Miss Quarta Hu by Pu Songling
Mr. Shang becomes attached to Quarta, a fox appearing as a young woman, and frees her when an exorcist traps her family in bottles. Ten years later she visits him as an immortal; twenty years after that, she foretells his death and promises to guide him to the happy land. Shang dies on the day she names.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story · 1,918 words
First lines
Mr. Shang was a native of T‘ai-shan, and lived quietly with his books alone. One autumn night when the Silver River[1] was unusually distinct and the moon shining brightly in the sky, he was walking up and down under the shade, with his thoughts wandering somewhat at random, when lo! a young girl leaped over the wall, and, smiling, asked him, "What are you thinking about, Sir, all so deeply? " Shang looked at her, and seeing that she had a pretty face, asked her to walk in. She then told him her name was Hu,[2] and that she was called Tertia; but when he wanted to know where she lived, she laughed and would not say. So he did not inquire any further; and by degrees they struck up a friendship, and Miss Tertia used to come and chat with him every evening. He was so smitten that he could hardly take his eyes off her, and at last she said to him, "What _are_ you looking at? " "At you," cried he, "my lovely rose, my beautiful peach. I could gaze at you all night long. " "If you think so much of poor me," answered she, "I don't know where your wits would be if you saw my sister Quarta. " Mr. Shang said he was sorry he didn't know her, and begged that he might be introduced; so next night Miss Tertia brought her sister, who turned out to be a young damsel of about fifteen, with a face delicately powdered and resembling the lily, or like an apricot-flower seen through mist; and altogether as pretty a girl as he had ever seen. Mr. Shang was charmed with her, and inviting them in, began to laugh and talk with the elder, while Miss Quarta sat playing with her girdle, and keeping her eyes on the ground. By-and-by Miss Tertia got up and said she was going, whereupon her sister rose to take leave also; but Mr. Shang asked her not to be in a hurry, and requested the elder to assist in persuading her. "You needn't hurry," said she to Miss Quarta; and accordingly the latter remained chatting with Mr. Shang without reserve, and finally told him she was a fox. However, Mr. Shang was so occupied with her beauty, that he didn't pay any heed to that; but she added, "And my sister is very dangerous; she has already killed three people. Any one bewitched by her has no chance of escape. Happily, you have bestowed your affections on me, and I shall not allow you to be destroyed. You must break off your acquaintance with her at once. " Mr. Shang was very frightened, and implored her to help him; to which she replied, "Although a fox, I am skilled in the arts of the Immortals; [3] I will write out a charm for you which you must paste on the door, and thus you will keep her away. " So she wrote down the charm, and in the morning when her sister came and saw it, she fell back, crying out, "Ungrateful minx! you've thrown me up for him, have you? You two being destined for each other, what have I done that you should treat me thus? " She then went away; and a few days afterwards Miss Quarta said she too would have to be absent for a day, so Shang went out for a walk by himself, and suddenly beheld a very nice-looking young lady emerge from the shade of an old oak that was growing on the hill-side. "Why so dreadfully pensive? " said she to him; "those Hu girls can never bring you a single cent. " She then presented Shang with some money, and bade him go on ahead and buy some good wine, adding, "I'll bring something to eat with me, and we'll have a jolly time of it. " Shang took the money and went home, doing as the young lady had told him; and by-and-by in she herself came, and threw on the table a roast chicken and a shoulder of salt pork, which she at once proceeded to cut up. They now set to work to enjoy themselves, and had hardly finished when they heard some one coming in, and the next minute in walked Miss Tertia and her sister. The strange young lady didn't know where to hide, and managed to lose her shoes; but the other two began to revile her, saying, "Out upon you, base fox; what are you doing here? " They then chased her away after some trouble, and Shang began to excuse himself to them, until at last they all became friends again as before.
Genres
- Supernatural Fiction — Fox women appear in human form, an exorcist confines spirits in bottles, and Quarta gains immortality and predicts Shang's death.
- Short Story — A brief prose narrative follows Shang's attachment to Quarta, her rescue, and two later visits through his death.
Tags
fox spirits · exorcism · immortality · prophecy · gratitude
What this Textopian page supports
Miss Quarta Hu 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: Supernatural Fiction, Short Story
- Length: 1,918 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Miss Quarta Hu by Pu Songling
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph