the east nor to the west?"

"The answer is necessarily commonplace and unworthy of your polite
interest," was the diffident reply. "My unbecoming name is Kai, to
which has been added that of Lung. By profession I am an incapable
relater of imagined tales, and to this end I spread my mat wherever my
uplifted voice can entice together a company to listen. Should my
feeble efforts be deemed worthy of reward, those who stand around may
perchance contribute to my scanty store, but sometimes this is judged
superfluous. For this cause I now turn my expectant feet from Loo-chow
towards the untried city of Yu-ping, but the undiminished li
stretching relentlessly before me, I sought beneath these trees a
refuge from the noontide sun."

"The occupation is a dignified one, being to no great degree removed
from that of the Sages who compiled The Books," remarked the maiden,
with an encouraging smile. "Are there many stories known to your
retentive mind?"

"In one form or another, all that exist are within my mental grasp,"
admitted Kai Lung modestly. "Thus equipped, there is no arising
emergency for which I am unprepared."

"There are other things that I would learn of your craft. What kind of
story is the most favourably received, and the one whereby your
collecting bowl is the least ignored?"

"That depends on the nature and condition of those who stand around,
and therein lies much that is essential to the art," replied Kai Lung,
not without an element of pride. "Should the company be chiefly formed