Knotting the Grass | 老人结草

A minister's son disobeys his father's deathbed wish to bury a concubine alive, choosing instead ...

The Lazy Spinner | 懒惰的纺纱女

A lazy woman devises clever tricks to avoid spinning and winding yarn, first by frightening her h...

The Rabbit's Money Crop | 兔子种钱

A clever but dishonest rabbit tricks the chief into giving him money to plant, then repeatedly li...

The Parable of the Pencil | 铅笔的寓言

A pencil maker shares five life lessons with a pencil before sending it into the world, which are...

A Prodigy's Early Journey | 天才的早年岁月

The author recounts his challenging early years as a piano prodigy, from rigorous practice in She...

English is Confusing | 令人困惑的英语

A teacher patiently explains the confusing concept of present participles to her summer school cl...

The Shroud | 寿衣

A grieving mother's incessant tears prevent her deceased child's shroud from drying, disturbing h...

The Ungrateful Son | 忘恩负义的儿子

A son hides food from his elderly father and is cursed when the meal turns into a toad that attac...

Blue Beard | 蓝胡子

A wealthy man with a blue beard marries a young woman named Fatima, forbidding her from entering ...

The Medicine Swindler | 骗子卖药

A famous doctor prescribed poris cocos for Liu Zongyuan's swollen spleen, but a swindling apothec...

The Clever Rabbit | 聪明的兔子

A wolf and a fox plot to catch a clever rabbit by pretending the fox is dead. The rabbit, suspici...

Where Does Rice Come From? | 大米从何而来?

A rich man's overconfidence in his sons' intelligence is challenged when they give absurd answers...

Extreme Joy Begets Sorrow | 乐极生悲

The story of Chunyu Kun, a minister of Qi, who used a clever analogy about drinking to warn the k...

The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller | 烧炭人与漂布人

A charcoal-burner invites a fuller to live together to save costs, but the fuller refuses, knowin...

The Three Sluggards | 三个懒汉

A dying king promises his kingdom to the laziest of his three sons. Each son boasts of his extrem...

A Lady Named Lill | 莉莉的故事

A shy, undereducated girl, pressured by her stern father, musters the courage to apply for her fi...

The Steadfast Tin Soldier | 坚定的锡兵

A one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper ballerina. After a series of perilous adventu...

Fitcher's Bird | 菲切尔的鸟

A cunning wizard captures sisters, but the youngest outsmarts him by resurrecting the others, orc...

The Three Cats | 三只猫

Three bored cats meet at the park, get covered in paint during an adventure, and cleverly wash it...

Two Fathers | 我的两位父亲

A story of two sisters navigating love and loyalty between their biological father and their devo...