The emotions between animals and humans are sometimes especially sincere and touching. I remember a news report that a 10-year old police dog, “Hunter”, died of an illness that was too much for him, and U.S. police officers lined up in solemn procession to bid him farewell. A similar story was told by the Plymouth Police Department in Massachusetts, USA. In ancient China, there are also touching stories between people and animals that seem to make people sigh.
Escaped pig rushed the honor guard
In the Qing Dynasty, the story of the pig who returned the favor and the yellow dog who died in the line of duty is told in “Sitting Flowers and Zhi Guo”, and here the pig and the dog have the style of “the one who knows himself dies for the one who knows him”.
In Changzhou, there was a horse, named Lv Yuxin. One day when he was out, two pigs suddenly ran in front of the official palanquin with their heads up, as if begging. The magistrate used the whip to beat the two pigs, but the pigs did not move, how can not be driven away.
Lv and new very surprised, ordered the palanquin driver to stop the palanquin, and stopped the magistrate. He asked the magistrate to find out from whose house the two pigs ran away. The butcher said that he had bought the two pigs from Tian’s house a few days before and was about to slaughter them today when he suddenly found that both pigs had run away. The butcher didn’t expect that the escaped pigs had rushed the lord’s ceremonial warriors.
The rescued pigs were treated with courtesy and gratitude to Lord Lu every day
After the butcher came, the two pigs were lying on the ground, not daring to move, trembling and whining. Lv Yuxin felt compassion and said to the butcher, “Give me these two pigs, I will pay you the original price!” Lv Wuxin bought the two pigs and brought them back to the government office and kept them in the pig pen.
The next morning, Lv Wuxin woke up and came to the front yard, two pigs lying in front of him, making the appearance of kowtow. Lu Gong scolded them to go away, they both walked a few steps, stopped there, see Lu Gong into the house, before returning to the pig pen. From that day on, the two pigs came to the front yard every morning, waiting for Lu Gong to get up and go out to kowtow to him. If Lu Gong returned to the government from outside, the two pigs would hear the distant sound of the opening gong and jump for joy, as if to greet him.
When Duke Lu died, the pigs went on a hunger strike
After he left office, Lu Gong greeted the two pigs and said to them, “I’m going back today! After raising you for so many years, I can’t bear to let you be slaughtered again, so I will send you to the Taoist temple of release!” The two pigs wailed, as if they were extremely reluctant.
Understanding their meaning, Lu Gong said comfortingly, “If you don’t want to leave me, how about I take you Home with me?” The two pigs made a bowing face. Lu Gong took them back home to Changzhou and kept them for more than ten years. After the death of Lu Gong, the two pigs wailed day and night, and did not eat the feed, and died of hunger strike within a few days.
The old woman cursed the disaster, the righteous dogs did their duty to show the warning
After listening to the story of the rewarding pigs, let’s see how the righteous dogs repay the favor.
The Family of Mrs. Chen, the grandmother of Wang Daoding, the author of “Sitting on Flowers and Fruits,” had a yellow dog that was very understanding. One of the wife’s sisters-in-law, Wang Taijun, was extremely fond of it.
There was an old maid in the government who often cursed her master because she was not loved by him, and prayed behind her back for evil spirits to send calamities to him as soon as possible.
One night, when the door of the house was closed, the yellow dog suddenly knocked on the door with its paws and wailed. Wang Taijun was surprised, so she came out to see what was going on. As soon as the gate was opened, the yellow dog took hold of Taijun’s clothes, as if to lead her to where she was going. Wang Taijun was surprised by the yellow dog’s action, and shouted to the household servants who had not yet gone to bed to hurry over, and Wang Taijun said to the yellow dog, “What do you want? You lead the way in front!” Only then did the yellow dog put down Taijun’s clothes and led the way in front.
The people went to the place where the firewood was piled up and found that smoke was rising there, and burning fire coals were placed under the pile of firewood. She knew in her heart that it was the work of the old maid, but considering that she was old, she could not bear to throw her out of the house.
The yellow dog died in the line of duty
A few days later, the yellow dog knocked again and wailed, and Taijun again led people to check the fire, this Time finding that the firewood had all been lit. Taijun still decided not to expel the old woman, but only to strengthen precautions at night.
A few months later, the precautions were relaxed, and Taijun woke up only when he heard the yellow dog’s wailing in his dream, and opened the door to see that the room was covered with smoke. Because the fire had burned to the front room, the yellow dog took Taijun’s clothes to the back door, like a guide, and led the people to escape from the back door.
The yellow dog stood on the side of the gate and saw that all the people had escaped, but instead pounced on the fire. Taijun shouted at it, but it did not come out, and died in the fire.
Wang Daoding said, it may feel that he was too late to report the news, miss the master’s big event, and fail her bred grace, so he died in the line of duty.
Wang Daoding also said that among the six animals, the pig is the dumbest and most stupid, but once it accepts the favor of others and has a chance to live, it will treat its master with courtesy in front of him with all its heart. When the master died, it will be sorrowful to martyrdom, as if a scholar general, do they also understand the “death of a man who knows himself” in the road? These animals with noble sentiments, I’m afraid, do not care to be with the villain!
(According to “Righteous Dogs” in the next volume 17 of “Sitting Flowers” and “Rewarding Pigs” in the next volume 18)
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