A man in Yongzhou was superstitious, fearing that certain days brought misfortune. Born in the year of the Rat (Zi), and believing the rat to be the deity of that year, he went to great lengths to protect them. He forbade keeping cats or dogs and prohibited his servants from harming any rats. He allowed them to run rampant in his granary and kitchen without interference.
Word spread among the rodents, and they flocked to his home, living safely and eating their fill all day. The man's house was soon ruined: no utensil remained intact, no garment on the rack was whole, and even his own food was mostly leftovers from the rats.
By day, rats swarmed around him; by night, they fought, squeaked, and made such a racket that sleep was impossible. Yet, the man never grew annoyed.
Years later, he moved away, and a new family took over the house. The rats, however, continued their brazen mischief as before.
The new owner was furious. "How can we tolerate these shameless pests who steal and cause such devastation?" he declared.
He immediately borrowed several cats, shut the doors and windows, and set them loose. He also hired workers to move tiles and bricks, flooding the rats' holes to trap them from all sides.
The caught rats were killed and piled up in a remote spot like a small hill. The stench took months to fade.
Those rats likely thought their feast would last forever without disaster. How lamentable that was. One should never tolerate rats.