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SECT. II. PT. III.
THE THAN KUNG.
201
its cocoons, but the crab supplies the box for them; the bee has its cap, but the cicada supplies the strings for it. His elder brother died, but it was 3ze-kâo who made the mourning for him ?.'
28. When Yo King, Zze-khun's mother, died, he was five days without eating. He then said, 'I am sorry for it. Since in the case of my mother's death, I could not eat according to my feelings, on what occasion shall I be able to do so ?'
29. In a year of drought duke MQ ? called to him Hsien-ze, and asked him about it. “Heaven,' said he, has not sent down rain for a long time. I wish to expose a deformed person in the sun (to move its pity), what do you say to my doing so ?' 'Heaven, indeed,' was the reply, 'does not send down rain; but would it not be an improper act of cruelty, on that account to expose the diseased son of some one in the sun ?
*Well then,' (said the duke), "I wish to expose in the sun a witch; what do you say to that?' Hsien-zze said, 'Heaven, indeed, does not send down rain; but would it not be wide of the mark to hope anything from the suffering of) a foolish woman, and by means of that to seek for rain : ?'
"The Bze-kâo here was the same as Kao Khải; see the note on paragraph 4. The incident here shows the influence of his well-known character. He is the crab whose shell forms a box for the cocoons, and the cicada whose antennae form the strings for the cap.
* Duke MQ and Hsien-zze;' see Section I. Part iii. 5.
* In the 30 Kwan, under B. c. 639, duke HsÎ of La makes a proposal about exposing a deformed person and a witch like that which is recorded here. Nothing is said, however, about changing the site of the market. Reference is made, however, to that
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