A man who was considered the most frugal of all the dwellers in a certain kingdom heard of another man who was the most frugal in the whole world. He said to his son thereupon: "We, indeed, live upon little, but if we were more frugal still, we might live upon nothing at all. It will be well worthwhile for us to get instructions in economy from the Most Frugal of Men.: The son agreed, and the two decided that the son should go and inquire whether the master in economic science would take pupils. An exchange of presents being a necessary reliminary to closer intercourse, the father told the son to take the smallest of coins, one farthing, and to buy a sheet of paper of the farthing. The father put away one sheet, cut the other sheet in halves, and on one half drew a picture of a pig's head. This he put into a large covered basket, as if it were the thing which represented-the usual gift sent in token of great respect. The son took the basket and after a long journey rached the abode of the most frugal man in the world. The master of the house was absent, but his son received the traveler learned his errant, and accepted the offering. Having taken from the basket the picture of the pig's head, he said courteously to this visitor: "I am sorry that we have nothing in the house that is worthy to take the place of the pig's head in your basket. I will, however, signify our friendly reception of it by putting in four ouranges for you to take home with you."
thereupon the young man, without having any oranges at hand, made the motions necessary for putting the fruit into the basket. The son of the most frugal man in the kingdom then took the basket and went to his father to tell of thrift surpassing his own.
When the most frugal man in the world returned home, his son told him that a visitor had been there, having come from a great distance to take lessons in economy. The father inquired what offering he bought as an introduction, and the son showed the small outline of the pig's head on thin brown paper. The father looked at it, and thn asked his son what he had snet as a return present. The son told him he had merely made the motions necessary for transferring four oranges, and showed how he had clasped the imaginary fruit and deposited it in the visitor's basket. The father immediately flew into a terrible rage and boxed the boy's ears, exclaiming: "You extravagent wretch! With your fingers thus far apart you appeared to give him large oranges. Why didn't you measure out small ones?"
Two citizens and a rustic, going to Mecca, shared provisions till they reached that place, and then their food failed, so that nothing remained save so much flour as would make a single loaf, and that a small one. The citizens, seeing this, said to each other, "We have too little bread, and our companion eats a great deal. Wherefore we ought to have a plan to take away from him part of the loaf and eat it by ourselves alone."
Accrodingly they proposed the following plan to him: to make and bake the loaf, and while it was being baked to sleep, and whoever of them saw the most wonderful things in a dream should eat the loaf alone. These words they spake artfully, as they thought the rustic too simple for inventions of a kind. They made the loaf and baked it, and thought, whilst his companions were asleep, took the half-baked loaf, ate it up, and again lay down One of the citizens, as if terrified out of his sleep, awoke and called his companion, who inquired, "What is the matter?" He said, "I have seen a wondrous vision, for it seemed to me that two angels opened the gates fo paradise and let me within". Then his companion said to him, "This is a wondrous vision you have seen. But I dreamed that two angels took me and, cleaving the earth, led me to the lower regions/" The rustic heard all this and pretended to be asleep; but the citizens, being deceived, and wishing to deceive, called on him to awake. Whereupon the rustic cunningly cried out, as though terrified, "Who are they that call me?" Then they said, "We are you companions". "Have you returned already?" he exclaimed. To this they said, "Now it seemed to me that two angels took one of you, opened the gates of heaven and led him within; then two others took the other, opened the earth, and took him to hell. Seeing this, I thought neither of you would return any more; so I rose and ate the loaf.
In the days when Ch'en Shu-ku was a magistrate in Chienchou, there was a man who had lost an article of some value. A number of people were arrested, but no one could discover exactly who the thief was. So Shu-ku laid a trap for the suspects. "I know of a temple," he told them, "whose bell can tell a thief from an honest man. It has great spiritual powers.
The magistrate had the bell fetched and reverently enshrined in a rear chamber. Then he had the suspects brought before the bell to stand and testify to their guilt or innocence. He explained to them that if an innocent man touched the bell it would remain silent, but that if the man was guilty it would ring out.
Then the magistrate led his staff in solemn worship to the bell. The sacrifices concluded, he had the bell placed behind the curtain, while one of his assistants secretly smeared it with ink. After a time he took the suspects to the bell and had each one in turn extend his hands through the curtain and touch the bell. As each man withdrew his hands, Shu-ku examined them. Everyone's hands were stained except for those of one man, who confessed to the theft under questioning. He had not dared touch the bell for fear it would ring.
A great calamity befell Chelm one day. The town cobbler murdered one of his customers. So he was brought before the judge who sentenced him to die by hanging.
When the verdict was read a townsman arose and cried out, "If your Honor pleases-you have sentenced to death the town cobbler! He's the only one we've got. If you hang him who will mend our shoes?"
"Who? Who?" cried all the people of Chelm with one voice.
The judge nodded in agreement and reconsidered his verdict.
"Good people of Chelm," he said, "what you say is true. Since we have only one cobbler it would be great wrong against the community to let him die. As there are 2 roofers in the town let one of them be hanged instead!"