Thirty spokes join at a hub :
their use for the cart
is where they are not
When the potter's wheel makes a pot,
the use of the pot
is precisely where there is nothing.
When you open the doors and windows for a room,
it is where there is nothing
that they are useful to the room.
Therefore being is for benefit,
Nonbeing is for usefulness

There was a young man named Kimana. He wanted to marry the Sky Maiden. He wrote a letter
to her father, the Sun Chief.

Kimana went to Rabbit. "Will you take this letter?"

Rabbit said, "I cannot go to Heaven."

Kimana went to Antelope. 
"Will you take this letter?"

Antelope said, "I cannot go to Heaven."

Kimana went to Hawk. "Will you take this letter?"

Hawk said,
"I can go halfway. But I cannot go to Heaven."

Then Frog came to Kimana.
"Why do you not take the letter yourself?"

Kimana said, "This I cannot do."

Frog said, "Then I will take it for you."

Kimana laughed. 
"Can a frog take a letter to Heaven?"

Frog said, 
"Whatever it is, I can do it. But only if I try."

Now, Frog lived by a well. Every day, the girls who served the Sun Chief came to this well.
They climbed down from Heaven on a web made by Spider. Then they filled their water jugs
and went home.

Frog put the letter in his mouth and hid in the well. The girls from Heaven came for water,
singing their song.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

They lowered their jugs into the well, and Frog jumped into one. The girls did not see.

Then the girls climbed back up the web of Spider. They went into the house of the Sun Chief and
left the jugs in a room.

Frog was alone. He jumped out of the jug and spit the letter out on a bench. Then he hid in a
corner.

The Sun Chief came for a drink of water. He saw the letter and opened it. He read, 
"I, Kimana, a man of earth, wish to marry the Sky Maiden, your daughter."

The Sun Chief said, 
"How can this be?"

He went to the girls who fetched water. 
"Did you bring this letter?"

The girls said, "We did not."

He went to his wife, the Moon Lady, and read it to her. 
"What should we do?"

The Moon Lady said, 
"Don't ask me! Ask your daughter!"

He went to his daughter. The Sky Maiden said, 
"Let us see if he can bring a wedding gift."

So the Sun Chief wrote a letter and set it on the bench. Then he went away.

Frog came out and put the letter in his mouth. Then he climbed into an empty jug.

The next day, the girls took the jugs and climbed down to earth, singing their song.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

They lowered their jugs into the well, and Frog jumped out. The girls did not see.

Then the girls went back to Heaven.

Frog took the letter to Kimana, and Kimana read it. "You may marry my daughter if you bring a
purse of money."

Kimana said, "This I cannot do."

Frog said, "Then I will bring it for you."

Kimana laughed. 
"You took a letter to Heaven. But can you bring a purse of money?"

Frog said, "Whatever it is, I can do it. But only if I try."

Kimana gave Frog a purse of money. Frog took hold of it with his mouth and carried it to the
well. He climbed in and waited.

The girls from Heaven came to the well.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

Frog got into one of the jugs. The girls returned to Heaven and left him in the room.

Frog set the money on the bench. Then he hid.

The Sun Chief came and found the purse. 
"How can this be?"

He went to the girls. 
"Did you bring this money?"

The girls said, "We did not."

He went to his wife. The Moon Lady said, 
"Don't ask me! Ask your daughter!"

He went to his daughter. The Sky Maiden said, 
"Let us see if he can come fetch me."

So the Sun Chief wrote a letter and left it on the bench.

Frog put the letter in his mouth and climbed into an empty jug. The next day, the girls carried
him to earth.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

He jumped back into the well, and the girls went back to Heaven.

Frog brought the letter to Kimana, and Kimana read it. 
"You may marry my daughter if you come
and fetch her."

Kimana said, "This I cannot do."

Frog said, "Then I will fetch her for you."

Kimana laughed. 
"You took a letter to Heaven. You brought a purse of money. But can you fetch
a bride?"

Frog said, 
"Whatever it is, I can do it. But only if I try."

Frog climbed back into the well. The girls came with their jugs.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

They carried him to Heaven.

Frog jumped out. He spit in all the jugs of water. Ptui. Ptui. Ptui. Then he hid in an empty jug.

The people of the house came and drank the water. They all got sick.

