In the province of Taishu, in China, there was a pious man who, every day,
during many years, fervently worshiped a certain goddess. One morning,
while he was engaged in his devotions, a beautiful woman, wearing a yellow
robe, came into his chamber and stood before him. He, greatly surprised,
asked her what she wanted, and why she had entered unannounced. She
answered: "I am not a woman: I am the goddess whom you have so long and so
faithfully worshiped; and I have now come to prove to you that your
devotion has not been in vain... Are you acquainted with the language of
Ants?" The worshiper replied: "I am only a low-born and ignorant person,--
not a scholar; and even of the language of superior men I know nothing." At
these words the goddess smiled, and drew from her bosom a little box,
shaped like an incense box. She opened the box, dipped a finger into it,
and took therefrom some kind of ointment with which she anointed the ears
of the man. "Now," she said to him, "try to find some Ants, and when you
find any, stoop down, and listen carefully to their talk. You will be able
to understand it; and you will hear of something to your advantage... Only
remember that you must not frighten or vex the Ants." Then the goddess
vanished away.


The man immediately went out to look for some Ants. He had scarcely
crossed the threshold of his door when he perceived two Ants upon a stone
supporting one of the house-pillars. He stooped over them, and listened;
and he was astonished to find that he could hear them talking, and could
understand what they said. "Let us try to find a warmer place," proposed
one of the Ants. "Why a warmer place?" asked the other;-- "what is the
matter with this place?" "It is too damp and cold below," said the first
Ant; "there is a big treasure buried here; and the sunshine cannot warm the