"Fox Hunting" by Shen Shixi
"Fox Hunting" by Shen Shixi
He gently got out of the mosquito net and tiptoed to take off the long robe that his father had hung on the wall. The knife, the bamboo crossbow, the quiver and the ancient iron trap for catching animals, then quietly opened the door bolt, and slipped down the bamboo building and out of the village as quietly as a cat. Not even the dog was alarmed.
There is no moon, just a blur of starlight. He followed the thin path trampled by hunters, wild beasts and gold prospectors towards the Nanwen River at the back of the valley. The ground in the forest is covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and rotten grass, which is soft and elastic, like stepping on a sponge. There are pits under each foot, and cool juice emerges from the cracks of the feet and breasts and spreads over the insteps. From time to time, strange roars of wild beasts could be heard nearby, whether it was the roar of a tiger or the howl of a wolf, which was terrifying. He was a little nervous, so he fully pulled the string of the bamboo crossbow, buckled the bamboo arrow, and held it in his hand, ready to fire at any time. He is very familiar with this forest and this mountain road. He often comes to pick mushrooms and fungus.
If it were during the day, he wouldn't be afraid. Solar energy emboldens people. This was his first time walking in the woods at night. He never imagined that the valleys and woods that looked so charming during the day would become so eerie and terrifying at night. Owls screeched in the trees, and a strange bird made the cry of a baby. The hissing sound of a big snake swallowing its seeds came from the grass, and even the wind blowing in the face carried a frightening yin energy. The woods at night are a world of beasts.
He gritted his teeth and walked forward step by step.
Suddenly, a pair of green eyes flashed out of the dark trees, staggering towards him. He hurriedly hid behind a big tree and pointed the bamboo crossbow at the green light. The starlight was too dim to see clearly what it was. His heart was pounding with fear, and he held his breath, fearing that the slight sound of gasping would cause disaster. Although he was holding a bamboo crossbow, he did not dare to shoot the arrow rashly; if there was a jackal in front of him, the bamboo arrow would only attract crazy revenge from the jackals; if there was a ferocious mountain leopard in front of him, even if the bamboo arrow hit the leopard's eye, it would be useless. . Those green eyes were getting closer and closer. His heart was jumping into his throat, and his hands were so trembling that he could hardly hold the bamboo crossbow... Thank God, the thing suddenly turned a corner two steps away from him and disappeared. In the thick darkness.
He took a long breath, and then realized that he had broken out in a cold sweat, making his thin clothes damp. Although Xishuangbanna does not have heavy snowfall in winter, the night of the first lunar month is still very cold. The steep mountain wind blows, making him shiver like chaff. He was really scared. After all, he is only a 14-year-old boy and does not have the courage of an adult hunter who has been honed in many years of bloody life. He wanted to turn around and run home. There was a warm fire pit in the bamboo house, a cozy bed, and a sense of security. However, a stronger feeling of wanting to avenge himself forced him to give up the idea of ????escape home.
He must hunt that damn red fox.
He finally arrived at Nanwen River in the dark. The river water looked like blue satin under the starlight; the sound of gurgling water seemed particularly loud in the silent night. He walked along the river beach towards a bush. The rough gravel made his soles ache. He stopped in front of the bushes, soaked the trap in the cool river water for a while, then grabbed a handful of zebra grass and wiped the trap vigorously. He didn't want to remove the rust, he wanted to rinse and wipe away the human smell on the iron trap. Then, he walked straight to a frog-shaped rock and fixed the iron trap between two small eucalyptus trees. Yes, this was the only way for the damn red fox to enter and exit the cave. He had already followed the red fox. The gardenia-shaped footprints left by the fox were traced from Manyan Village to here. Yesterday and the day before yesterday, he spent two full days to detect and find out that the damn red fox lived on a rock under the cliff beside the Nanwen River. In the cave. But he couldn't place the traps during the day, partly to hide it from his father; more importantly, the traps placed during the day could only catch stupid porcupines, but not foxes; foxes It is a nocturnal animal, which is exactly the opposite of human biological habits. When it comes out of its cave at dusk, it has spent a whole day recuperating and is extremely sensitive. Any suspicious clues on the way to and from it cannot be hidden from its eyes and nose. Things were different when we returned at dawn. After a night of running around in the woods looking for food, we were already exhausted and eager to return to our nest. It was inevitable that we would be reckless.
