a Stupid DeathA Stupid Man Dies a Stupid Death
by Jon
This story takes place in Xian, in a
village where there are high, cold mountains and big, tall bamboo trees.
Once there was a man named Chung, Wang who lived in Xian. He would waste
his money on gambling, wine and other pleasures until all he had left was
a calligraphy brush with a faded panda bear painted on the side of it. Although
he did not care, his wife did. Her name was Chung, Jun. She was very kind,
beautiful, and an expert in embroidery with silk threads.
One day Wang was gambling and he bet their house. He lost! He went to his home to see his wife but she had gone because of his gambling and foolish ways. Now finally, Wang has lost everything, he realized he had done the wrong thing by not being wise and not doing the right thing. Weeks went by with Wang living on the streets with only a single bowl for rice and a cup for water.
And, one day, a small child walked by Wang with another boy beside him. Wang held out his cup, "Could you spare one copper penny?"
"No," said the boys. "But we can tell you about the hidden treasure deep inside the Bamboo Forest." But, of course, these boys did not believe what they were saying. They knew that if this man were as unwise and as foolish as they thought, he would surely believe this incredible story.
"There you must first pass the Dragon of Ice." The boys stopped to take out a fan to cover their faces to giggle a little bit hiding behind it.
"And when you do this" the
boy continued, "You must throw this freezing cup of water at the dragon."
And the boys giggled a little more. 
"Then you go to the Dragon of Fire. When you go to him, you will throw these burning pieces of coal," the boys continued.
They again stopped to laugh behind the
fan. 
"Then when you have killed these dragons, you will see a purple, bamboo tree right ahead. It will only appear after these horrible dragons have died. Cut it down with this ax and then cut open the tree. And inside the hollow trunk there will be gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones.
"I'll take the task," replied Wang. "Now give me the coal, the cup of water, and the ax."
The next day, Wang went out on his journey to seek his destiny. After he had walked a whole day that was tiring and exhausting, he fell fast asleep. And the next morning, he woke up to hear a roar, which sounded like one of the dragons. Instead of throwing the water, he dropped it and ran as fast as he could.
He stopped a second to take a breath, then he thought of how he was so cowardly because he decided to save himself instead. Wang suddenly felt something hot on his back, which terrified him to death. Then he felt what seemed to be a big fang in his side. He closed his eyes, fell down and died of fright with the burning piece of coal still lodged in his pocket and the ax at his side.
And now grandparents tell about this story about the proverb, "A stupid man dies a stupid death", from the story of the unwise and foolish Chung, Wung.