Deception

There was once a monk, Nisi, who resided in the mountains. Nisi's appearance was what you would expect from a monk: old wrinkled skin, bald, barefoot, and wearing as the only article of clothing an orange robe with holes and stains that had not been washed in a long time. Something that separated him from the other monks was the bag of scrolls he always carried. He often wandered around the mountainside, helping any animal or human he came across.

One day, while walking around the base of the mountain on the outskirts of a village, Nisi saw a little boy running by himself with no one around. The boy caught sight of Nisi and ran toward him with haste. Once the boy got close to Nisi, the boy tried to talk to him but couldn't for his mouth was completely closed with no visible opening and covered by skin. Although the boy couldn't speak, he kept pointing in the direction he ran from and it was clear he was in danger and afraid of something in that direction.

"Hello. Can you hear me?" asked Nisi.

The boy nodded his head, confirming he could hear and understand Nisi.

"My name is Nisi. I am a monk from within the mountains. Are you in danger?" asked Nisi.

The boy nodded his head once again.

"OK. Go hide in that ditch over there while I take care of whatever is frightening you," instructed Nisi.

Then the boy hid in the ditch and Nisi walked toward the direction where the boy came from.

After a short time had passed, an elderly woman riding on a horse came upon Nisi. She had long white hair and wore a long dark-colored dress down to her feet.

"Hello there. My name is Maria. I was wondering if you came across a little boy with his mouth shut running this way?" she asked Nisi.

Nisi thought it would be best to conceal his knowledge of the little boy for now. "My name is Nisi, and no, I don't know what you're talking about," responded Nisi.

Maria, sensing Nisi might not be telling the truth, probed him further.

"Don't lie to me. He ran from me because he's in big trouble. I'm in a hurry and I need to bring him back home, " Maria said with urgency in her voice.

"Perhaps I have seen him. How do you know this boy?" inquired Nisi.

"He is my grandson," answered Maria.

Now Nisi was faced with two conflicting stories. Either the little boy lied and he was just trying to escape from his grandmother, or he was telling the truth and she's the one lying about being his grandmother. The only way to know the truth was to bring the two together, so Nisi led Maria to the area where the boy was hiding.

Once they arrived where the boy was hiding, Nisi asked, "Is this your grandmother?" The boy shook his head furiously while pointing at his own mouth. Then Nisi took out one of the scrolls from his bag, unrolled it, and recited the ancient words on it towards Maria's direction. She ran at Nisi, trying to stop him, but it was too late.

"What have you done?" screamed Maria before losing her head as she turned into ash right before their eyes.

Nisi quickly turned around and looked back at the boy who had now transformed into an ogre with horns growing out of his head.

"Thank you! You're too kind!" exclaimed the ogre with a heinous undertone.

Suddenly, he jumped high off the ground and flew away. It wasn't long until he was out of sight. Nisi went back to the monastery in the mountain and told these events to a scholar.

Author's Note: This story is based on the Chinese story The Flying Ogre by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens. In the story an old monk wandering nearby a giant tree stumbles upon a little girl who asks for his help and helps her hide in a giant hollow tree. A man flying on a horse tells the monk that he is looking for the girl asks for her whereabouts The monk refuses at first but then reveals her position once the man says she's not a little girl but an ogre. The man goes after the girl in the tree with the two eventually flying in the air off out of sight.

I decided to change a number of things in this story including the location, characters, and plot. Instead of being near a big tree I changed the location near a mountain since that is a common location for monks to reside. I also added an elderly woman character, giving the appearance of a possible witch with knowledge of magic, and the little girl was changed to a little boy. Lastly, the plot was changed by the little boy plotting to get rid of the woman that had a spell on him.

Bibliography

The Flying Ogre by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens

Image: The ditch that the boy hid in. Source