Asian Children's Favorite Stories. David Conger

      

      Asian Children’s

       Favorite Stories

      Asian Children’s

       Favorite Stories

      retold by David Conger, Kay Lyons, Liana Romulo,

       Joan Suyenaga and Marian Davies Toth

      illustrations by Patrick Yee

      edited by Liana Romulo

      TUTTLE PUBLISHING

       Tokyo • Rutland, Vermont • Singapore

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd,

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Text © 2006 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd

       Illustrations © 2006 Patrick Yee

       All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

      LCC Card No: 2010277009

       ISBN: 978-1-4629-0791-5 (ebook)

      First printing, 2006

      Printed in Singapore

      14 13 12 11 10

       10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

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      Contents

The Waters of Olive Lake—CHINA	6
Why Cats and Dogs Don’t Get Along—KOREA	14
The Clever Rabbit and Numskull—INDIA	22
The Crane’s Gratitude—JAPAN	28
Why the Tapir Has No Tail—MALAYSIA	34
Baka the Cow and Kalabaw the Water Buffalo—PHILIPPINES	42
How the Sea Became Salty—JAPAN	48
The Mousedeer Becomes a Judge—INDONESIA	58
The Fake Gem—THAILAND	64
The Golden Ring—PHILIPPINES	70
Liang and His Magic Brush—CHINA	80
A Tale of Sticks and Turnips—KOREA	92
The Lucky Farmer Becomes King—THAILAND	98
Glossary

      The Waters of Olive Lake

       ^China

      Liu had worked the fields every day, from sunup to sundown, since he was a little boy. He and his mother planted cabbages, turnips, peas, and other vegetables, yet they never seemed to have enough to eat. They lived in a tiny one-room shack, which creaked and shook violently whenever the wind blew.

      Liu, who had grown up to be a selfless and compassionate man, wanted very much for his mother to retire from the hard life of farming. On cold winter mornings, he noticed that it took her a long time to get out of bed. He also dreamed of the day that he’d bring home a big piece of meat for their supper. As it was, they never had anything but vegetables and broth. Although they lived near a lake, it wasn’t one that seemed to have any fish in it. Olive Lake, in fact, looked rather filthy. Its smell was so disgusting, Liu could never linger long enough to drop a line in it.

      One day, when his mother appeared to be particularly weak and hungry, Liu paused from his work and sat down to think. Why do we work so hard yet stay so poor? he wondered.

      Hours later, he was still pondering the same disturbing question. Long after the sun went down, Liu finally decided that he would visit Ru Shou, the God of the West. He wanted some answers.

      Liu journeyed west on foot for many days. Then, one damp gray morning, he came across a small house along the road. Tired and weak from starvation, Liu peered into the house