I
n the dawn of time, when China was only very very very old and not actually ancient,
the most Wondrous Singing Fish looked upon the village of Po Tu. Po Tu was a village
which refused to fish for its meat, choosing instead to slaughter the cattle of an evil
mandarin. Ah this is most fortunate, thought the wondrous fish.
However, when the evil mandarin heard how his servants were slain and his cattle
carried off he was much displeased.
"The people of Po Tu must be taught a lesson!", he told his generals. "Assemble the
troops and march to the Crystal Sea, for I intend to destroy all the fish in the world.".
When the Singing Fish came to know of this terrible decree he was much troubled.
"I must do something.", he said.
So disguised as a priest the Singing One entered the village of Po Tu. There he
saw people working diligently, happy children playing, and even the elderly were
full of joy.
"As I suspected,", he spat in disgust. "This village is evil!". And with that
declaration, he transformed the entire village and its inhabitants into rice.
By the time the mandarin's troops arrived in what was once Po Tu, on their way
to the sea, rice wine had been discovered, and the soldiers soon forgot all about
the mandarin's order.
The End
