Chinese Merry Tales (1909)/7

Chapter VII.—The Grateful Debtor.(扛欠戶.)

THERE was a debtor whose creditor frequently asked him to pay his debts, but he would not pay what was due. The creditor became enraged and told his servants: "You go to the debtor's door and await there secretly. When he leaves his home, you seize and carry him to me. If he does not pay his debts, I will not let him go." When the servants received their master's order, they went every day and hid themselves near the entrance of the debtor's house. One day the debtor happened to go out, and the servants seized and carried him away. After travelling half a day, they were all exhausted, and proposed to find a place to rest themselves. The debtor said to the carriers: "Better run quick, do not stop; if you delay, another creditor may come and carry me away, then it would not be my fault."