Introduction.

The title of this story was supplied, in English, by the Rev. Samuel Pollard. The Miao name of the bird was translated for him into Chinese, and the Chinese word can mean both crow and raven. Since he chose the latter, although the former is much more likely, "raven" has been used throughout in this translation.

The story differs from Wang Ming-ji’s version in that the element of competition is absent, and the meaning of the couplets has been changed by the introduction of a negative. However, the final result is the same, and so is the.raven’s exclamation of frustration at the end, which in colloquial Chinese means, "All that for nothing", and which Pollard paraphrased, "What a fraud!"

Translation
Literal Transcription
Notes

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