小学英语民间故事：The Story of the Three Genjias_小升初阅读

小学英语民间故事：The Story of the Three Genjias

The Story of the Three Genjias

Once upon a time in a certain place there lived three men who all had the same name Genjia. One was the tribal chief, the second a carpenter, and the third the chiefs steward.

Genjia the carpenter was married to an exceptionally beautiful woman. Genjia the steward fancied her and dreamt day and night of having her for himself. But she was a very upright woman and would not let him get anywhere near her. Finally, he was driven to find some way of killing the carpenter in order to attain his end.

After a while, the father of Genjia the chief died. The steward saw in this a golden opportunity for eliminating the carpenter. Every day he secretly studied the calligraphy of the Buddhist scriptures and succeeded in reproducing the old-fashioned and esoteric style in which they were written. He then wrote a document in this style and handed it to the chief, saying, Master, here is a document I came across the other day. I cannot understand a word of it and have brought it here specially for you to decipher.

Genjia the chief was baffled by the writing and passed it on to his secretary in charge of documents. After reading it, the secretary said, This document claims to be from the old chief. In it he says that he has ascended to heaven and is now serving as an official there, but he doesnt have an official mansion. He asks you, Master, to send him a carpenter the most skilled you have to direct the construction of such a mansion.