"Once upon a time there was a great rebel whose name was Ch'ih Yu. He
was the first great rebel that ever lived in China. He did not want to
obey the chief ruler, and invented for himself warlike weapons,
thinking that in this way he might overthrow the government and place
himself upon the throne.
"He had eighty-one brothers, of whom he was the leader. They had human
speech, but bodies of beasts, foreheads of iron, and fed upon the dust
of the earth.
"When the time for the battle came, he called upon the Chief of the
Wind and the Master of the Rain to assist him, and there arose a great
tempest. But the Chief sent the Daughter of Heaven to quell the storm,
and then seized and slew the rebel. His spirit ascended to the
Fire-Star (Mars)--the embodiment of which he was while upon
earth,--where it resides and influences the conduct of warfare even to
the present time."
"Tell me the story of the man who went to the mountain to gather
fire-wood and did not come home for such a long time."