| LOTUS Cloud thought I was joking, of course, and
she even managed a small laugh, which was not an easy thing to do under
the circumstances. |
1 |
| "Me?" she scoffed. "The Star Shepherd fell in
love with the most beautiful girl in the world, not with a girl with thick
legs and big feet and a flat face!" |
2 |
| "Mere literary convention," I said with an airy
wave of a hand. "If the Star Shepherd wanted beauty he had all the
young goddesses in Heaven to choose from. He wanted a peasant girl whose
eyes held all the hope and joy and wonder in the whole world, and whose
grin could fell an ox at fifty paces. I applaud his good sense. I am
something of an expert on the subject since I have had the honor of
falling in love with you twice: once as Li Kao, and once a thousand years
ago when I was your little dog." |
3 |
| I poured myself more wine and offered a cup to Lotus Cloud.
She waved it away with a nervous gesture. I am afraid that she thought
that I had lost my mind. |
4 |
| "I was not a very good little dog," I said
rather sadly. "In fact I was the worst mongrel in the history of the
world. But I loved the Princess of Birds and the Princess of Birds loved
me, and I am sure that I did my best to protect her. The Duke of Ch'in was
afraid of me, and I probably gave him a thorough chewing before he managed
to get rid of me - poison, I suppose. I doubt that he would have dared to
go after me with a sword. At any rate the duke killed me and captured the
Princess of Birds, and five hundred years later when a very great man
named Chang Heng tried to find the princess and failed he decided to call
for her dog. A dog could find what a man could not, he reasoned, and I'll
bet he kicked himself when I trotted right to the duke's back door and
laid my heart at your feet." |
5 |
| "What are you talking about?" Lotus Cloud
yelled angrily. |
6 |
| "I am talking about greed," I said. "You see,
the great Chang Heng wasted his life on good works, and as a result he
understood everything in the world except greed. He knew that the Duke of
Ch'in could have transformed the Princess of Birds into anything he liked,
so Chang Heng searched for a single raindrop hidden in a thunderstorm, or
one certain petal in a field of flowers, or a special grain of sand
concealed among a billion on a beach. But the duke would never have
transformed to princess into something like that. He lived only for money,
so be would transform her into something that would make money. I do not
believe that he was very bright, but here he showed a flash of pure
genius. The Duke of Ch'in realized that he could make ten thousand
fortunes if he did not transform the Princess of Birds at all." |
7 |
| I picked up one of the three jewels on the table. It was the
rare pearl: jet black, with one small star shaped white flaw. |
8 |
| "This is what finally opened my eyes," I said.
"Lotus Cloud, this is a very rare pearl. There cannot be another one
exactly like it in the world. One night I leaned over a window sill and
rolled this pearl across the floor toward your feet, and the next time I
saw it, it was in a treasure trove belonging to the Duke of Ch'in. So I
started to wonder how he got it. I knew that you forgot all about a gift
of pearls and jade five minutes after you received it, but I had never
before wondered what happened to the stuff. It struck me quite suddenly.
What if the duke had not transformed the princess at all? What if he had
merely extinguished her divine light and removed her memory, and given her
a false set of memories? It would have been child's play for a student of
the 0ld Man of the Mountain." |
9 |
| "I do not understand one word you are saying!"
Lotus Cloud snarled. |
10 |
| "Can you understand that the Princess of Birds would
have still been a goddess?" I said. "That is why the duke showed
genius. It is the nature of men to worship a goddess, and it is the nature
of a goddess to accept their worship. The men are not being lecherous and
the goddess is not being promiscuous. It is the nature of men to bring
valuable offerings to their goddess, and it is the nature of the goddess
to accept their offerings. The men are not handing out bribes. The goddess
is not being greedy. They are merely acting out roles that were ordained
at the beginning of time, and as a result you have collected - to my own
certain knowledge - more pearls and jade than the duke's entire army. And
every bit of it has wound up in the treasure troves of the Duke of Ch'in." |
11 |
| I opened another jar of wine. "I should have realized
that you were divine the moment I realized that I was not jealous of Miser
Shen," I sighed. "Miser Shen was not jealous of me. None of your
lovers was ever jealous - annoyed, perhaps, if they were prevented from
getting to you, but not jealous. Now that total lack of jealousy is
completely inhuman if the emotion involved is love, but it is very human
indeed if the emotion involved is worship. One is not jealous of a fellow
worshipper." |
12 |
| Lotus Cloud did not believe me, of course, but she was
getting worried nonetheless. She watched me with uncertain eyes as I
walked over and gazed down at the Key Rabbit's robe. |
13 |
| "I stabbed the duke twice," I said more to myself
than to Lotus Cloud. "The first time my sword bounced off three
feathers, and the second time I felt a metallic scrape before it plunged
through his body. So long as he held the crown of the Princess of Birds he
would never age, and what better place to keep it than in the hole where
his heart had been?" |
14 |
| I reached into the robe and pulled out a small golden crown.
