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The Naughty Boy
— Zhuang Folktale from Du'an County


Listen to this story segment in Zhuang (609Kb)

In many Asian cultures, being shamed in public will cause a person to ‘lose face’. Here is a story about a boy who had a narrow escape from such an experience and what he learned from it.

There was a naughty boy who was always up to mischief. He did not pay attention during lessons, so the teacher punished him by making him stand outside the classroom.

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A fisherman on a raft on the Hongshuihe river

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Village winter scene, school at foot of hill

After a while, the boy said to the teacher, "If you make me stand, my legs will get tired; your legs would get tired too. It would be better if you let me sit down, then when I have finished thinking, I will be able to answer your questions." So, the teacher allowed him to sit down.

Later, when the teacher asked him to answer another question he said, "Well, earlier you made me to stand and you did not finish teaching me the lesson, so I cannot answer your question now."

Ha ha, the teacher lost this round to the boy.

The teacher waited for the next lesson. This time, he first finished teaching the whole lesson, then asked the boy a question because he was nodding off. This time, the boy could not give any answer and could make no excuses.

Since he could not answer, the teacher wrote the math problem on the blackboard and told him to go up there to write the answer. Now fortunately for this boy, this math problem could be solved by two methods. In the end, the child managed to answer with one of the methods, so the teacher could not accuse him of napping.

Ha, amusing, amusing.

However, from that time on, the boy became hardworking and took his lessons seriously. He obtained good results in every examination, always being one of the top three in class.

As people say, "A strict teacher is good as his students usually do better."





This Zhuang folktale from Du'an county in the Hongshuihe area was told by Mr Liang and translated by Chen Jin Feng. Photos taken by Phyllis K.