About the Pine Tree, the Turtle, and the Tiger

In ancient times, in a distant land, there stood a colossal mountain, and upon that mountain, peculiar stones were piled one upon another. At the summit of the mountain, in a pitch-black cave, lived a gigantic tiger: its fur was spotted, its eyes bulging, a white mark adorned its forehead, and it possessed such strength that no one could rival it. When the tiger roared angrily, the earth would tremble, and the mountains would sway. At the foot of the mountain, in a bottomless green abyss, lived a massive turtle. When the turtle grew angry, it would strike the water with its shell—waves would churn and swirl. When it stretched out its neck, it would grow even larger, reaching over a whole *zhang* in length. And right in the middle of the mountain grew a pine tree several dozen *zhang* tall. It was twisted and bent—a thousand years old. The old pine tree strained with all its might to spread its branches wide, fearing that young trees might grow beside it.

Though the tiger lived at the very summit of the mountain and the turtle in the deep pool, they were inseparable friends. If they didn’t see each other for a day or two, they would grow sad; if three days passed, they would rush to visit one another. Sometimes the tiger would descend the mountain, and other times the turtle would climb to the summit. And every time they passed by the old pine tree, they would often inquire about its health.

"Oooh, eeeh," the pine tree would rustle in response, secretly envying the friends.

The pine tree disliked the tiger’s might, despised the turtle’s strength, but most of all, it resented their unbreakable friendship. Long ago, the pine tree had plotted to separate the inseparable friends, to sow discord between them, but it kept pondering how to do it. Finally, it came up with a plan. However, while it was scheming, it half-dried up, turned black, and its needles turned yellow.

Just at that time, the turtle set off up the mountain to visit its friend, the tiger. When it reached the pine tree and was about to greet it, the pine tree suddenly asked:

"Where are you headed, Sister Turtle?"

"I’m going to visit Elder Brother Tiger," replied the turtle.

At this, the pine tree sighed heavily. The turtle was surprised and asked:

"Why are you sighing, Sister Pine?"

The pine tree sighed heavily again and said:

"I wouldn’t advise you to go to the tiger."

The turtle was even more surprised and asked again:

"Why wouldn’t you advise me to go to the tiger?"

"If only you knew," the pine tree whispered quietly, "how he spoke ill of you yesterday at the summit of the mountain—my ears couldn’t bear to hear it."

"How did he speak ill of me?" the turtle pressed.

"Can I tell you, but you won’t get angry?" the pine tree asked even more softly, so no one else would hear. "Well, he called you a tadpole, threatened to gnaw through your shell and drink your bile when you came to him."

Hearing this, the turtle stuck out its head and, in a wild rage, crawled back to its pool.

Meanwhile, the tiger waited and waited in its cave, then said to itself:

"Why hasn’t Sister Turtle come?"

The tiger stepped out of its den, looked around, but saw no sign of the turtle. "I’ll go visit her myself," the tiger decided and dashed down the mountain.

Suddenly, it heard the pine tree ask:

"Where are you headed, Brother Tiger?"

The tiger replied:

"Well, I didn’t wait for the turtle, so I decided to visit her myself."

At this, the pine tree sighed heavily.

"Why are you sighing, Sister Pine?" the tiger asked, surprised.

The pine tree sighed heavily again and said:

"I wouldn’t advise you to go to the turtle."

The tiger was even more surprised and asked again:

"Why wouldn’t you advise me to go to the turtle?"

"If only you knew," the pine tree whispered quietly, "how she spoke ill of you just now—my ears couldn’t bear to hear it."

"How did she speak ill of me?" the tiger pressed.

Then the pine tree whispered even more softly, so no one else would hear:

"She called you a filthy tiger cub. She threatened to sink her teeth into your claws, drag you into the water by your paws, and drown you."

Hearing this, the tiger grew furious, lashed its tail, and ran back.

Much water has flowed since then, and the tiger and the turtle never met again. But the tiger had a fiery temper. Whenever it remembered the turtle, anger would consume it. One day, it couldn’t bear it any longer, burst out of its cave, and ran to the pool.

Meanwhile, the pine tree was overjoyed, almost laughing. The tiger ran to the pool, cursing:

"Now I’ll show you, you turtle spawn! You threatened to gnaw my claws and drag me into the pool by my legs?"

The turtle poked its head out of the water and began cursing back:

"Now I’ll show you, you filthy tiger cub! You threatened to gnaw through my shell and drink my bile?"

They cursed and cursed, growing so enraged that they began to fight. But neither thought to distinguish truth from lies. The turtle sank its teeth into the tiger’s paw and dragged it into the pool. The tiger sank its fangs into the turtle’s shell and, even if it died, wouldn’t let go. Soon, the turtle breathed its last, and the tiger drowned.

The next morning, a young man passed by the pool. He saw the lifeless bodies of the tiger and the turtle floating on the surface. The young man called others, and they decided to take the tiger and the turtle to their village. They began discussing where to find enough firewood to cook the tiger and the turtle. Hearing this, the young man led the people with axes and saws up the mountain.

When they reached the middle of the mountain, where the old pine tree stood, the young man looked at it and said:

"This pine tree must be a thousand years old. It’s already half-dried. It doesn’t grow itself and doesn’t let young trees grow. Why pity it? Let’s chop it down—there’ll be enough firewood for the fire."

They all set to work together and felled the old pine tree.

And that’s the story they tell.

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About the Pine Tree, the Turtle, and the Tiger

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