A certain literary official was at one time Governor of the city of
Kyong-ju. Whenever he visited the Mayor of the place, it was his
custom, on seeing dancing-girls, to tap them on the head with his
pipe, and say, "These girls are devils, ogres, goblins. How can you
tolerate them in your presence?"
Naturally, those who heard this disliked him, and the Mayor himself
detested his behaviour and manners. He sent a secret message to
the dancing-girls, saying, "If any of you, by any means whatever,
can deceive this governor, and put him to shame, I'll reward you
richly." Among them there was one girl, a mere child, who said
she could.
The Governor resided in the quarter of the city where the Confucian
Temple was, and he had but one servant with him, a young lad. The
dancing-girl who had decided to ensnare him, in the dress of a common
woman of the town, used frequently to go by the main gateway of the
Temple, and in going would call the Governor's boy to her. Sometimes
she showed her profile and sometimes she showed her whole form, as she
stood in the gateway. The boy would go out to her and she would speak
to him for a moment or two and then go. She came sometimes once a day,
sometimes twice, and this she kept up for a long time. The Governor
at last inquired of the boy as to who this woman was that came so
frequently to call him.
"She is my sister," said the boy. "Her husband went away on a peddling
round a year or so ago, and has not yet returned; consequently she has
no one else to help her, so she frequently calls and confers with me."
One evening, when the boy had gone to eat his meal and the Governor
was alone, the woman came to the main gateway, and called for the boy.
His Excellency answered for him, and invited her in. When she came,
she blushed, and appeared very diffident, standing modestly aside.
The Governor said, "My boy is absent just now, but I want a smoke;
go and get a light for my pipe, will you, please."
She brought the light, and then he said, "Sit down too, and smoke a
little, won't you?"