yishenxizhuang

Peacock Loves its Tail

yishenxizhuang@newsletter.paragraph.com (yishenxizhuang) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:56:18 GMT

The peacock is the most beautiful bird in the forest, with a magnificent and luxurious crest, dazzlingly colorful feathers, and a large tail that shimmers with golden and emerald hues, like a magnificent satin ribbon. Hunters love to hunt birds on rainy days because many birds' feathers get wet, making them unable to fly fast or high. One rainy day, a hunter surrounded the peacock and other birds' resting place with a net. One bird discovered this and cried out in alarm, and all the birds flew away without hesitation. Only the peacock hesitated, afraid of getting its feathers dirty while flying in the rain, and was easily captured by the hunter.

Moral of the Story

This fable teaches us that things have priorities, and we must distinguish between what is important and what is urgent, and not lose sight of the bigger picture for small gains.

Inspiration for Growth

The peacock in the story, because it valued its beautiful tail too much, ended up being captured. In real life, we should also have a holistic view when doing things, and not focus too much on one aspect while neglecting the overall picture.

colluding with each other

yishenxizhuang@newsletter.paragraph.com (yishenxizhuang) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:55:02 GMT

Legend has it that in ancient times, there lived two wild beasts: the wolf and the jackal. Both were extremely ferocious and cunning animals. They often raided nearby villages, stealing sheep from the villagers' pens. However, each had a weakness: the wolf had long front legs and short hind legs, while the jackal was the opposite, with short front legs and long hind legs. Therefore, if they acted alone, they often went hungry.

One day, the wolf and the jackal met. They looked at each other and suddenly had a good idea. From then on, they went out together, cooperating with each other. They frequently conspired together to commit evil deeds. One time, the wolf and the jackal planned to steal sheep again. They arrived at a family's sheepfold and peered through the cracks into the sheep. The sheep were large and fat, and the wolf and the jackal's mouths watered; they longed to grab one and eat it immediately. However, the owner of the house had built the sheepfold very high to prevent the sheep from being stolen, making it difficult for the wolf and the jackal to climb over. So they came up with a clever idea: the wolf rode on the jackal's neck, the jackal stood upright on its long hind legs, carrying the wolf high, and then the wolf used its long front paws to climb onto the sheepfold fence and snatched the sheep away.

Moral of the Story

We should be upright and honest, not like the wolf and the jackal who committed petty theft. We should also be discerning in choosing friends and not associate with bad people.

Life Lessons

"Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses." We all have our own shortcomings and deficiencies. When necessary, we should know how to cooperate and coordinate effectively. But we must never be like them, doing evil and harming humanity.

Shepherd Boy and Wolf

yishenxizhuang@newsletter.paragraph.com (yishenxizhuang) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:53:35 GMT

Two shepherd boys went into the mountains and found a wolf den with two wolf cubs inside. After discussing their plan, they each caught one cub and climbed two trees several dozen paces apart. A little while later, the mother wolf returned to the den and, finding her cubs missing, became very panicked. At this moment, one of the shepherd boys in the tree twisted the cub's hooves and ears, deliberately making it howl loudly. Hearing this, the mother wolf looked up, saw everything, and angrily pounced on the tree, howling and clawing at the trunk. Meanwhile, the other shepherd boy, in the other tree, made the other cub howl. Hearing this, the mother wolf stopped, looked around, and finally spotted her other cub. Ignoring her cub, she ran to the other tree and howled and clawed at it just like before. Unexpectedly, the shepherd boy in the first tree again made the wolf cub howl, and the adult wolf turned and pounced again. This continued dozens of times, until gradually the wolf slowed down and its howls grew fainter. Soon, the adult wolf lay on the ground, motionless for a long time. The tree boy climbed down and, upon closer inspection, found the adult wolf dead.

Moral of the Story

The two shepherd boys used their wits and intelligence to drive the ferocious wolf into a state of madness, ultimately leading to its death. This fully illustrates the importance of wisdom; one should always be thoughtful.

Life Lessons Learned

Although the wolf in the story is a ferocious animal, the maternal love it displays is deeply moving. Killing the wolf by exploiting its maternal instincts is unbearable, making the shepherd boy's actions seem cruel. In truth, whether human or animal, maternal love is always great and worthy of praise.

Qi Yanhao Cat

yishenxizhuang@newsletter.paragraph.com (yishenxizhuang) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 08:52:23 GMT

In ancient times, there was a man named Qi Yan in the State of Qi who kept a cat at home. He thought this cat was very special, so he called his cat "Tiger Cat" to others. One guest said to him, "Tigers are indeed very brave, but they are not as powerful as dragons. Why not call it Totoro?" Another guest said, "Dragons are certainly more magical than tigers, but dragons need to ride clouds to fly. It seems clouds are superior to dragons, so why not call it Cloud Cat?" Yet another guest said, "Clouds can cover the sky, but the wind can quickly disperse them, so clouds are inferior to wind. Why not call it Wind Cat?" Yet another guest said, "When a strong wind blows, as long as there's a wall, it can be blocked. I think it's better to call it Wall Cat." Yet another guest said, "A wall is sturdy? Mice can burrow through it. What can a wall do to mice? Why not call it Mouse Cat?" An old man from the east village, upon hearing this, laughed and said, "A cat catches mice! A cat is a cat. Why give it such a random name and make it lose its nature?"

Moral of the story:

This fable teaches us that we must be realistic and objective, and we should not make unfounded accusations or connections.

Lessons Learned

A perfectly good cat was given a name that was changed repeatedly to make it stand out, even ending up with the name "Rat Cat." This shows that excessive embellishment and exaggeration can make something lose its true nature and become a misnomer.

A suit

yishenxizhuang@newsletter.paragraph.com (yishenxizhuang) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 04:02:46 GMT

He attended school in the county town and excelled academically. His father, a farmer, often visited him, wearing worn-out sandals and a straw hat, watching him from outside the classroom window with a silly grin, drawing strange looks from his classmates.

He, enraged and embarrassed, shouted, "Don't come to school anymore!" His father silently left.

Later, he went to university, then entered politics, achieving great success. Just as he was riding high, he was imprisoned for violating laws and regulations, and his assets were confiscated.

His father visited him in prison, wearing an ill-fitting suit. He asked his father where the suit came from, and his father, watching him from outside the window with a silly grin, said, "I borrowed it so I wouldn't embarrass you."

He burst into tears…