The story of Phoenix Mountain

A long time ago, at the foot of a hill south of the West Lake, there lived two brother and sister, the elder brother called Chunsheng and the younger sister called Qiu Gu. When their parents died, they left them three acres of rented land and a shabby straw hut. The brother and sister worked the field in the middle of the night, always trying to get more food. But as soon as the grain was ripe in the autumn, the rich man collected the rent. After we pay the rent, there's not enough left to eat. No way, brother and sister had to eat soup and porridge to live hard.

One year, the New Year's Eve, rich rich family, full of chicken, duck and fish. Chunsheng's house, only a small cup of rice. Autumn aunt cooked a bowl of gruel and gave her brother to eat. Chunsheng said: "I am not hungry, sister, you drink!" Aunt Qiu said: "I am not hungry, brother you drink!" Brother and sister pushed each other, neither of them would drink.

At this time, the snow is flying all over the sky, and the north wind is Shouting loudly and fearfully. In the snow came an old woman begging. Her hair was gray, her clothes were ragged, and she leaned on a crutch, and cried out as she walked, "North wind, heaven, snow land!" Good people, have mercy on my old woman!" The husky voice came into the hut, and the brother and sister could hear it clearly. Aunt Qiu said, "Brother, how pathetic you are!" Chunsheng said, "Sister, let's ask her to come inside." With that, he quickly opened the door and helped the strange old woman into the house. Autumn aunt was busy dusting off the snow on her body, and Spring Sheng picked up the bowl of porridge that had been pushed for a long time to give her a drink.

The old woman spent the night with them. The next day, the snow stopped and the sky cleared up. When she got up to say goodbye, the old woman took out a piece of white twill and gave it to Aunt Qiu, saying, "Girl, use your dexterous hands to embroider this white twill. Happiness is destined to be given to those who are industrious and kind." Autumn aunt took a look, saw the white twill on the faint painting of a phoenix.

So Qiu Gu embroidered this white twill day and night. She embroidered the head of a phoenix with red silk, the eyes with black silk, the wings with gold silk, and the tail with multicoloured silk. Embroidering and embroidering, embroidering needles cut her fingers, blood stained the white twill, she embroidered on it the fiery sun and clouds. She embroidered the phoenix from the beginning of spring to the beginning of summer, and finally finished the embroidery.

This picture of the phoenix is really beautiful, the phoenix raised its head, toward the red sun in the sky, as if it were alive. The brother and sister hung it in the room, and the more they looked at it, the more they loved it. In the evening, something strange happened. Autumn aunt woke up in the middle of the night, saw a golden light in the room, and looked carefully, the phoenix came down from the picture. She woke up her brother, and they watched silently. The phoenix walked several circles through the room, then returned to the white brocade, and the golden light disappeared with it.

The next morning, Qiu Gu got up to sweep the floor and found a golden phoenix egg on the ground. The brother and sister sold it and bought a few acres of land and a yellow cow. As the saying goes, "Good news travels fast." The story of the phoenix map reached the county magistrate's ears like a gust of wind. The county magistrate thought: the phoenix on this picture can produce golden eggs, it is really a rare treasure, I must get it! So, he sent Chunsheng, said: "Master elevated you, willing to pay three hundred taels of silver to buy your phoenix picture."

Chunsheng replied: "The phoenix picture is my sister spent a lot of effort to embroider, we do not sell!"

Hearing this, the county magistrate's face sank, he clapped his fright and said: "This is clearly the emperor's treasure, how can the poor family embroider such a treasure map!" Can not help but say, added a "theft of national treasure" charges, the spring was born in prison. One side and ordered yamen to spring home to rob the phoenix map.

As soon as the phoenix map was in hand, the county magistrate was really proud. He looked left and right, and even forgot to eat, laughing with joy. That night, he sat in the chair, waiting for the phoenix to lay golden eggs. In the middle of the night, all of a sudden, the Phoenix map shot out a dazzling light, shining gold all over the room, the phoenix really came down from the map. He thought that the phoenix was going to lay eggs, and he squatted down to see, but he knew that the phoenix came at him aggressively and pecked recklessly, causing him to roll around on the ground and shout: "Somebody! Help!" Yamen heard the sound came, the phoenix had already "wow" a sound, rushed out of the window to fly up the mountain. The yamen helped the magistrate up from the ground, and saw that his face was bloody and his left eye was pecked out.

The county magistrate suffered this loss, but he did not give up. He thought: if the girl can embroider this phoenix picture, she must be able to embroider a second one. So, he sent Qiu Gu to her and told her that if he could embroider a phoenix picture, he would release Chunsheng. Autumn aunt in order to save his brother, promised. She took back the white twill from the county magistrate and worked on it for three months, stitch by stitch, and the gorgeous phoenix was finished again, but she left a pair of eyes unembroidered. She told the county magistrate to release her brother first, and then embroider the phoenix eye.

The county magistrate asked the yamen to release Chunsheng. Autumn aunt saw his brother, then a stitch embroidery into a phoenix eye. When the phoenix had eyes, it spread its wings and flew down, carrying the brother and sister to the top of the mountain and disappeared.

Later, people called this mountain "Phoenix Mountain".