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the cycle of rainfall over the earth.

     
    “My older son has gone to the East China Sea to attend a wedding,” the lady continued. “My younger is escorting his sister for the evening. A moment ago we received Heaven’s command to send down rain. There is no time to inform the boys, since thousands of leagues now separate us. A replacement is not easy to find, either. I must venture to trouble you: Would it be possible for you to help us this instant?”
    “I am a mortal man, not a rider of the clouds,” Li Ching replied. “How would I be able to send the rain? But if there is some art you can teach me, then I am at your disposal.”
    “Only follow my directions,” said the mistress, “and there’s nothing you cannot do!” She called for the horse, which was a cream-colored steed draped in black, and directed the servants to tie the rain holder, a little vase, to the front of the saddle. “Don’t rein in on the bit,” she warned Li Ching. “Follow the horse’s own movements. When he stamps his feet and whickers, take one drop of water from the vase and let it fall onto his mane. Be sure not to use more than one drop!”
    Li Ching mounted the horse. It vaulted forward, its feet going higher and higher. Li Ching was amazed at its speed and steadiness; he did not realize that he was on top of the clouds. The wind raced by like arrows. Thunder rumbled beneath his feet. Then the horse stamped, and the rider put a drop of water on his mane. Lightning gleamed and clouds parted. Below, he could see the hamlet where he often lodged. ‘I’ve given the hamlet much trouble,’ he thought, ‘and they have treated me very kindly. How can I repay them? There has been such a long drought that their crops are nearly parched. Now that I have the rain in my hands, why should I be stingy with it?’ So Li Ching put twenty drops more onto the horse’s mane. Soon the rain stopped, and he rode back to the mansion.
    There he found the mistress sobbing in front of the living room. “Oh what a mistake!” she cried. “You promised to use no more than one drop. Why did you use twenty to satisfy your whim? One drop from heaven means a foot of rain on earth. By midnight this hamlet had twenty feet of water! There are no people left. I have been severely blamed and given eighty strokes of the rod. Just look at my back; it’s covered with bloody welts. My sons are also incriminated. Oh, what shall I do?”
    Li Ching was struck dumb with shame and fear. “Good sir,” the lady continued, “you are but a man from the world of mortals, who knows nothing of the movements of cloud and rain. Really, I cannot hold you to blame. But if the dragon king comes looking for you, you will have much to fear. Leave quickly, then, but let me reward you for your pains. Here in the mountains we have little to offer. Perhaps you would accept a gift of two servants—or only one of them, as you choose.” And she ordered the two servants to come out.
    One came from the east corridor. His face and manner were gentle and pleasing, and he seemed most agreeable. The other came from the west corridor. Hot-tempered and boisterous, he stood restraining his anger.
    “We hunters are combative and fierce in what we do,” said Li Ching. “Were I to choose the gentle one, wouldn’t people take me for a coward? Yet I would not be so bold as to take them both. Since you have offered, I choose the fierce one.”
    Smiling faintly, the mistress said, “If that is all you wish, sir?” She saluted him and they parted. The servant left with Li Ching, who went a few steps past the gate and looked back. The house was gone. He turned to the servant, but he too had vanished, and Li Ching had to find his way home alone. In the daylight he looked toward the hamlet, and there was water as far as the eye could reach. Only the tips of some trees stood above the flood. No men were to be seen.
    It is said that east of the T’ung Pass prime ministers are produced; west of