A Flood by Pu Songling
After a drought, an old man warns his village of a flood and leaves with his family. When torrents destroy the village, a man and his wife rescue his aged mother, leaving their two sons behind; they later find the boys playing on their bed, and someone attributes their survival to the parents’ filial piety.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Short Story, Moral Tale · 412 words
First lines
In the twenty-first year of K‘ang Hsi[1] there was a severe drought, not a green blade appearing in the parched ground all through the spring and well into the summer. On the 13th of the 6th moon a little rain fell, and people began to plant their rice. On the 18th there was a heavy fall, and beans were sown.
[1]: A. D. 1682; that is, three years after the date of our author's preface. See _Introduction_.
Genres
- Short Story — A brief narrative follows a flood warning, a family’s escape, and the unexpected survival of two children.
- Moral Tale — A witness interprets the boys’ survival as a reward for their parents’ filial piety, and the appended note offers a parallel earthquake account.
Tags
drought · floods · filial piety · survival · disaster warnings
What this Textopian page supports
A Flood is listed on Textopian as a short story by Pu Songling, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Pu Songling
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Short Story, Moral Tale
- Length: 412 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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- Work identity for A Flood by Pu Songling
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