How the Elder from Mount Yunti Helped the People

Once upon a time, there lived an old man with his son and daughter. The father and son wove bamboo baskets, while the girl, after preparing meals and managing the household, helped them. The entire family worked diligently day and night.

In those days, people did not yet know about cotton, which is used to make warm clothing, or oil lamps. Clothes were sewn from the skins of wild animals or tree bark, and only the flames of a fire provided light and warmth.

The family worked at night by the smoky, flickering firelight, which made their eyelids red and their eyes sore. Months and years passed like this.

One day, as the family sat working, the brother suddenly said:

"If only the moon shone as brightly as the sun and appeared every night—that would be wonderful!"

"Is that even possible?" asked the sister. After thinking for a moment, the father replied:

"They say that somewhere far, far away, there is a mountain called Yunti. On this mountain lives an old gardener, as white as a swan. His long white beard drags along the ground. When the moon passes over the peak of Yunti, he often climbs onto the moon to rest for a while. If only we could talk to this old man—he could ask the moon to shine brighter and appear every night. Then people could work at night too."

"We will ask the old gardener to do this," the brother and sister said in unison.

"It’s not that easy," the father said sternly. "They say the path to Yunti Mountain is long and difficult, and the mountain itself is very high and covered in snow."

But the brother and sister replied with determination:

"To save people from suffering in the cold and ruining their eyes by working in the dark, we are ready to endure any hardship and overcome any danger."

The next day, at the first light of dawn, the brother set off on his journey. The path was indeed not easy: the young man had to cross rivers, climb mountains, and push through dense thickets. When his legs gave out from exhaustion, he crawled on all fours, and when his knees were scraped raw, he wrapped them in the animal skins that served as his clothing.

He walked for nine months and finally climbed the snow-covered Yunti Mountain.

A white-bearded old man sat on a rock, combing his magical beard with a large comb.

The young man approached him and explained why he had come. But the old man, as if not noticing him, continued to silently comb his beard.

"Grandfather, I’m not asking for myself—I’m asking for everyone! For the people who work at night and suffer from the cold and darkness, I beg you!" the young man pleaded.

Finally, the old man slowly raised his head and looked at the visitor, who was blue from the cold and barely standing from exhaustion.

"Wait a moment, my son," he said kindly. And then the moon appeared over the peak of Yunti. The old man set aside the comb, wrapped his beard around his neck, and with the agility of a monkey, climbed to the top of the mountain, from where he leaped onto the moon.

Soon, he returned.

"The moon says it cannot shine as brightly as the sun. And it cannot appear every night, as it must sometimes descend into the sea to wash its face. After all, it cannot appear with a dirty face—it wouldn’t be able to shine at all!"

The poor young man was deeply saddened—he thought of the people who suffered so much and whom he could not help. He wept bitterly.

The old man felt genuine pity for the young man.

"My son, we can’t do anything about the moon. But don’t despair—we’ll think of something here on Earth."

"What can we do?" the young man asked through his tears.

"Listen! If we can find someone willing to become a tree, we can obtain oil for lamps and cotton so people can make warm clothing. Then they won’t freeze or ruin their eyes."

"If it will help people, I am ready to become a tree," the young man said.

Seeing the young man’s sincere desire to help others, the old man combed his beard and pulled out a pearl the size of a chicken egg. He handed it to the young man:

"Swallow this pearl, my son, and you will turn into a tree."

The young man did as the old man instructed—and in an instant, he transformed into a tree with long branches and dense foliage. A moment later, flowers bloomed on the tree, and soon large fruits appeared.

"My son, you are now called the tung tree (from the fruits of the tung tree, tung oil is obtained)," the old man said.

As if in response to his words, the leaves rustled joyfully in the gentle breeze.

Meanwhile, the father and daughter eagerly awaited the young man’s return. Nine months had passed since he left, and still, he had not returned.

Then the sister said:

"Now I will go to Yunti Mountain. I’ll ask the old man to speak with the moon and bring my brother home."

The next day, at dawn, the girl set off. She faced many obstacles along the way, but nothing stopped her, and she finally reached Yunti Mountain.

The old man sat on his rock, combing his long white beard. The girl crawled to him with great difficulty and pleaded:

"Grandfather, talk to the moon, let it warm and shine like the sun, let it appear every night!"

The old man looked at the girl—her body was blue from the cold, and her legs were buckling from exhaustion. He felt deep sympathy for her and sadly replied:

"Not long ago, a young man came here and asked the same thing. I spoke to the moon then, but it can’t do anything."

"What can we do?" the distressed girl asked. "Isn’t there anything we can think of?"

"There is!" the old man replied. "We must light lamps and make warm clothing from cotton." He pointed to the tree.

"Not long ago, this was a young man, but for the sake of people’s happiness, he became a tung tree."

The girl approached the tree and gently stroked its trunk.

"Hello, brother! So you became a tree to give people oil for lamps? Grandfather, let me also do something useful for people!"

Seeing her sincerity, the old man combed his beard again, pulled out a pearl, and handed it to the girl. Without hesitation, she swallowed it and instantly transformed into a lush bush with short branches and green leaves. Beautiful flowers bloomed on the bush, and soon large fruits with fluffy white fibers inside appeared.

"Now you are a cotton plant, my girl," the old man said.

As if in response, the leaves made a soft "jing-jing-jing!" sound, as if someone were quietly laughing.

Far from Yunti Mountain, the old father waited another nine long months, but neither his son nor his daughter returned. So he decided, "Now I will go! I’ll see the old man and bring my children home."

The father made the same difficult journey and reached Yunti Mountain. He saw the old man sitting on the rock, combing his beard. The father begged the old man to speak with the moon. But the old man replied that he could not help, that a young man and a girl had already come with the same request, and the only thing he could do was turn the young man into a tung tree and the girl into a cotton plant.

"I also want to become a tree!" the father pleaded, immediately realizing who the young man and girl were.

"That’s impossible!" the old man quickly replied. "I have no more magical pearls. But you’ve come just in time: take the seeds of the tung tree and the cotton plant, and when you return home, plant them. Tell people that the oil can be used for lamps and the cotton for warm clothing." At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, and seeds poured into the basket he held out.

With a basket full of seeds, the father returned home. He scattered the seeds on the mountain slopes, and soon they were covered with wonderful trees and bushes.

From that time on, every home had plenty of oil and cotton. In the evenings, people lit lamps, and on cold days, they wore warm clothing. They no longer suffered from cold or darkness.

Since then, the moon has also shone brighter at night. And when the fifteenth day of the eighth month arrived, the moon sent its fairies to Earth. They brought the father of the young man and girl to the moon and transplanted the miraculous plants from the peak of Yunti Mountain.

As for the white-bearded old man? They say he also moved to the moon long ago.

From those ancient times to the present day, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the moon is perfectly round and especially bright. And if you look closely, you can see the old man diligently working on his bamboo baskets.

↑ To the top

How the Elder from Mount Yunti Helped the People

More fairy tales