3. CHENG TANG AND THE NET

　　 More than 3,500 years ago, there was a very kind and wise emperor called Cheng Tang. Every year he traveled around his empire to visit all of his people and see if there was anything the government could do for them.
　
　　One beautiful day, the birds were singing and the beasts were enjoying the nice weather. The Emperor smiled as he heard their pleasant calls. Then he saw huge nets spread where all those animals would get caught. He heard a trapper praying in a loud voice. This is what the trapper prayed:

　　　　May all the birds in the sky,
　　　　May all the beasts on the ground,
　　　　May all the animals from north, east, west, and south,
　　　　Come into my net,
　　　　Let not one of them escape!
　　
　　Emperor Cheng Tang was upset to find such a greedy, heartless trapper, but he was also a very wise monarch. He did not command the trapper to stop hunting. Instead, with his own imperial hands, he took down three sides of the nets,leaving only one side.

　　The trapper wondered what was going on, but he couldn't just go up and punch the Emperor. Then he heard Cheng Tang praying out loud. This is what the Emperor prayed:

　　　　May all who wish to dodge to the left, dodge to the left;
　　　　May all who wish to dodge to right, dodge to the right;
　　　　May all who wish to go over the nets, go over the nets;
　　　　May all who wish to duck under the nets, duck under the nets;
　　　　Only those who do not wish to live any more
　　　　May enter my nets.

　　The trapper realized that he had been greedy and mean. He told every one how kind their Emperor was, so all the people trusted Cheng Tang. The dynasty Ch'eng T'ang founded, the Shang, ruled China for over 600 years.

3. 成唐的故事

　　3500多年前，有一位仁厚而又贤明的国王，名叫成唐。每年他都要视巡他的疆土，走访所有的国民，看朝廷是否还有未尽之事。

　　一个美丽的日子，鸟儿欢歌，野兽也喜滋滋地沐浴着阳光。国王听到这一切的时候，脸上露出笑容。接着他看到一张巨大的网散布在所有野兽足迹所至之处。 他听到猎人大声地祈祷，祈祷如下：

　　　　但愿天上所有的鸟儿，
　　　　但愿地上所有的走兽，
　　　　不管来自东南西北，
　　　　全部进入我的网中
　　　　一个也不让它们逃掉！

　　国王成唐看到这样一个贪心而又残酷的猎人非常不安，但他毕竟是一个英明的君主。他没有命令猎人停止打猎，而是用他自己的贵手拆除了网的三面，只留下一边。

　　猎人不知出了什么问题，但他又不敢上前打皇帝几拳。接着他听到成唐大声地祈祷。国王是这样祈祷的：

　　　　所有想从左边逃走的，请走左边
　　　　所有想从右边逃走的，请走右边，
　　　　所有想从网上边走的，请走上边
　　　　所有想从网下边走的，请走下边。
　　　　只有那些不想继续活下去的，请到网中来。

　　猎人意识到自己一直很自私和吝啬。他把国王的仁厚告诉每一个人，人们因此都很信任成唐。成唐建立的商朝统治了中国600多年。