He propped up the iron plate on the trap, tightened the spring, and secured the latch, then camouflaged it with zebra grass, and pressed two lumps of fox excrement on the grass. The fox is very cunning, his sense of smell is more sensitive than that of a dog, and he is extremely suspicious. As long as he accidentally leaves a slight flaw, he will not take the bait.
After everything was packed, he cleared the footprints left around the animal trap, retreated behind a rock by the river, and waited with an anxious mood of longing for revenge.
He Ge Wenliang originally had a good reputation. He studied in Class A of the second grade of junior high school in the town and was recognized as the most diligent student by teachers and students in the school. Although he is only 14 years old, he is already taller than his mother. He has broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He is a standard handsome boy. He has an father worth showing off. Dad has a thick chest, a strong chin, and a sharp hawk-like gaze. He is the best hunter within a hundred miles, and he is powerful in the mountains and forests.
In this Hani village where ancient hunting customs still exist, Abba is very respected. Ge Wenliang is somewhat honored by Abba. Old men and women always like to stroke his naturally curly black hair and say in praise. : "As expected of a tiger's cub, he is as promising as your father!"
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It's all the fault of that damned cub. The red fox ruined his reputation.
That afternoon, he had just come home from school and was sitting on the stone bench in the yard doing his homework. My father was mending fishing nets on the terrace of the bamboo house, and my mother was cooking. He was the only one in the yard. It was quiet. He was fascinated by an interesting piece of mathematics. He was burying his head and concentrating on the calculation. Without any mental preparation, he just vaguely heard the sound of a chicken flapping its wings behind him. He turned his head inadvertently and saw a fox with flaming red body and white eyebrows biting the neck of his camellia chicken and retreating towards the hole in the wall. The camellia chicken struggled in vain. He didn't know how the fox succeeded in sneak attack, and he couldn't understand how the fox had such courage to steal the chicken in broad daylight in front of people's eyes. Maybe it was He ate the leopard's gall, but this was impossible. Only the fox made snacks for the leopard. Maybe it was very hungry and took the risk. Maybe it didn't smell the blood of a hunter from Ge Wenliang, but only smelled the weak and bookish spirit, which is why he acted so boldly.
He was stunned. It is not accurate to say that he was shocked. He did not realize what was going on. Although his eyes were looking at the red fox stealing the chicken, his mind was still immersed in the wonderful kingdom of mathematics: there was a nest of chickens and they were divided equally among five people. There is one more chicken, and it is divided evenly among four people, but two are missing. It is divided evenly among three people, but one is missing. How many chickens are there in this nest? He racked his brains and thought hard but could not figure out the correct answer. There always seemed to be one more. If the fox stole one, wouldn't the answer be known? He was so confused by the interesting mathematics that he couldn't tell whether the fox stealing the chicken in front of him was illusory or real. He did not take the rescue action that a man would inevitably take on such an occasion: he picked up a stick and took the unfortunate camellia chicken back from the mouth of the greedy fox; he sat there stupidly, watching the red fox drag it. The camellia chicken swaggered past him, and its red tail even rubbed his butt.
What he regretted most was that he should not have let out that scream. He doubted whether he actually screamed because he didn't hear himself. But it seemed that it was really screaming, because not only my father heard it, but my mother also heard it, and even the two neighbors across the bamboo fence heard it. He didn't know why he screamed. Maybe it was a surprise; maybe it was a kind of admiration; maybe it was like waking up from a dream; maybe it was a moment of panic, but it couldn't be fear. Although he is a student, he is a child who grew up in the mountains after all. The resolute and brave blood of a hunter flows in his veins. Would he be afraid of a little fox?
Unfortunately, no one is like this. Come and see.
When my father heard the noise, he dropped the fishing net, picked up the shotgun, and ran out in a hurry. However, when he caught a glimpse of the fox getting out of the hole in the wall, his nervous and excited expression suddenly turned into depression. He frowned deeply and said coldly:
"I thought the bear's slap slapped your nose off."
Ama also threw down the spoon in her hand. He quickly ran down from the bamboo building in three steps and two steps at a time, hugged his shoulders, and asked in a trembling voice:
"Child, are you scared? Don't be afraid, grandma is here."