Then I opened my dragon locket and took out the three feathers of the King
of Birds. |
15 |
| "We have only a short time together," I said
quietly. "It is growing late. Soon the watchman will rap the third
watch, and the seventh day of the seventh moon will have come and gone.
You must be back in Heaven before then." |
16 |
| My beloved Lotus Cloud began to tremble when she saw tears
trickling down my cheeks. Those small salty drops were more convincing
than a billion words. |
17 |
| "I weep because when you are once again the Princess of
Birds and safely back in Heaven you will forget me," I sniffled.
"A man can stand almost anything, but he cannot bear it if he is
forgotten by his goddess." |
18 |
| "But this is all nonsense!" cried Lotus Cloud.
"I would not want to leave you even if I were the Princess of
Birds!" |
19 |
| "You don't know what you want," I said. "But
I know what you want. Whenever you see pearls and jade your whole body
shakes with a longing that comes straight from the soul. When your hands
reached out to pearls and jade you were reaching for something that you
could never quite remember, but never quite forget. I have seen Heaven.
The paths are made of pearls. The palaces are built from jade. But you
were reaching for something more important than your home in Heaven; you
were desperately trying to reach yourself. The name of the Princess of
Birds," I said gently, "was Jade Pearl. And now it is time for
Jade Pearl to return to the Star Shepherd. He has suffered long enough,
and he will be very glad to see you." |
20 |
| Lotus Cloud was terrified. She tried to hold on to the only
life she could remember, and she cried: "But you cannot want this to
happen! I love you, and you love me, and you cannot want to send me
away!" |
21 |
| I carefully placed the three feathers around the rim of the
golden crown, and walked slowly up to Lotus Cloud. |
22 |
| "Yes, I love you and you love me. Ours is a perfect
love, and a perfect man would never abandon a perfect love. But I am not a
perfect man. There is a slight flaw in my character," I said, and I
placed the crown of the Princess of Birds upon the head of the woman I
loved. |
23 |
| The world being what it is you may very well be called upon
to rescue a goddess one of these days, and I will offer you a piece of
advice: beware of her Divine Light. The moment I placed the crown upon the
head of Lotus Cloud I was nearly blinded. I fell to my knees and covered
my stinging eyes and gazed at flickering black spots and exploding orange
pinwheels, but even then I could see that Lotus Cloud had moved away from
me. (I saw her in my heart, and if you do not understand that sort of
vision I cannot explain it to you.) When I dared to open my eves I found
that they had adjusted to the unearthly glow, and I saw my beloved Lotus
Cloud, Princess of Birds, standing at the open window. A shimmering nimbus
surrounded her, and the golden crown upon her head flickered like fire. I
heard her make a low cry - not a song, not a whistle, something that was
both and neither and then she opened the door and stepped out into the
garden. She paid no attention to me. |
24 |
| "Already she has forgotten her little dog," I
thought, and I got to my feet, quite mindlessly, and walked over to the
table and opened another jar of the Key Rabbit's wine. Those of you who
have suffered a severe shock may understand my reaction. Through the open
door I could see the guard dogs crouched over the tiny pile of dust that
was all that remained of the evil heart of the Duke of Ch'in. The dogs
were listening to something, entranced, and then I heard it. |
25 |
| The music of birds was rising from every corner of China.
The beautiful song rose higher and higher, yet deepened in pitch as the
chorus swelled, and then they came: a million birds, a billion, a
trillion, soaring across the face of the moon. The great Phoenix,
mightiest of all, led the way. I saw his flaming crown of feathers streak
across the sky like a meteor. Behind him flew the Eagle, King of the Birds
of the Land, and the Albatross, King of the Birds of the Sea. Behind the
mighty three flew the owl, Prince of the Birds of Night, and the lark,
Prince of the Birds of Day, and the swan, Prince of the Birds of Rivers,
and the parrot, Prince of the Birds of Jungles, and the crane, Prince of
the Birds of Marshes, and the petrol, Prince of the Birds of Storms, and
the raven, Prince of the Birds of Prophecy - I shall not give the entire
list; Henpecked Ho might have drawn it up since it covers twenty pages -
and behind the officers flew their legions. Every single bird in China
including those who had been forced to break out of cages was flying
through the moonlight, and the air was fragrant with the green twigs and
branches that they held in their beaks. |
26 |
| I saw the room vibrate with the mighty song, and the
curtains swing back in a wind of wings, and several pieces of porcelain
break right in half. I took another sip of wine. I heard the Princess of
Birds make another low cry, and the great falcon, Prince of the Birds of
War, slid silently down from the sky and landed beside her in the garden.
