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民間故事
The
Evil Mango Tree Spirits Staying beside the Cheng Huang Temple |
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It was said that the magistrate of the county took charge of the
affairs of living people while Cheng Huang (城隍爺) in charge of those
of the Underworld, the Hades. People would be rewarded for doing good
but punished for their wrongdoing or wicked acts.
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As the story went, the magistrate made it a rule to dangle the
head pf the ferocious bandits on the mango tree after they were hung
to death, which was meant to serve as a warning to others. As years
went by, the Cheng Huang Temple became a spooky place. Few people
dared to approach it, let alone playing around the mango tree. To
the residents’ astonishment, the juice flowing from the mango was
bloody red, which scared away either adults or children attempting
to pick up the fallen fruits or hang around the tree. People started
to have numerous talks about this eerie tree. They thought the tree
was possessed by some evil spirits and the evil Mango Tree Spirits
would cause misfortune to the town. |
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Unfortunately, the scary prediction turned out to be correct.
Something preposterous happened to a poor rice-dumpling-selling peddler.
He was taken advantaged of by the Mango Spirits. Feeling furious and
unwilling to be cheated by the nasty spirits, he decided to take revenge.
Nevertheless, the peddler’s reckless and hasty act irritated the
Mango Tree Spirits. He started to haunt the poor peddler and brought
misfortune to him and his family. Therefore, the peddler lost his
sanity and ended up in horrible death.
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After the spooky and tragic incident, the frightened residents
decided to resort to some supernatural power to help them successfully
banish the ghost. In the end, since the locals still considered the
mango tree fearsome as well as an omen of evil, they cut it down for
the sake of the safety of the future generations.
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