Several neighbors were lying on the fence and looking curiously.
Abba’s face became even more gloomy: “I never imagined that a hunter who dared to hunt mountain leopards and wild elephants would give birth to a son who was afraid of foxes. Even the wild beasts in the forest would laugh out loud if they knew about it! "
My mother shouted to my father angrily: "The child is frightened, you, the father, are still mean to him. Could it be that your heart is carved from stone?"
My father also said with a fierce face: "You spoiled me."
"Wen Liang is only 14 years old, still a child."
"I am 14 At the age of 10, he was already carrying a shotgun to the Black Mountains. He was still a little shorter than him at that time! He had a good skin."
Ge Wenliang's face was hot, and tears of grievance flowed down his face. It dripped down the nose.
"Oh, after studying for seven or eight years, I still learned to cry like a girl. Doesn't the school cultivate things that are neither male nor female?" said my father.
Chichi laughter came from outside the fence.
He is an only child, and his father has always loved him very much. In his memory, his father has never ridiculed and humiliated him like he did today. He broke the heart of his father, who was a hunter and valued his reputation more than his life. As his son, he was frightened by a fox. This undoubtedly ruined the family tradition and tarnished his father's reputation.
Sure enough, Ge Dongshan’s son let a fox snatch the chicken from under his nose, and was so frightened that he shouted for help. This became a scandal and a joke, and spread throughout Manyan Village. , he went to the well to fetch water, he went to the pasture to graze cattle, and he could feel the sarcastic and contemptuous glances directed at him.
The Hani people value bravery and strength. The largest annual worship activity in the village is to worship the God of Hunting. In Hani society, timidity and cowardice are almost like thieves and are despised by others.
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He must hunt this damn red fox. This is not only for his own reputation, but also for his beloved school. He wants to use his actions to prove to his father that school is not a place for making things that are neither male nor female; the teachers in the school have worked hard to educate and train him to become an upright and brave person and a real man.
It’s dawn, and the rising sun has painted the blue river water and gray-white river beach with a layer of gold. White mist curls up on the purple stone wall on the other side, and dark brown goshawks soar among the emerald green canopies. This is just the right time. It was the time when the morning birds left their nests and the night beasts returned to their dens. Ge Wenliang lay behind the rocks and listened intently.
Bah! The violent impact of iron tools erupted in the empty mountains. The sound was dull, ancient and distant. Then, a shrill fox cry came from behind the frog-shaped rock. Ge Wenliang jumped up with excitement, Run over and pull away the thatch, oh! Sure enough, the animal trap caught a fox's hind legs. The fox struggled desperately, tearing the grass blades and breaking the dewdrops. You can't escape anymore, don't talk about you. It's just a little fox. Even if the mountain leopard steps on the iron clamp, it will have to consider itself unlucky! Ge Wenliang sneered and looked at the unlucky fox under the iron clamp.
Aha, old man God had eyes, and what he caught was the white-browed red fox that stole the camellia chicken under his nose, causing him humiliation. This was called retribution, and Ge Wenliang was so happy that he wanted to sing a song loudly. He took out his long knife, chopped off a branch, and started whittling the stick. He was unwilling to use a bamboo crossbow or a long knife to kill the red fox, because arrow holes and knife wounds would damage the precious fox skin. He would use a strong wooden stick to hit it hard on the bridge of its nose and the recess between its eyebrows to suffocate it to death. He wanted to peel off its skin and make a fox fur vest for his grandma to wear every day. This is his flag to avenge his shame and a sign of his bravery.
This red fox didn’t know whether it was tired or smartly realized that all its efforts to escape were in vain. It stopped struggling and lay quietly next to the iron clamp. Ge Wenliang looked at it again, and he was suddenly surprised to find that it was a very beautiful fox. The fur all over the body is fiery red, as if coated with a layer of glaze, flashing with gorgeous luster in the sun; the body is elegant, the limbs are well-proportioned, and the two fleshy ears stand proudly on the forehead; the snow-white eyebrows make the nose muzzle The eyes and the whole face look lively and even a bit charming.
Grandma will definitely like this fox fur, Ge Wenliang thought.
