Ming Lo Moves the Mountain
Janelle Weeks Title: Ming Lo Moves the Mountain Storyteller: Janelle Weeks Language: English Date of Telling: 2016-05-04 Location of Telling: Casper, Wyoming Duration of Story: 05:36 Source of Story: Arnold Lobel (Folktale) Location of Story: Mountains Subject Headings: Diligence; Folklore--China Notes: |
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This is the story of Ming Lo, moves the mountain, by Arnold Lo. So there was a man named Ming Lo who lived with his wife in a small house right next to a very big tall cliff and mountain. Now Ming Lo loved his house but he did not love that mountain. The mountain had clouds that came over it every day and the sun did not shine. The rain came from the clouds and the rocks fell from the cliffs and they landed on Ming Lo’s house and they made holes and the rain came down and went through the holes into the house. It was miserable! It was cold and it was wet! It was not sunny.
One day Ming Lo’s wife said to him, “Husband, you must move the mountain. Go to the wise man and find out how we can move that mountain.” So Ming Lo went to the wise man.
“Please help me move my mountain,” he said.
So the wise man thought, and thought, and finally he said, “Ming Lo, you must take the longest, tallest, largest tree that you can find and cut it down. You and your wife must take this tree and run as fast and hard as you can. With all your might run this tree into the mountain. In this way the mountain will move.” Ming Lo thought this was very strange indeed. But he knew this was a wise man so he ran home and he told his wife this is what we must do. So they picked the tallest, widest, heaviest tree they could find and they cut it down and they rammed it against the mountain and the tree broke. And the mountain did not move one inch.
“Husband, go back to the wise man! We need a better way to move this mountain.” Ming Lo went to the wise man and the wise man thought and thought.
Finally he said, “Ming Lo, you must take all of your pots and all of your pans, and all of your spoons out of your house. You and your wife must sit in front of this mountain and bang these pots and pans and spoons for as loud as you can, as long as you can. This is the way that the mountain will move.” Ming Lo ran home and told his wife and they gathered up their belongings and they went out to the base of the mountain. And they sat with their pots and their pans and they banged and they banged and they made very much noise. The birds flew and the rocks fell but the mountain did not move one inch.
“Husband, go back to the wise man! We need a way to move this mountain.” So Ming Lo went back to the wise man.
“That did not work,” he said.
The wise man thought and he thought and after awhile he said, “You must go home and bake all the breads and the cakes that you can. Then you and your wife must take these breads and these cakes up to the top of the mountain and offer them to the spirit that lives at the top of the mountain. In this way you will get your mountain moved.” Ming Lo ran home and he and his wife baked all the baking they could. All of the breads they could bake and all of the cakes they could bake. They climbed the mountain. The wind blew and the rocks fell and pretty soon all their cakes and all their breads were gone into the wind. They never saw the spirit and the mountain did not move.
Ming Lo did not wait for his wife to tell him. He ran immediately to the wise man.
“Please help us, we cannot move out mountain!” The wise man thought and he thought and he thought.
Finally he said, “Ming Lo, I will teach you the dance of the moving mountain. You must go home and take all of your house apart, stick by stick, and bundle it up. Take all of your possessions and bundle them up. Then you must place them on your head. You and your wife must turn and face the mountain and close your eyes. Then you will do the dance of the moving mountain. You will put your left foot in a place that is behind your right foot. You will put your right foot in a place that is behind your left foot. You will continue this for hours and hours. When you open your eyes you will see that the mountain has moved.”
Ming Lo ran home and he and his wife gathered up all his possessions and put them in bundles. They gathered up all the parts of their house and their sticks and put them in bundles. They put them on top of their head and they faced the mountain. They closed their eyes and began the dance of the moving mountain. They put their right foot in a place that was behind their left foot and they put their left foot in a place that was behind their right foot. They did this for hours and hours. All the neighbors in the village wondered in awe at the silliness of these two people with their house on their head walking backwards across the plains. Hours went by and finally they opened their eyes.
“Look,” cried Ming Lo.
“Look,” cried his wife. “The mountain has moved far away!” Stick by stick they replaced their house and bundle by bundle they put their possessions in their house.
Ming Lo and his wife lived happily in their house from then on, knowing that they had moved the mountain.
One day Ming Lo’s wife said to him, “Husband, you must move the mountain. Go to the wise man and find out how we can move that mountain.” So Ming Lo went to the wise man.
“Please help me move my mountain,” he said.
So the wise man thought, and thought, and finally he said, “Ming Lo, you must take the longest, tallest, largest tree that you can find and cut it down. You and your wife must take this tree and run as fast and hard as you can. With all your might run this tree into the mountain. In this way the mountain will move.” Ming Lo thought this was very strange indeed. But he knew this was a wise man so he ran home and he told his wife this is what we must do. So they picked the tallest, widest, heaviest tree they could find and they cut it down and they rammed it against the mountain and the tree broke. And the mountain did not move one inch.
“Husband, go back to the wise man! We need a better way to move this mountain.” Ming Lo went to the wise man and the wise man thought and thought.
Finally he said, “Ming Lo, you must take all of your pots and all of your pans, and all of your spoons out of your house. You and your wife must sit in front of this mountain and bang these pots and pans and spoons for as loud as you can, as long as you can. This is the way that the mountain will move.” Ming Lo ran home and told his wife and they gathered up their belongings and they went out to the base of the mountain. And they sat with their pots and their pans and they banged and they banged and they made very much noise. The birds flew and the rocks fell but the mountain did not move one inch.
“Husband, go back to the wise man! We need a way to move this mountain.” So Ming Lo went back to the wise man.
“That did not work,” he said.
The wise man thought and he thought and after awhile he said, “You must go home and bake all the breads and the cakes that you can. Then you and your wife must take these breads and these cakes up to the top of the mountain and offer them to the spirit that lives at the top of the mountain. In this way you will get your mountain moved.” Ming Lo ran home and he and his wife baked all the baking they could. All of the breads they could bake and all of the cakes they could bake. They climbed the mountain. The wind blew and the rocks fell and pretty soon all their cakes and all their breads were gone into the wind. They never saw the spirit and the mountain did not move.
Ming Lo did not wait for his wife to tell him. He ran immediately to the wise man.
“Please help us, we cannot move out mountain!” The wise man thought and he thought and he thought.
Finally he said, “Ming Lo, I will teach you the dance of the moving mountain. You must go home and take all of your house apart, stick by stick, and bundle it up. Take all of your possessions and bundle them up. Then you must place them on your head. You and your wife must turn and face the mountain and close your eyes. Then you will do the dance of the moving mountain. You will put your left foot in a place that is behind your right foot. You will put your right foot in a place that is behind your left foot. You will continue this for hours and hours. When you open your eyes you will see that the mountain has moved.”
Ming Lo ran home and he and his wife gathered up all his possessions and put them in bundles. They gathered up all the parts of their house and their sticks and put them in bundles. They put them on top of their head and they faced the mountain. They closed their eyes and began the dance of the moving mountain. They put their right foot in a place that was behind their left foot and they put their left foot in a place that was behind their right foot. They did this for hours and hours. All the neighbors in the village wondered in awe at the silliness of these two people with their house on their head walking backwards across the plains. Hours went by and finally they opened their eyes.
“Look,” cried Ming Lo.
“Look,” cried his wife. “The mountain has moved far away!” Stick by stick they replaced their house and bundle by bundle they put their possessions in their house.
Ming Lo and his wife lived happily in their house from then on, knowing that they had moved the mountain.