Chinese Fables & Folktales II

Abstract

There are four stories here. "Not One Bit Fake" supplies the great cover-illustration of a farmer who has made himself into a scarecrow to catch the bird who had mocked the inhuman scarecrow. "Zao Fu, the Diligent" is a typical master-with-apprentice story. "The Unmanageable Bat" is about the bat who has it both ways: bird and rodent. "Cut the Long Pole in Half to Get inside the City" is a Buster Keaton story. Instead of thinking about carrying the pole through the city-gate lengthwise, the fellow cuts it in half. The book unfortunately situates a fair amount of print on colored sections that make the print hard to read. Apparently the artist and design people did not cooperate well. Each of these stories at least borders on being a fable. Was the book originally sold by the Shanghai Museum? A sticker on the back seems to indicate that.