【明報專訊】Once upon a time, there was an old man called Zhang. Not only was he an expert in agriculture, but he was also enthusiastic about charity work. Calm and honest, he spent his own time instructing people in the growing of crops. He taught them the way to benefit from the soil and fight against nature.

Then there was a severe drought, which made it impossible to grow crops. People starved to death.

One day, Zhang saw a huge egg. "It should be enough to feed the people," he thought. He brought it home and started breeding the creature. Days later, a terrifying snake was born. Zhang could only keep it indoors. Unfortunately, the snake sneaked out and ate up those chickens and ducks on the villagers' farms. After that, Zhang abandoned the snake and let it dwell in the woods. From then on, it had been attacking people and animals frequently. The emperor ordered that the snake be killed but no one dared try it.

Zhang took the blame and promised to eliminate the snake. "It's not your fault. You were just trying to help us." One of the villagers comforted him. "I have to right my wrong." Zhang insisted and stuck to his plan. He bid farewell to his friends.

"Are you sure? It's far too dangerous for an old man like you to do it." The villager repeated.

"Well, this is my mistake and I have to correct it." Zhang took a knife and went to the woods. After days of searching, he went through the wringer and found the snake. He battled with this deadly creature for many hours and eventually killed it. Having seen the body of the snake and the battle-scarred Zhang, the emperor was satisfied and offered Zhang a position comparable to those at the Palace. After taking over the job, Zhang paid attention to every detail of people's livelihood and was hailed as a caring and promising bureaucrat.

Zhang died after several years of hard work. In order to commemorate Zhang, people built temples around the country and paid tribute to this kind man. People nowadays still treat him as a deity who control the status of the soil (土地公).

Adapted from various pieces of Chinese folklore

■Food for thought

People have to be responsible for what they do. Some people are irresponsible and always shift the blame onto others. Are you one of them?

■Glossary

instruct (v) 指導

starve (v) 捱餓

bureaucrat (n) 官員

deity (n) 神

[Smarties' Power English 第227期]