since we have met, all heaven is filled with

flowers,

Now that we part, each bud is fallen to earth

again.

The joys of spring are but a passing dream,

"Wide waters block the way far as infinity."

When the Master had read this he was overcome

with regret at the thought of their parting, so he tore

off a piece of his silken sleeve and wrote a verse which

ran :

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

" The winds of heaven blow through the green

stone flute,

Wide-winged the white clouds lift and sail away.

Another night shall mark our gladful meeting,

E'en though wild rains should block our destined

way."

The maiden received it, and said : " The moon has

set behind the Tree of Gems ; hasten away ! On all my

flight to heaven I shall have this verse by which to

see your face." So she placed it in the folds of her robe

and then urgently pressed him : " The time is passing,

Master, please make haste."

The Master raised his hands, said his regretful

good-bye and was gone. He had scarcely passed

beyond the shadowed circle of the grove when he

looked back, but there was only the green of the

mountains that seemed piled one upon the other till

they touched the white clouds in companies. He

realised then that he had had a dream of the Lake of

Gems and thus he came back home.

But his mind was all confused and his heart had

lost its joy. He sat alone thinking to himself : " Even

though the fairy did tell me that the time had come

for her return from exile, how could she tell the very

moment, or that it was to-day ? If I had only waited

a little or hidden myself in some secluded comer and

seen the fairies and their meeting, I would have come

back home in triumph. Why did I make this fatal

blunder and come away so quickly ? " So he expressed

his regrets over and over as he failed to sleep the night

through. With these vain thoughts upon him he

greeted the dawn, arose, took his servant, and went

5- /if '**^i:-

The Poem by the Way : Among the Fairies

Among the Fairies

once more to where he had met the fairy. The plum

blossoms seemed to mock him and the passing stream

to babble in confusion. Nothing greeted him but an

empty paviUon. All the fragrance of the place had

vanished . The Master leaned over the deserted railing,

looked up in sadness, and sighed as he gazed at the

grey clouds, saying : " Fairy maiden, you have ridden

away on yonder cloud and are in audience before

Heaven's high King. Now, however, that the very

shadow of the fairy has vanished what's the use of

sighing ? "

So he came down from the pavilion. Standing by

the peach tree where first he met her he said to him-

self : " These flowers will know my depths of sorrow."

When the evening shadows began to lengthen he

returned home.

Some days later Thirteen came to Master Yang and

said : " The other day on account of my wife's illness

we failed in our outing together. My regret over that

disappointment is still with me, and now though the

plums and the peaches are past and the long stretch

of the willows is in bloom, let us take half a day away,

you and I, to see the butterflies dance and hear the

orioles sing."

Master Yang answered : " The green sward with

the willows is prettier even than the flowers."

So the two went together outside the gates of the

city across the wide plain to the green wood. They

sat upon the grass and made counting points of

flowers to reckon up the drinks they had taken. Just

above them was an old grave on an elevated ridge.

Artemisia weeds grew over it, the fresh sod had fallen

away, and there were bunches of spear grass and

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

other green tufts mixed together, while a few weakly-

looking flowers strove for life.

Master Yang, awakened from the dejection caused

by the wine he had drunk, pointed to the grave,

saying : " The good and the good-for-nothing,

the honourable and the mean, in a hundred years

will all have turned to heaped up mounds of clay.

This was the regret of Prince Maing-sang long,

long ago. Shall we not drink and be merry while we

may ? "

Thirteen replied : " Brother, you evidently don't

know whose grave this is. This is the grave of

Chang-yo,who died unmarried. Her beauty was the

praise and admiration of all the world in which she

lived, and so she was called Chang Yo-wha, the

Beautiful Flower. She died at the age of about twenty

and was buried here. Later generations took pity on

her and planted these willows to comfort her sorrow-

ful soul and to mark the place. Supposing we, too,

pour out a glass by way of oblation to her lovely

spirit ? "

The young Master, being by nature kind-hearted,

readily said in reply : " Good brother, your words

are most becoming." So they went together to the

front of the grave and there poured out the glass of

wine. Each likewise wrote, a verse to comfort her in

her loneliness.

The Master's words ran thus :

" The beauty of your form o'erturned the State,

Your radiant soul has mounted high to Heaven ;

The forest birds have learned the music of your way.

The flowers have donned the silken robes you wore.