He cut off the twigs and vines on the tree branches and made a heavy stick. He assumed a posture of fighting a tiger with a pine tree, and walked step by step towards the unlucky red fox. He thought about it. No beast would be willing to wait for death if it bared its teeth and threatened him; he hoped that it would rush towards him crazily with its iron clamp, use its sharp teeth and its remaining three claws to fight to the death with him. Fight to the death; he is not willing to simply knock to death a fox that cannot resist, he hopes to start a bloody fight to show his strength and bravery.
The red fox is still lying down. Although one of its hind legs was clamped by an iron clamp, it could still stand up!
Oh, he understood. This cunning fox must have known that he was in a desperate situation and could only fight hard. To speed up death, I want to change my strategy and tactics, and use soft skills to impress his compassion. Just wait and see, it will soon whine, and maybe squeeze out a few tears; it will tremble and huddle under his stick, pretending to be pitiful, and maybe even bend its legs. He fell to his knees and begged him for his life. I will never be deceived. You have insulted my reputation and my character. Now it is time for you to pay the price with blood. He wants to make it understand, no! He wants all the foxes and all the beasts in the world to understand that the boy in the mountains who has studied for eight years cannot be bullied, and his dignity cannot be desecrated. Come on, kneel down and cry. He will only smile contemptuously at it and swing the stick down without mercy.
To his surprise, the imprisoned red fox neither growled nor begged to him. It even turned around, facing away from him, and chirped at the blooming drunken butterfly on the left side of the frog-shaped rock. The cry was full of anxiety, concern, and contained some kind of warning.
Ge Wenliang was very surprised. Could it be that there was something more important than its life attracting it at this moment? He couldn't help but stop and look at the butterfly flower bush. The colorful flowers and leaves were like dancing butterflies, and suddenly two bright red furry little heads popped out. Oh! A pair of little foxes. It also has a pointed nose and snow-white eyebrows, and looks like a big fox pressed under an iron clamp.
Only then did he realize that this big red fox turned out to be a young female fox. There is no doubt that this pair of little foxes are his beloved children. No wonder it ignored him and turned away at the critical moment when the stick was about to fall.
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Two little foxes shook their heads and emerged from the flowers, standing next to the frog-shaped rock, far away from him and the trap. About seven or eight steps away, he wanted to go to the mother fox, but he was afraid of her and hesitantly called out to the mother fox.
The mother fox suddenly became violent, bared her teeth, and roared fiercely at the two little foxes; she jumped and kicked furiously, and gnawed desperately at the spring on the iron clip; The hind legs that were caught in the trap were torn apart and the flesh was torn apart, dripping with blood. Two front teeth were also broken by hard springs.
Ge Wenliang understood that the mother fox wanted to drive away the two little foxes and keep them away from death.
The two little foxes didn’t want to leave, but they didn’t dare to get close, so they lingered beside the frog-shaped rock.
Ge Wenliang seemed to have been immobilized, and the stick he lifted into the air could not fall down. He was definitely not pitying the mother fox, but he felt that it was not easy to beat the mother fox to death in front of the two little foxes.
He can completely aim the bamboo crossbow at these two little foxes, and it will not fail at such a close effective distance. This is the prey that is delivered to your door, an extra harvest. If you don't take advantage of this kind of bargain, it will be in vain. Although the skin of the little fox could not be made into a fox fur vest, it would be quite beautiful to make two fox fur hats for my uncle's children. However, he always felt that it would be inappropriate to shoot the mother fox's little darlings in front of her. Too humane, besides, these little foxes have smooth fur, are chubby, like two little red pom-poms, and have childish eyes. They look very cute. The most important thing is that these little foxes have never provoked him. , is not the object of his revenge.
There was no other way, so he had to put down the stick and chase away the pair of obstructive little foxes first.
The little fox is smart and naughty, and nimbly avoids the clods and branches he smashes over. He turned a deaf ear to his loud threats: several times he ran over to catch them, and he was about to step on the tails of the little foxes, and then they scurried into the grass without haste; he thought the little foxes had been driven away by him, and picked them up. The wooden stick was ready to deal with the female fox, but suddenly, the pair of elves poked their furry little heads out from behind the frog-shaped rock. Sometimes the little fox would simply go in circles with him around the frog-shaped rocks.