The Sun Chief called for the spirit doctor. The doctor told him, 
"You promised your daughter to a man of earth, but she has not gone. He has sent an evil spirit with a sickness. The evil spirit is in the shape of a frog."

The Sun Chief went to his wife. The Moon Lady said, "Don't ask me! Ask your daughter!"

He went to his daughter. The Sky Maiden said, "I will go."

The next day, the Sky Maiden went with the girls down to the well.

    Good day to you, my sister.
    Good day to you.

The girls filled their jugs, and Frog jumped out. Then the girls left the Sky Maiden and went
home.

Frog jumped out of the well. "I will lead you to your husband."

The Sky Maiden laughed. "Can a frog lead a woman?"

Frog said, "I took a letter to Heaven. I brought a purse of money. I fetched a bride. Whatever it
was, I could do it. But only since I tried."

The Sky Maiden said, "Then it is you I will marry."

She took Frog back to Heaven and married him. They lived on and on.

And Kimana is still waiting for his bride.

Once there was a woman named Shindo, who lived in a village at the foot of a snow-capped
mountain. Her husband had died, and she had no children, so she was very lonely. And she was
always tired too, for she had no one to help with the chores.

All on her own, she cleaned the hut and yard, tended the chickens, washed her clothes in the
river, carried water, cut firewood, and cooked her solitary meals.

At the end of each day, Shindo gazed up at the snowy peak.

"Great Mountain Spirit!" she would pray. "My work is too hard. Send me help!"

One day, Shindo was weeding her small field by the river, where she grew vegetables and
bananas and gourds. Suddenly, a noble chieftain appeared beside her.

"I am a messenger from the Great Mountain Spirit," he told the astonished woman, and he
handed her some gourd seeds. "Plant these carefully. They are the answer to your prayers."

Then the chieftain vanished.

Shindo wondered, "What help could I get from a handful of seeds?" Still, she planted and tended
them as carefully as she could.

She was amazed at how quickly they grew. In just a week, long vines trailed over the ground,
and ripe gourds hung from them.

Shindo brought the gourds home, sliced off the tops, and scooped out the pulp. Then she laid the
gourds on the rafters of her hut to dry. When they hardened, she could sell them at the market as
calabashes, to be made into bowls and jugs.

One fine gourd Shindo set by the cookfire. This one she wanted to use herself, and she hoped it
would dry faster.

The next morning, Shindo went off again to tend her field. But meanwhile, back in the hut, the
gourds began to change. They sprouted heads, then arms, then legs.

Soon, they were not gourds at all. They were children!

One boy lay by the fire, where Shindo had put the fine gourd. The other children called to him
from the rafters.

    "Ki-te-te, come help us!
    We'll work for our mother.
    Come help us, Ki-te-te,
    Our favorite brother!"

Kitete helped his brothers and sisters down from the rafters. Then the children ran through the
hut and yard, singing and playing.

All joined in but Kitete. Drying by the fire had made the boy slow-witted. So he just sat there,
smiling widely.

After awhile, the other children started on the chores. They quickly cleaned the hut and yard, fed
the chickens, washed the clothes, carried water, cut firewood, and cooked a meal for Shindo to
eat when she returned.

When the work was done, Kitete helped the others climb back on the rafters. Then they all
turned again into gourds.

That afternoon, as Shindo returned home, the other women of the village called to her.

"Who were those children in your yard today?" they asked. "Where did they come from? Why
were they doing your chores?"

"What children? Are you all making fun of me?" said Shindo, angrily.

But when she reached her hut, she was astounded. The work was done, and even her meal was
ready! She could not imagine who had helped her.

The same thing happened the next day. As soon as Shindo had gone off, the gourds turned into
children, and the ones on the rafters called out,

    "Ki-te-te, come help us!
    We'll work for our mother.
    Come help us, Ki-te-te,
    Our favorite brother!"

Then they played for awhile, did all the chores, climbed back to the rafters, and turned again
into gourds.

Once more, Shindo was amazed to see the work all done. But this time, she decided to find out
who were her helpers.

The next morning, Shindo pretended to leave, but she hid beside the door of the hut and peeked
in. And so she saw the gourds turn into children, and heard the ones on the rafters call out,

    "Ki-te-te, come help us!
    We'll work for our mother.
    Come help us, Ki-te-te,
    Our favorite brother!"

