Hello.
Welcome to Chinese Folk Tales.
I'm Bob Jones, and I've got another amazing story to tell you.
I hope you enjoy it.
When you look about you and see the amazing landscapes of China, It's easy to imagine the great forces that must have shaped them over millions of years.
Yes, we know about the movements of the Earth, the volcanoes, the winds and the rain, and how they gradually shape the beautiful natural world around us.
But maybe, just maybe, there are other forces at work.
Let me take you to the island of Taiwan.
Slap bang in the middle, you'll find what people call the Sun Moon Lake.
Such an odd name.
But this is how it got it.
Maybe.
Long, long ago, there lived a tribe in the mountains of central Taiwan.
They lived off the land and were very happy, planting corn, taro and rice.
And if they felt like it, they would also go fishing.
They sang and danced the days away.
What shall we do today?
We have done all our work.
Why don't we go to see if we can catch some fish?
Then tonight we can have a feast.
Good idea.
Music.
One morning, just like every other morning of the year, the people were going about their business, planting and picking and buying and selling in the marketplace, when suddenly they heard a big sound.
The land began to shake and the sky grew dark.
We reached for each other in the gloom, shouting and screaming.
Oh no!
What has happened?
It's become so dark I can barely see my hands in front of my face.
Look, husband.
Look in the sky.
The sun has disappeared.
What shall we do?
All they could do was sit and wait, huddled together by their fires, hoping that the sun's light would return.
But it did not.
By evening, they were relieved to see the stars blinking alive, one by one.
And the moon appeared, bathing them in silvery light.
See!
There!
And there!
So many stars!
And the moon!
So big and round and beautiful and full!
At least we haven't lost the moon.
Quickly, let us get into the fields and finish our work by moonlight or we'll starve.
Then, suddenly... Another loud bang and they were plunged once again into darkness.
I cannot believe my eyes.
Now the moon has gone too.
The people lit torches and wandered the mountains, but everywhere was the same.
Day after day they waited, but neither the sun nor the moon came back.
Gradually their crops wilted, and the fish hid in the water.
The flowers died, and even the animals they kept in their fields seemed sad.
What on earth can we do?
If we cannot grow our crops and our animals die of sadness, then what shall become of us?
We need to think of something, and quick.
I think that the sun and the moon have fallen from the sky into a deep valley and can't get back up again.
We should go in search of them and return them to the skies.
As theories go, I've heard better.
But to be honest, it's the best we have.
So the next day they set off in search of the two celestial bodies.
By torchlight they climbed high mountains and down into deep valleys.
They called out into caves.
Sun, are you there?
Moon, if you are there, let us know.
We can help.
OK, so maybe we should look somewhere else.
Eventually they climbed to the highest mountain on the island and sat holding each other in the cold.
Falling asleep, they did When they woke up, it was as black as tar.
Or was it?
Husband, look over there.
Does that look like a light to you?
Down in the valley was a lake.
The light seemed to be coming from beneath the water.
That must be where the sun and moon are, in the lake.
Quick, let's get down there and take a closer look.
Ha!
I found them!
I found them!
Actually, I found them.
We found them.
I found them.
It was me, not you.
And they scrambled down the mountain to the lakeside.
But as they got closer, they could see that things were not as simple as they had thought.
There, in the lake, they could see two dragons, laughing and playing with two balls of light.
It was the sun and the moon.
So that's where they went.
Such troublesome dragons.
How dare they take the sun and the moon?
We need to get them back.
But how?
The dragons will kill us if we approach them.
Suddenly, the rock they were sitting on started to move.
Steam started rising all around them.
A door in the stone had appeared.
Cautiously they passed through the door and down a long passageway until they found themselves in a warm and comfortable cave with a large fireplace and a big cooking pot bubbling away.
Suddenly, an old woman appeared, carrying vegetables to put into the pot.
She was startled to see them.
You shouldn't be here.
The dragons will catch you.
More to the point, what are you doing here?
One day, I was working in the fields when the dragons came by and captured me.
They promised not to eat me so long as I agreed to cook for them.
But tell me, why have you come?
The dragons have stolen the sun and the moon, and if we don't get it back, we'll all die of hunger.
Tricky.
They are nasty animals.
It will be hard to defeat them, but there is a way.
Under the mountain, there is a pair of golden scissors and a golden axe.
The dragons are afraid of them.
If I was not so old, I would have gone to get them.
Here I have a map.
I'll distract them while you get the scissors and the axe.
When you have them, use them to slay the dragons.
The husband and wife followed the map and began digging.
Day and night they dug. until finally they found them.
We found them.
Now we can kill the dragons.
Actually, I found them.
We found them.
They ran back to the lake as quickly as they could and found the dragons playing with the glowing orbs.
Here, you nasty dragons!
And she threw the scissors at the first dragon.
Take that!
Who was cut up into tiny little pieces.
Her husband hurled the axe at the second dragon and sliced his head clean off.
They had defeated the dragons.
But there was a problem.
Okay, so they're dead, but how do we get the sun and the moon back into the sky?
Ah, so i've heard it said that if you eat the dragon's eyeballs, you will gain enormous strength and you'll be able to lift the glowing orbs back up.
No problem.
The husband and wife did as the old lady suggested dived into the lake to retrieve the dragon's eyeballs from where they lay and ate them.
Even though the dragon's eyes tasted like rotten eggs.
But almost immediately they began to grow and pretty soon they were as tall as the mountains which surrounded them.
They picked up the sun and the moon and placed them in the sky.
But they kept falling down.
Use the palm trees to hold them up, which they did, and this time they stayed in place.
The birds began to sing and the rain began to fall.
The fish swam happily, and the flowers bloomed again.
Later that night, the full moon bathed the landscape in a tranquil and peaceful light.
And what happened to the brave man and woman?
They decided to stand guard over the lake just in case the dragons should come back to life, which they never did.
Over time, the gigantic bodies of the couple became like mountains, sitting beside the lake, which was now shaped partly like the sun and partly like the moon.
The Sun Moon Lake.
To this day, the people of the area sing about the brave couple and cheer every time they see the sun and the moon in the sky.
And that's exactly how it happened.
With that, we conclude this episode of Chinese Folk Tales.
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We'll see you next time.
Bye for now.