This is not hunting, it is clearly playing hide and seek! The sun has risen above the treetops, and the forest is bright and hot at noon. After struggling for a long time, Ge Wenliang still couldn't drive away the two little foxes, just like the wind had no power to blow away the iron filings on the magnet. He was covered in stinky sweat, his muscles and bones ached from exhaustion, and his stomach was growling with hunger. He leaned against the rock, panting. Two little foxes squatted three steps away from him, twitching their noses and winking, as if making faces at him. He seemed to also see the snow-white eyebrows of one of the little foxes with slightly darker fur rising sharply, and a smile flashed across his charming little face; they must be laughing at his weakness and his incompetence. .
In an instant, Ge Wenliang jumped up, pulled out a golden bamboo arrow from the quiver on his back, placed it viciously on the arrow trough of the bamboo crossbow, and aimed at the two little foxes.
He is not a Buddhist disciple, and there is no need to abide by the commandment not to kill; he is a hunter, so he can kill the cub first in front of the mother fox, or kill the mother fox in front of the cub first Well, it doesn't matter, they are going to die anyway, and letting the mother fox watch the golden bamboo arrow pierce the chest of her beloved baby is a deeper and more effective revenge against the mother fox. Ge Wenliang thought bitterly that the little fox was twitching and convulsing on the grass after being hit by an arrow. Maybe the mother fox would let out a heart-rending cry and die of grief. This would be better, as it would save him the chance to hit it with a stick. He felt that this was the hunter's wisdom and hunter's heart. Hunters are supposed to have a heart of stone. He suddenly woke up and realized that his kind actions and thoughts just now were really stupid. This was not like a hunter, it was completely a woman's heart! He felt that his father's sarcasm seemed a bit It stands to reason that there are indeed weak, unmanly impurities in him. He knew very well in his heart that as long as he pulled the trigger of the crossbow, as long as the crossbow string made of bison tendons made a dull trill, as long as the hungry golden bamboo arrow whizzed towards the little fox's chest, then, He completed the mutation of his character and became a real hunter and a real man.
He gritted his teeth and pulled the crossbow.
The pair of little foxes were still squatting in front of them ignorantly.
However, it seemed that this bamboo crossbow had a huge weight, and he could not hold it steadily; the crossbow machine may have been damp and rusty, so he could not move it. Teacher Wei suddenly and inexplicably appeared in his mind. Those clear and slightly melancholy eyes.
The past two years ago came to mind again.
At that time, he was still in sixth grade in the town primary school, and his class teacher was Teacher Wei. Teacher Wei was a female student assigned from Yunjinghong National Normal University. She was frail and slender, and her arms were like reeds. She could not even carry a bucket of water. The boys were not afraid of her. At the end of class that day, a beautiful oriole fluttered its wings. Flying into the classroom from the window, it was a little oriole whose wings had not yet grown hard. It must have mistakenly entered the classroom while practicing flying. The students quickly closed the doors and windows. During the scramble, he grabbed the little oriole with his ape-like agility. An old oriole was chirping on the branch outside the window. He was tying the little oriole's feet with a thin rope. Teacher Wei came over and said as if to himself: "Its mother is looking forward to its return. "
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If Teacher Wei had put on an angry teacher attitude, scolded him, blamed him, Or order him to let go of the little oriole, but he will never obey. He caught the little oriole, and he was free to do with it how he wanted. If she still shivered, maybe he would savagely tear the little oriole in half in front of her. He's not afraid of her.
But Teacher Wei’s voice was so soft, as if the breeze was blowing the petals; her big clear eyes were full of the warmth that only a woman can have, and there was a trace of sadness flowing there.
She looked at him. It was not a teacher's order to a student, nor an adult's order to a child, but a beautiful woman making a request to him. His heart trembled strangely, as if a secret heart door was suddenly opened, and tenderness surged out like a tide, violently impacting his naughty boyish heart. He suddenly felt sympathy and love for the weak animals. Without any hesitation, he untied the knot on the little oriole's leg, opened the window, and let it go.
Looking back now, Teacher Wei's soft words and clear and melancholy eyes were like an invisible soft rope, binding up his hunter's nature - his strong wildness.
