Persistent Yun Su

Once upon a time, near Fuzhou, there lived a little boy named Yong Su. His father had passed away, leaving him alone with his mother. Their home was poor and empty. Sometimes, they couldn’t even find a handful of rice.

When the time came for Yong Su to study, he had no paper, no ink, and no brush for writing. However, Yong Su firmly decided, "I will study!" And he began to think of ways to overcome his poverty.

The next morning, he went to a wealthy neighbor and said:

- I’ve heard you’re looking for a worker in your house. Take me! I’m young, it’s true, but I don’t ask for much: just let me occasionally watch your sons study, and I’ll be content.

The rich man was delighted: a free worker had come! And he agreed.

From morning till evening, Yong Su worked in the rich man’s house. All the dirty and hard work was left to him. But in return, Yong Su could occasionally glance at the books the master’s children studied from. Sometimes, he even managed to listen to an entire lesson: when the teacher came, Yong Su would hide in a corner and listen. That’s how he learned.

After a year, he began to understand words himself. But there was a problem—he couldn’t write! He had nothing to write on. Yong Su thought hard: what could he do? And then he came up with an idea.

Yong Su and his mother lived in a small house right by the sea. The waves smoothed the fine sand all day long. So Yong Su took a long stick and went to the seashore. He quickly drew a word in the sand. A wave rolled in—and washed it all away. He drew it again—and another wave washed it away. This way, he could write endlessly without a brush or paper.

But now he began to lack books.

One day, Yong Su approached his wealthy master and said:

- I’ve worked for you for free—now I want to ask for payment. However, if you allow me to read your books, I’m willing to work for you for another year under the same conditions.

The master was reluctant to lose such a profitable worker, so he agreed.

Now Yong Su had books. Very often, he had to work until dark and could only study at night. He was so poor that he couldn’t even afford oil for a lamp.

Yet Yong Su did not give up. When the moon was shining, he read and wrote by moonlight. And when there was no moon, Yong Su collected fireflies in the grass and placed them in paper lanterns. By the faint light of the living fireflies, the determined Yong Su continued to read at night.

Many years passed. Yong Su achieved his goal—he became a great scholar. And to this day, people remember the perseverance of the poor little boy, Yong Su.

More fairy tales

• The Just
• If You Want It, You Can Move a Mountain
• The Hat That Flew Through the Sky and the Hoe That Dug for Silver
• In Search of Pleasure
• The Child and the Sage