As the children rushed out the door, they nearly ran into Shindo. She was too astonished to
speak, and so were the children. But after a moment, they went on with their playing, and then
with their chores.

When they were done, they started to climb back to the rafters.

"No, no!" cried Shindo. "You must not change back into gourds! You will be the children I never
had, and I will love you and care for you."

So Shindo kept the children as her own. She was no longer lonely. And the children were so
helpful, she soon became rich, with many fields of vegetables and bananas, and flocks of sheep
and goats.

That is, all were helpful but Kitete, who stayed by the fire with his simple-minded smile.

Most of the time, Shindo didn't mind. In fact, Kitete was really her favorite, because he was like
a sweet baby. But sometimes, when she was tired or unhappy about something else, she would
get annoyed at him.

"You useless child!" she would say. "Why can't you be smart like your brothers and sisters, and
work as hard as they do?"

Kitete would only grin back at her.

One day, Shindo was out in the yard, cutting vegetables for a stew. As she carried the pot from
the bright sunlight into the hut, she tripped over Kitete. She fell, and the clay pot shattered.
Vegetables and water streamed everywhere.

"Stupid boy!" yelled Shindo. "Haven't I told you to stay out of my way? But what can I expect?
You're not a real child at all. You're nothing but a calabash!"

The very next moment, she gave a scream. Kitete was no longer there, and in his place was a
gourd.

"What have I done?" cried Shindo, as the children crowded into the hut. "I didn't mean what I
said! You're not a calabash, you're my own darling son. Oh, children, please do something!"

The children looked at each other. Then over each other they climbed, scampering up to the
rafters. When the last child had been helped up by Shindo, they called out one last time,

    "Ki-te-te, come help us!
    We'll work for our mother.
    Come help us, Ki-te-te,
    Our favorite brother!"

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then slowly, the gourd began to change. It sprouted a
head, then arms, then legs. At last, it was not a gourd at all. It was --

Kitete!

Shindo learned her lesson. Ever after, she was very careful what she called her children.

And so they gave her comfort and happiness, all the rest of her days.

My dearest Arild,

    I promised to wait for you forever, but I fear I will not be allowed to. My father
    says you will never return, and he has chosen another man to be my husband.
    Though I pleaded with him, he has already set the marriage date.

    I will love you always.

    Your faithful Thale

Arild Ugerup, son of a noble Danish family, sat on his cot, reading the letter by the dim light of
his prison cell. How cruel the tricks played by war, he thought, his eyes filling with tears.

Though Arild and his family were nobles of Denmark, they had long lived peaceably in Sweden.
When King Erik of Sweden was crowned, Arild had been one of his honored guests. But then
Denmark and Sweden declared war on each other, and Arild was drafted into the Danish navy.
He was captured in battle and imprisoned by King Erik.

Arild's childhood sweetheart, Thale Thott, had promised to marry him when he came back from
the war. Now it seemed he would lose Thale as well as his freedom.

Arild sat thinking for many hours, the letter lying loose in his hand. At last he crossed to a small
table. Dipping his pen in an inkwell, he began to write.

    Your Royal Majesty,

    Though I am now your prisoner, you once counted me as a friend. Grant me one
    favor. Let me go home to marry the woman I love. Then allow me to stay only long
    enough to plant a crop and harvest it.

    On my word of honor, I will return to your prison as soon as the harvest is
    gathered.

Arild signed and sealed the letter, then called the jailer.

The reply came the next day. King Erik had agreed! Arild was free -- at least until the harvest.

Arild returned home, where Thale met him joyfully. Her father was not happy to have his plans
changed, but in the end the two were married.

Now it was spring, the time for planting. And, in only a few months, Arild would have to
harvest his crop and return to King Erik's prison.

Arild thought long and hard about what he would plant. At last he went to the fields and planted
his seeds, placing each of them six paces from the rest.

Late that fall, a messenger arrived from King Erik. "The harvest season is past," he said. "The
King awaits your return."

"But my crop is not harvested," said Arild. "In fact, it has not yet sprouted!"

"Not sprouted?" said the messenger. "What did you plant?"

"Pine trees," replied Arild.

When King Erik heard what Arild had done, he laughed and said, "A man like that does not
deserve to be a prisoner."

Arild was allowed to remain home with his beloved Thale. And a magnificent forest stands
today as a testament to his love.