He really lacked the courage to shoot an arrow at the little fox. He sighed and put down the bamboo crossbow. He still had to find a way to drive the little fox away. He beat his head hard and finally came up with a brilliant idea: attack with fire. All wild beasts are afraid of fire. He pulled two balls of dead grass, lit them with matches, and threw them at the pair of little foxes. The burning dead grass hit the wet frog-shaped rocks, turned into billowing smoke, and flew towards the little fox with the wind.
The little fox chirped and screamed, and fled towards the cliff beside the Nanwen River. He quickly picked up a wooden stick and broke the mother fox's nose while the little fox was not there. Otherwise, when the smoke died down, the pair of little foxes would come to cause trouble again.
The female fox stood up tenaciously on three legs, bared her teeth, and roared fiercely at him, as if she wanted to fight him to the death. This was exactly what he wanted. He held up the wooden stick and approached the female fox little by little. Seeing that the wooden stick reached the top of the female fox's head again, the female fox suddenly stopped roaring, restrained the fierce look that was about to bite, raised her face meekly, and raised her head. The fatal recess between the red nose and white eyebrows was completely exposed to his murderous stick, neither evading nor flinching. This unusual behavior of the vixen surprised him. Not to mention the carnivore fox, even the herbivore rabbit will bite back when cornered. He couldn't help but hesitate.
The female fox raised her head peacefully, waiting for his stick to fall.
He was so surprised that he did not knock down the stick for a long time.
The mother fox glanced anxiously in the direction where the pair of fox cubs were escaping, and suddenly she bared her teeth again and roared at him fiercely. There was an allure in its menacing demeanor, a clear attempt to provoke him. There was no fear of death or even hatred in its eyes, only pleading, pleading with all its life: be good, please beat me to death!
It hurriedly ran away towards the little fox again. A glance in the direction.
It let out another long cry, pleading and urging.
It calmly and submissively raised the bridge of its nose and the fatal depression between its eyebrows.
Ge Wenliang finally understood: the mother fox wanted him to end its own life before the little fox came back. If it dies, the little fox will give up the idea of ??saving it and leave here. It wants to use its last life to help the little baby escape danger, and it longs to die early. It was a hateful damn fox that stole his camellia chickens and ruined the reputation of Ge Wenliang; it was also a touching fox with selfless maternal love.
He held the stick high, his hand seemed to be stiff and unable to hit the female fox.
The fire went out, the smoke cleared, and the pair of little foxes emerged from behind the frog-shaped rocks again.
The female fox barked at them resentfully.
He found that the pair of little foxes suddenly became staggering and seemed to be struggling. Oh! They dragged out a dead gray rabbit from the flowers. He looked at them in confusion, wondering what they wanted to do with the dead rabbit. Maybe it was to deliver lunch to the female fox under the iron clamp.
This is a slightly sloping uphill. A little fox bit the gray rabbit's ear and pulled it up hard; the other little fox used its pointed little head to push the gray rabbit's butt and pulled hard. Upward arch. Finally, they moved the gray rabbit to the iron clamp and moved it in front of him. Then, the pair of little foxes stood upright on their two hind paws like humans, and walked around the gray rabbit like a dance. Their bright little eyes were full of sorrow and begging.
He suddenly understood that the pair of little foxes wanted to exchange the gray rabbit with him in exchange for the mother fox's freedom.
This is of course very unfair. How much is a rabbit worth? A fine fox skin can be exchanged for a hundred gray rabbit skins.
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He was really unwilling to change, but found it difficult to refuse the exchange. Obviously, this gray rabbit was captured by the mother fox and the pair of little foxes last night. Maybe it was caught after running around all night. It is probably the only food for them to satisfy their hunger today. For the mother fox, they would rather Enduring hunger...
He smiled bitterly and chopped the wooden stick down from mid-air, just hitting the spring latch of the animal trap. There was a crisp click and the tight iron clamp suddenly loosened. After a moment, the mother fox took the opportunity to pull out her bloody hind legs, and followed the two surprised little foxes, limping towards the forest.
He watched blankly as they disappeared into a thick green bush.
Ge Wenliang carried the trap on his back and the gray rabbit, and went home dejectedly. It was over, he thought, after working hard all night in vain, he was teased by the fox again. He regretted that he should not have let go of the female fox he had obtained, but it was too late to regret now.
