The Pond and Something (standard:other, 2555 words)
Author: Mookoo Liang	Added: Feb 16 2006	Views/Reads: 3200/2111	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
"Something ordinary, something special; something imaginary, something sensible."

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

ruins was originally used as a library, and it was named Wu Gui Lou 
just because there were five osmanthus trees in front of it. 

By the way, a well-known advocate of the Reform Movement in the last
years of the Qing Dynasty, Mr. Liang Qi-Chao (1873-1929) came from afar 
and stayed here at Wu Gui Lou for some time. Interestingly, his surname 
happened to be the same as mine! 

Now the five osmanthus trees that produced tiny sweet-scented flowers
are no longer seen, and the old two-storied library is almost 
completely "out of sight." Yet in my mind there always remain lots of 
things, some of which are so special. For example, the broken walls of 
Wu Gui Lou remind me of the devastating 9-21 earthquake (in the year 
1999). 

I hate to say that not all my memories are beautiful. They do include
things good and bad, happy and sad! 

Anyway, I just want to reform my way of thinking, in addition to
improving my physical condition. I will spend more time jogging in the 
nearby school; and if possible, I will go near (and ponder over) the 
mysteriously charming pond every day. 

*  *  *  *  * 

The horrible 9-21 earthquake devoured numberless valuable lives; it also
destroyed such beautiful things as Wu Gui Lou and the pavilion on the 
small island in the pond. 

However, reconstruction was necessary . . . . 

Although thinking of the quake made me sick and sad, pondering over the
pond (just like jogging) made me healthy and happy! 

*  *  *  *  * 

Well, I was born a few months ago. No sooner had I been born (or
hatched) than I fell into a huge pond -- Please don't be confused! I've 
turned into a full-grown frog now. 

Before I grew up, I was just a tiny creature with a tail, but without
hands or feet. I was called kedou in Chinese, or tadpole in English. 

As a newly-hatched tadpole, I fell into a state of "complete ignorance"
at the very beginning -- Is ignorance bliss? -- Yet, very soon I found 
myself deep in the water, either floating or swimming. 

Thanks to my long tail, it made me a quick swimmer! 

For quite a long time I enjoyed myself alone in the water. My
semi-transparent body was perfectly wrapped up by the water, which was 
also semi-transparent. 

In such a liquid my eyesight was limited, yet I could hear something
special in the distance. Furthermore, I could breathe freely in such a 
"water-world"! -- I could move around my familiar "corners," and I 
could explore a little bit farther every single day. 

Traveling into an unknown world was indeed the most exciting thing for
me, though my travel in this huge pond could be very risky. 

The fact is, my life journey was risky but I was quite lucky! I was
lucky to escape from all kinds of dangers and troubles. When I had been 
alone for some time and began feeling lonely, I ran into a half dozen 
creatures that looked like me. 

"Where are you from, friends?" I asked, badly in need of a friend or
two. 

"Oh, I have no idea!" one of them replied. 

"I don't know, either!" all the others followed. 

Then they asked me the same question. This startled me! I myself didn't
know where I was from. 

Anyway, they and I had a long and pleasant talk that afternoon. We
shared our personal experiences with each other. Each of us was glad to 
be the others' good brother or sister. 

Then, later in the same afternoon, we bumped into another six creatures
of the same kind. Three of them joined us, forming a nice "brothers and 
sisters" group. 

The other three, as I noticed, were really newly-hatched tadpoles. They
couldn't swim; they had just fallen into this pond from somewhere above 
the surface of the water! 

"Where on earth are they from?" I was burning with curiosity, in secret.


Having been with my "brothers and sisters" for hours, I thought of being
alone again. So I said goodbye to them, and swam along in a different 
direction. 

I seemed to be rather introverted. "Introspection" was, therefore, an
important way of living for me. That was another type of exploration. 

"Where do I come from? And where to go?" I couldn't help asking such
questions. I found no answer that really satisfied me. I began to 
suppose that the mysteries of life were definitely beyond my 
comprehension. 

Maybe the only thing I could do then was practice swimming. I hoped I
would become one of the best swimmers when I grew up. 

I swam and swam. Suddenly, I heard something very peculiar behind me. I
turned quickly to hide myself, and saw my "brothers and sisters" thrown 
into a panic -- they were being scattered by a big monster! 

"What's that? ... Is that a bad fish? ... Or an evil snake?" 

Nobody answered me. 

Before long, the ugly creature was gone, all the noises were gone, and
the whole pond was back to normal. 

Nevertheless, a similar event occurred shortly after. The third, the
fourth, and the fifth incidents happened successively in the same pond 
on the same day. 

Some monstrous creatures were obviously more "ugly" than others. They
even caused tens of deaths at a time! 

Several days later, some of my best friends lost their lives in a fatal
accident. I was shocked to see that kind of "sudden change" occurring 
in the pond. 

And three weeks after that, my own body began to change in a very
strange way. One morning, the pond being silent as the grave, I woke up 
early and saw something extremely unusual. I was scared stiff when I 
saw my first pair of legs coming out of my belly. 

