The Kiss of Love
There once lived a very rich man named Yung Chou, near the highest peaks of the Himalayan Mountains. Yung Chou was the richest man in his village. Yung Chou owned the biggest rice fields and would always sell his rice to the big cities for a very high price. When Yung Chou was a young boy he saw a trader from a big city. Yung Chou was dazzled by all the glittering jewels and the blood-red robes and the large sacks of gold and goods that hung from him. From that day on Yung Chou knew that he would one day be the richest man in his village. And Yung Chou did become the richest man in his village.
Yung Chou was a farmer during the day. He would wake up before the sun had even shown its face and start out for the rice fields. Yung Chou would work under the hot sun without breaks for he knew that if he didn't work he would not get his goods. Yung Chou would always work until the sun had disappeared on the horizon and then he would finally would go back to his home, exhausted.
Yung Chou's home was the biggest in the village. It was beautifully fumished like an imperial palace with antiques in every comer. At the end of the day Yung Chou was always very tired. He would lie down in his big canopy bed and then go to his table and do art work of all sorts. This calmed Yung Chou down. In bed his servants would serve him tea and delicious food and would do whatever Yung Chou wanted them to do.
Although Yung Chou was very wealthy, had a large house, was very talented at Chinese art and had servants, he was not happy. Yung Chou had no friends and no wife to keep him company. Yung Chou was missing one thing in his life, love, one of the the most important things to have. Whenever Yung Chou would invite people over for a party, they would not come because they all knew how greedy and arrogant Yung Chou was. Pretty women in the village would run away from him when he walked down the streets, afraid that he would invite them to dinner. Yung Chou was very unhappy.
One night as he lie in bed he thought to himself, I must find a wife and have a family. I cannot let myself be so lonely. But how can I many a woman who is not a filthy peasant like I once was? Where will I find the perfect woman? But wait! Why should I have to share my money with her and her family! They will keep it all for themselves. No! I will not find a wife. Who needs them anyway?! And it went on like this all night. Yung Chou twisted and turned in his sleep and when his eyelids finally closed he was surrounded by horrible nightmares.
When Yung Chou awoke in the morning he dressed himself in all his finery, his large red robe, gold shirt and pants and shoes and headed towards the village with his servants to show off his wealth. Yung Chou did this every Thursday. It made Yung Chou feel proud and superior. The villagers hated it, though. They would all quiet down as Yung Chou would walk through the streets to the end and turn around. Women would turn their faces away white scowls covered men's faces. Yung Chou walked proudly through the streets noticing a few of his classmates holding the hands of their wives and children. For a moment Yung Chou was almost jealous but then he thought to himself, I have something much better than them! They are living on the streets while I am living on a canopy bed with feathers for stuffing. I am the luckiest one in this whole village.
And it went on like this for many years. Yung Chou grew to be a very old and troubled man. He was getting older by the day and could not work in his nice fields. He sent out servants but they were no good. Yung Chou was still the wealthiest man in his village. He would still go parading around the town with all his expensive clothing and jewelry on but as he grew older Yung Chou became sad and jealous. One day, as he was walking along the streets, he saw one of his best friends from school, giggling with his small grandson as they flew a beautiful kite, high in the sky. It was a dragon kite for the Chinese New Year which had just recently passed. Yung Chou stopped in the middle of the road and looked up at the sky, and then down at the two relatives. Tears of resentment filled Yung Chou's eyes and Yung Chou fell to the ground and wept. How? How could I be so stupid that I did not marry? Why didn't I? I could be happy up on my mountain doing the same thing as he, but I never had the heart to. I am up on my motmtain all alone with nothing to do and no company. I have no one to carry on my family and I have punished myself. I have not done what is good for me and I have punished myself by not seeking myself a love. How could I have done that?
When Yung Chou got up with the whole village was staring at him intently but with soft and sympathetic faces. As Yung Chou got up he looked down at a small girl and kissed her on the forehead and smiled. It was the best feeling Yung Chou had ever felt. The villagers stood there dumbfounded. As Yung Chou looked around he recognized faces and smiled at each one of them. Tears filled most of their faces, for they felt bad for the old man. Yung Chou took one last look and started up the mountain towards his home. The climb was hard for Yung Chou was very old and he knew that he soon would be leaving the world around him. As Yung Chou entered the front door he stopped, took one last look at the world and stepped sadly into the lonely house.
Two years passed and not once did Yung Chou go into the Village. He would sit in his bed and walk around the house looking at each individual one of his treasures. As those two years passed Yung Chou taught himself a bitter lesson. Even though you might have money and all the treasures in the world, they alone cannot bring happiness. Without love or happiness, disaster can come. And if you act like you're better than everybody else, disaster will come.
And disaster did come when Yung Chou fell sick for three more years. Yung Chou was all alone and longed for a wi.fe to care for him. Disaster had haunted Yung Chou for his whole life and he had not found a love. During the two weeks before Yung Chou died, a few villagers came to Yung Chou's bedside and gave him flowers and herbs to help but nothing did help. Yung Chou blessed them all and kissed them all on their forehead. It was a wonderful feeling for Yung Chou to know that people cared about him, after all the terrible things he had done.
Yung Chou was dying in bed, and all his servants and villagers around him. Yung Chou told a story about how he turned love away and blessed the whole village for caring about him in his last days. He also taught the lesson he had learned over the years. Yung Chou was gasping for breath when out of nowhere a fairy angel appeared. She bent down, pushing her black her out of her face and kissed Yung Chou on the side of his cheek. Yung Chou had gotten a kiss. A kiss of love. The fairy angel took Yung Chou's hand and they flew up high, high into the sky.