Originally, he could proudly carry a mother fox and two fox cubs back to Manyan Village, throw them on the threshing floor, let people gather around to watch the fun, let the fox's blood wash away his shame, and he gained another gained a good reputation. Now, people will laugh at him twice as much. Even he looked down upon himself, he was as soft-hearted as a little girl, and he was hopeless.
My grandma is mixing the pigs, and my father is pounding the pots. Seeing him coming back, my mother immediately rushed over, touched his limbs, and said distressedly: "My child, did you really spend the night in the forest? You are not injured, right? It almost made my mother anxious to death."
Abba looked at him with a smile and said teasingly: "Oh! The brave hunter is back. I think you must have gone to find the red fox. Let me see, you knocked its head Is it broken?"
He lazily threw the gray rabbit in front of his father.
Abba's face was as gloomy as the moss on the stone: "What a great hunter, what a great hunter. After working in the forest all night, I caught a gray rabbit. It's great. We have rabbits at home." The meat is eaten."
He said in frustration: "I didn't hunt this gray rabbit, but picked it up." As he said, He recounted how he caught the female fox with an iron trap, how he couldn't bear to kill it, and how he finally let it go. In the end, he squatted on the ground and said nothing. But those melancholy eyes were clearly telling Abba silently: "Don't expect me to become a hunter like you. I'm weak, I'm worthless, and I'm sorry for you. But please don't blame the school, don't blame Teachers, schools and teachers teach us to be upright and brave every day. But I am not good enough. You are right, I am neither a man nor a woman..." His eyes were red.
Abba has been watching him: "Don't cry, I hate tears."
As he said this, he squatted down and carefully looked at the fox fur and hair stuck to the iron clip. Foxxue also grabbed the gray rabbit, smoothed out the soft rabbit fur, and looked at the tooth marks left by the fox on the neck. Abba looked at it so carefully, like a scientist looking at experimental specimens.
Ge Wenliang was so sleepy that he left his parents behind and climbed up to the bamboo building. He didn't even bother to take off his clothes, so he fell down on the felt and fell asleep. He was too tired. I slept so deeply that I slept from noon to dusk. When I woke up, the magnificent sunset covered the balcony. His stomach growled with hunger and he wanted to find something to eat by the firepit. As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom, he suddenly found that his home had suddenly changed, filled with an ancient and mysterious atmosphere.
On the middle pillar, which was black and shiny from the smoke, hung a huge bison head. This is a bison head passed down from ancestors. After years of precipitation, it has a deep sense of history. The pair of translucent milky white buffalo horns still shone with sharp luster; the pair of bull eyes still stared like bells, sternly watching the vicissitudes of the world. The bison is a totem worshiped by the Hani hunters, symbolizing vigorous life and mysterious power. Abba’s bare upper body was smeared with coconut oil, his brown skin was as bright as brown glass, and his lower body was surrounded by a piece of leopard skin. The money-shaped markings radiated a wild majesty. Abba held a gleaming dagger in his hand, skillfully cutting off the gray rabbit's head and respectfully offering it under the solemn bison head. Grandma put on her festive attire, a round hat and a brand new black linen skirt. The clothes are covered with silverware and tassels. She held a wine gourd and poured the wine under the buffalo's head. The bamboo house is filled with a mellow fragrance of corn wine. There is also a table of sumptuous dishes on the bamboo mat next to the bamboo window.
This is a celebration ceremony for the Hani people to welcome brave hunters returning with their loads.
Ge Wenliang remembers clearly: the year before last, his father accompanied scientists from Beijing to the Black Mountains to capture a baby elephant alive. After returning home safely, his mother also held such a grand celebration. What happened today? Abba didn't go out hunting!
He looked at it in surprise, not understanding what was going on.
Abba took the wine gourd from Ama, filled three small wooden bowls with wine, handed him a bowl, and said with a smile:
"Come on, kid. , under the gaze of the precious bison, let us finish this bowl.
"
"To whom are you toasting?"
"For you!"
"For the gray rabbit I picked up in the forest?"
“Yes, for this gray rabbit, for our family to have another brave and kind hunter, for the real man, cheers! ”