Puppet Spider#

Bad nose, crooked mouth, sharp fangs, poisonous and thick. Check the ears, cut the forehead, and the face has eight eyes and ugly appearance.

Long ago, a woodcutter lived deep in the hills. One day, he went down to the market fair and saw a puppet show. He loved it and yearned to see it again.

One day, as he cut wood, he heard shouts of glee in the mountains. He followed the sounds and saw a mob of yaoguais reveling together. Despite his fear, curiosity urged him to climb a rock to watch them from afar. The guais were gathered in a circle, watching an acrobat show. Too far to see well, the woodcutter could only discern a red-clad guai whirling twin blades in dazzling spins and flips.

Entranced, the woodcutter crept closer. He saw the acrobatic guai had legs tied behind its back, strings dangling from its feet. In a flash, he knew it was a puppetry trick. He climbed a large tree for a clearer view.

The guai had an ugly, comical face. To the woodcutter, this spectacle was even more amusing than the finest plays at the market fair. He watched, spellbound. A chill on his neck jolted him out of the reverie. Reaching up to check, he found his fingers coated in green spittle. Looking up in horror, he was greeted by a myriad of eyes staring down at him. There, in the treetop, dangled a violet spider, its legs threaded with silk, tugging the distant puppet guai to and fro.

The woodcutter yelped and fell from the tree. At that, the spider paused, and the gathering of yaoguais turned as one to glare at him. Stricken with terror, the woodcutter fled and, upon returning home, fell gravely ill. No remedy could ease his suffering. He wasted away and soon died.