It was as big as a horse. Its talons glittered like giant swords, and its
wise old yellow eyes burned like torches. The Princess of Birds turned and
looked straight at me, and I found myself walking toward her. |
27 |
| To my numb astonishment I found myself climbing upon the
falcon's back. Lotus Cloud leaned toward me; her lips brushed my cheek. |
28 |
| "I shall never forget you, Li Kao. Not through all
eternity," she whispered. Then she stepped back. |
29 |
| The great falcon spread its wings, pumped twice, and
suddenly I was airborne, flying away through the night sky, flying away
from the Princess of Birds. I looked back and saw that a billion birds
were building a bridge with the twigs and branches in their beaks, and I
saw Lotus Cloud step upon the first rung. |
30 |
| The moment her foot touched the bridge the last spell was
broken. I heard a mighty roar, and I turned to see the Castle of the
Labyrinth shudder as though a giant hand was squeezing it. Then the
monstrous mass of stones broke to pieces, and great slabs fell like
scattered grains of sand, and I was flying through a cloud of dust and
debris. The falcon lifted from the cloud and I gazed back at a beautiful
Bridge of Birds that was soaring toward Heaven, and I saw the shining
light of the Princess of Birds climb toward the Great River of Stars.
Never again would I see Lotus Cloud; never again would I hold her in my
arms. |
31 |
| The great falcon turned its mighty head. Its eyes glowed
like coals. "Li Kao, why do you weep? For a thousand years men and
ghosts alike have waited for the beautiful Bridge of Birds," said the
falcon. "It is time for rejoicing. Look down." |
32 |
| I looked down, and I saw a tired old man trudging away from
a cemetery with a corpse on his back. Doctor Death was holding the
corpse's head up toward the glorious Bridge of Birds. "You see?
Anything is possible in China!" cried Doctor Death. "If the
birds can do that surely you can come back to life, and it is so very
important. You see, she was not pretty but she was the most wonderful wife
in the world. We were very poor, but she could make the most delicious
meals from a handful of rice and the herbs that she picked in the woods.
She sewed dresses for wealthy ladies to help pay for my studies, and she
sang beautiful songs to cheer me when I was depressed. We were very happy
together, and I know that we will be happy together again." |
33 |
| The falcon swooped down. Its mighty talons shot out. Doctor
Death fell silently to the ground, and I saw his ghost lift from his body,
and then I saw another ghost running toward him with open arms and tears
of joy, and Doctor Death and the most wonderful wife in the world embraced
beneath the beautiful Bridge of Birds. |
34 |
| On and on we flew, and above me the glorious bridge climbed
higher and higher, and the great falcon turned its head. "Must you
still weep, Li Kao? Look down." |
35 |
| Henpecked Ho was in his element. His ghost stood between the
ghosts of Bright Star and her captain, and they were according him the
respect that was due the foremost chin-shih scholar in China. They gazed
wonderingly up at the glorious sky and back down at Henpecked Ho, and the
gentle scholar grandly recited: "...and so the August Personage of
Jade placed the crown upon her head. 'Arise, Princess of Birds!' said the
Emperor of Heaven, and when Jade Pearl stood up she was astonished to see
that she shone with a divine light...'" |
36 |
| Faster we flew, zooming over low hills and fertile valleys,
and everywhere I looked I saw peasants standing outside with their little
children in their arms. Their eyes were filled with joy and hope, and they
said: "You see? No matter how bad things seem you must never give up.