Before long, another pair of legs (also functioning as my arms) came
into sight, while my long tail quickly atrophied -- and eventually 
disappeared. 

"Is this a normal transfiguration? ... Or a harmful deformation? ...
What should I do -- or what can I do about it?" I had mixed feelings 
about what was going on. Unable to face up to my own problems, I became 
very upset again. 

If I had not met Mr. Turtle, a very good teacher of mine, I wouldn't
have learned how to deal with such a miserable situation. 

*  *  *  *  * 

As a matter of fact, I had been a curious amphibian, trying very hard to
learn. I'd like to get not only a clear picture of my surroundings, but 
also a better understanding of myself. 

But my learning ability seemed very limited. The only thing I knew for
sure was that my knowledge could never keep up with my curiosity; the 
more I had learned, the more I felt I had to learn. 

"Hey, Froggy!" a hoarse voice came from somewhere near the pond. I saw a
strange-looking creature resting under the fruit trees on the bank. It 
was an old turtle (as I later learned) with a friendly smile on his 
face. 

"You are a good student," he said to me. 

"Are you sure, sir?" I didn't think I was doing well in my studies. 

"Yes, you are eager to learn! You'll be a great scholar!" 

"Oh, I'm just ...well, if I could, I would ... try harder ..." 

At first the gentleman-turtle embarrassed me a little. However, his
encouraging words, together with his practical guidance, were great 
magic that fantastically promoted my life. 

Very soon Mr. Turtle became my best friend and mentor! 

Mr. Turtle was also an amphibian, but much older and wiser than I. He
was born two decades before the 9-21 quake, and had been living in this 
pond for 15 years. He was very knowledgeable about the pond; he knew 
quite a lot about the living and nonliving things in and around the 
pond. 

More importantly, he was so kind and generous that he would share
everything good with others. Whenever I asked him for help, he gave me 
valuable advice, making my dull days colorful, and my ordinary place 
meaningful! 

Sometimes he would initiate a chat like this: 

"How are you, Froggy?" 

"Well, so-so." 

"Why, you look so down! You're badly in need of a chat right now." 

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Turtle. But may I ask you lots and lots of questions
at a time?" 

"Don't hesitate to ask. Let's see how many questions you have." 

Sometimes my questions were as many as the number of the fish swimming
in this pond. Speaking of fish, some are much bigger than others. If 
you were fishing, wouldn't you try to catch big fish first? 

I tried to raise those questions that I thought were the most important.


"What's that?" I pointed to a turning machine fixed on the surface of
water near the island. The machine looked like a small watermill but 
kept turning at a high speed. 

"It's a fish-pond pump," Mr. Turtle explained. "It forces gas into the
water so that living creatures under water have enough oxygen to 
breathe." 

"You mean even fish cannot live without oxygen?" 

"Exactly. They need oxygen as well as food." 

When I asked what food fish fed on and who fed them, Mr. Turtle taught
me something about natural selection. He said that the famous English 
scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) had written about this idea in his 
book The Origin of Species. 

I disliked the idea of "survival of the fittest," but I had learned that
there were lots of fights among different schools of fish, and that 
even in the same school there was intense competition (in addition to 
cooperation). 

Mr. Turtle told me not to be discouraged. He showed me something more
interesting and encouraging. 

"Do you know why that bridge was named Rainbow? Think about it." 

"Yes, sir." I replied. 

"That Rainbow connects the ruins of Wu Gui Lou and the beautiful
pavilion on the small island. What does that mean? Have you learned the 
English phrase at the rainbow's end?" 

"I guess I've learned it before." I said. "But would you mind making
comments about those swimming birds?" 

"Not at all. But first of all, please regard fish swimming (and
struggling) in this pond as people living (and working) in a human 
society. Then, you may compare those ducks to your brothers and 
sisters, or your best friends." 

Mr. Turtle paused and then continued, "Pay attention to the colors of
the ducks. It's possible that your personality is very different from 
that of your good friend." 

"How about the geese?" I interrupted. 

"The two snow-white geese represent an intimate husband and wife. Look!
Those geese are always near each other, whether swimming in the pond or 
standing on the bank -- By the way, have you seen the white egret (that 
is, Bai Lusi) flying out recently?" 

"Sorry, I haven't. What would you say about the egret?" 

"It stands for one's self. In Freudian psychology, there are three parts
of the mind: ego, superego, and id. The bird sometimes stands near the 
pond, sometimes flies high up in the sky, and sometimes hides itself in 
the woods. Whether it is three-in-one or not, try not to lose your 
self." 

Suddenly I felt very sorry for myself. I didn't even know where I was
from. I begged for further interpretation of my life, my being! And in 
the end Mr. Turtle concluded that I was a particular kind of tree frog, 
created in my Master's imagination. 

According to Mr. Turtle, my Master was now jogging again at the high
school near his house, and I was going to lay eggs very soon in the 
branches over the still water near the edge of the pond. 


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