Among the Fairies

upon your grave the green of springtime rests,

The smoke hangs o'er the long deserted height,

The old songs from the streams that bore you hence,

When shall we hear them sung ? "

The scholar Thirteen 's words ran thus : ■

" I ask where was the beautiful land.

And of whose house were you the joy.

Now all is waste and desolate,

With death and silence everywhere.

The grass takes on the tints of spring.

The fragrance of the past rests with the flowers.

We call the sweet soul but she does not come,

Only the flocks of crows now come and go."

They read over together what they had written and

again poured out an offering. Thirteen then walked

round the back of the grave, when unexpectedly in an

opening where the sod had fallen away, he found a

piece of white silk on which something was written.

He read it over, saying : " What busybody, I wonder,

wrote this, and placed it on Chang-yo's grave ? "

Master Yang asked for it, and lo ! it was the piece he

had torn from his sleeve on which was the verse he

had written for the fairy. He was astounded at it, and

greatly alarmed, saying to himself : " The beautiful

woman whom I met the other day is evidently Chang-

yo's spirit." Perspiration broke out on his back and

his hair stood on end. He could scarcely control him-

self, and then again he tried to dismiss his fears by

saying : " Her beauty is so perfect, her love so real.

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

Fairies too have their divinely appointed mates ;

devils and disembodied spirits have theirs, I suppose.

What difference is there, I wonder, between a fairy

and a disembodied spirit ? "

Thirteen at that moment arose, and while he turned

away the Master took advantage of the occasion to

pour out another glass of spirit before the grave,

saying as a prayer : " Though the living and the dead

are separated the one from the other, there is no

division in love ; I pray that your beautiful spirit will

accept of my devotion and condescend to visit me

again this night so that we can renew the love that was

broken off."

When he had done so he returned home with his

friend Thirteen, and that night he waited all alone in

the park pavilion chamber. He leaned upon his pillow

and thought with unspeakable longing of the beautiful

vision.

The light of the moon shone through the screen

and the shadows of the trees crossed the window case-

ments. All was quiet till a faint sound was heard, and

later gentle footsteps were audible . The Master opened

the door and looked, and there was the fairy whom he

had met on Cha-gak Peak. Delighted in heart, he

sprang over the threshold, took her white soft hands

in his, and tried to lead her into the room, but she

declined, saying : " The Master knows now my place

of dwelling, and does he not dislike me for it ? I

wanted to tell you everything when we first met, but

I was afraid I would frighten you, and so I made

believe that I was a fairy. Your love is so dear that my

soul has a second time returned to me, and my decay-

ing bones are again clothed with flesh. To-day also your

Among the Fairies

lordship came to my grave and poured out a libation

and offered me condolences written in verse. Thus

have you comforted my soul that never had a master.

I cannot sufficiently express my thanks when I think

of what you have done, and so have come to-night to

say my word of gratitude. How dare I again have my

dead body touch the form of my lord ? "

But the Master took her gently by the arm and said :

" A man is a fool who is afraid of spirits. If a man dies

he becomes a spirit, and if a spirit lives it becomes a

man. A man who fears a spirit is an idiot ; and a spirit

who runs away from a living man is a foolish spirit.

They all come from one and the same source. Why

should we make a difference or divide the living from

the dead ? My thought is thus, and my love is thus.

Why do you resist me ? "

The maiden replied : " How could I ever resist

your kindness or refuse your love ? But you love me

because of my dark eyebrows and red cheeks, and

these are not true, only make-believe. They are all

part of a great trick to get into touch with one who is

living. If the Master really wishes to know my face, it

is but a few bones with the green ivy creeping through

its openings. How can your lordship ever wish to

come into contact with anything so unclean ? "

The Buddha says : " A man's body is but froth on

the water, or a gust of wind, all a make-believe,"

he said. " Who can say that it is anything, or who can

say that it is nothing at all?" So he led her into the

room.

Later as they sat talking, " Let's meet every

night," said he, " and let nothing keep us apart."

The maiden replied : " Dead spirits and living

The Cloud Dream of the Nine

people are different, and yet love can bind even these

together."

He loved her from the depths of his heart, and

apparently his love was reciprocated.

When the sound of the morning bells was heard she

disappeared among the flowers. He remained leaning

over the arm-rest as he saw her go. " Let's meet again

to-night " was his farewell greeting, but she said

nothing in reply and was gone.