The great Chang Heng refused to give up, and now he has completed his
mysterious quest!" The children said: "But didn't Chang Heng
promise that the sky would fill with falling stars?" Their parents
said: "Be patient. Chang Heng said that there would be falling stars,
so there will be falling stars!" |
37 |
| We soared up a mountainside. I heard a great cry of joy that
shook the skies and I looked up, and I saw the shining light of the
Princess of Birds climbing toward Heaven, and I saw another shining light
as the Star Shepherd hurled his crook away and raced across the Great
River of Stars toward his bride. No child in China could have anything to
complain about now. Stars spilled over the banks and streaked down toward
earth: showers of stars, torrents of stars, great glorious waves of stars
that turned night into day, and the whole world was bathed in the
fragrance of green twigs and branches while the song of a billion birds
thrilled the air. "Look down," said the falcon. |
38 |
| I looked down, and I cried out: |
39 |
| "But surely they have paid for their folly!" |
40 |
| The bodies of the three handmaidens still floated upon the
cold gray water of the Lake of the Dead, and the great falcon turned its
head and said: |
41 |
| "In life they were faithless, but in death they were
faithful beyond belief. Their courage has been brought to the attention of
the Yama Kings, and even now the Judges of Hell are making their
decision." |
42 |
| I saw the bodies peacefully dissolve into dust, and I saw
the three ghosts lift into the air, and I felt an indescribable wave of
joy as Snowgoose and Little Ping and Autumn Moon flashed past us through
the sky, and followed the beautiful Bridge of Birds to rejoin their
mistress in Heaven. |
43 |
| We hovered above another high peak where the Old Man of the
Mountain gazed up at the sky outside his cave, and then we swooped down to
another valley. |
44 |
| "Look down," said the great falcon. |
45 |
| "Miser Shen!" I cried, for the ghost of my friend
was standing with the ghost of his wife, and in his arms he held a
beautiful little girl. He was telling her a story, and her eyes were full
of wonder as they stood beneath the Bridge of Birds. |
46 |
| "...so I said; 'Li Kao, I am a peasant and all peasants
worship the memory of the great Chang Heng! This unworthy one has been
granted the honor of pursuing you to the Pool of Past Existences, and I
beg to be allowed the greater honor of dying at your side!'" |
47 |
| "You were very brave, daddy," said little Ah Chen. |
48 |
| The falcon pumped its wings and we soared up the side of
another mountain and over the top. Down swooped the falcon, drifting
silently toward a willow grove on top of a hill. We landed light as a leaf
beside a perfectly round pool of clear spring water, and I found myself
climbing from the falcon's back. Three times the falcon bowed to the pool,
and then the glowing yellow eyes turned to me. |
49 |
| "Is it not enough to know that you will never be
forgotten by the Princess or Birds?" said the Prince of the Birds of
War. "That is as close to immortality as men can get without going
mad. Besides, you would be miserable in Heaven. So would I. There is
nobody there to fight." |
50 |
| The great bird spread its wings and lifted to the sky; for a
moment the shadow blocked out the moon, and then the falcon was gone. |
51 |
| I walked over to the pool and gazed down at the white skull.
"Are you still there, or have you gone to Heaven?" I said. |
52 |
| "I would not leave without saying goodbye to you,"
said Chang Heng. "Besides, I think it would be pleasant to lie here
for a while and sip some wine with a friend, and gaze up at the beautiful
Bridge of Birds." |
53 |
| I was quite surprised to find that I still clutched the last
jar of the Key Rabbit's wine. I sat down and poured some into the pool and
lifted the jar to my lips. "You know," I said as I wiped my
mouth with the back of my hand, "I would not be at all surprised if
the seventh day of the seventh moon becomes a festival in China. Of course
the priests will have to invent a story to go along with it. Something
pious and pretty - all about a little goddess who weaves seamless robes
and a little god who milks cows, for example, with a few magpies thrown in
for comic effect - and if the story is innocuous enough the Koreans and
Japanese will adopt it as their own, as they always do. The real story
would not appeal to them at all, because the real story is not actually
about gods -and goddesses. Or mongrels, for that matter. It is a story
about two kinds of wisdom, and it begins with the great Chang Heng and
ends with the Old Man of the Mountain." |
54 |
| "Did you see my old adversary?" said Chang Heng. |
55 |
| "I did indeed. The falcon hovered over his cave so I
could get a good look. The wisest man in the world was standing outside
gazing up at the Bridge of Birds. His eyes were like a couple of rocks.
Then I saw an expression of great pleasure cross his face, and I was just
thinking that it might not be so bad after all to lose your heart when I
noticed that he had taken some jewels from his pocket. His fingers were
caressing them, and his voice was thick with greed. 'Cold,' he whispered.
'Cold...cold...cold...cold...' |
56 |
| "And then the wisest man in the world turned his back
upon the beautiful Bridge of Birds and shuffled down into the darkness of
his cave. Would you call that a good ending to our story?" |
57 |
| "It might not be very good, but it is certainly
Chinese," said Chang Heng. |
58 |
| Falling stars crashed all around us, but apparently the
August Personage of Jade was willing to forgive his favorite nephew for
deserting his post because all Heaven exploded with bells and gongs and
the blast of joyous trumpets as the Princess of Birds stepped from her
bridge and fell into the arms of the Star Shepherd. I poured half of the
remaining wine into the Pool or Past Existences and raised the other half
to my lips. |
59 |
| "Kan pei!" I said. |
|
60 |