Playing at Hanging by Pu Songling
A young man wagers that he can make a passing woman on a pony laugh, then pretends to hang himself using his waistband and a millet stalk. She laughs, but his companions discover that he has actually died; the narrator closes with a warning against practical joking.
By Pu Songling · Genre: Short Story, Cautionary Tale · 275 words
First lines
A number of wild young fellows were one day out walking when they saw a young lady approach, riding on a pony.[1] One of them said to the others, "I'll back myself to make that girl laugh," and a supper was at once staked by both sides on the result. Our hero then ran out in front of the pony, and kept on shouting "I'm going to die! I'm going to die! " at the same time pulling out from over the top of a wall a stalk of millet, to which he attached his own waistband, and tying the latter round his neck, made a pretence of hanging himself. The young lady did laugh as she passed by, to the great amusement of the assembled company; but as when she was already some distance off their friend did not move, the others laughed louder than ever. However, on going up to him they saw that his tongue protruded, and that his eyes were glazed; he was, in fact, quite dead. Was it not strange that a man should be able to hang himself on a millet stalk? [2] It is a good warning against practical joking.
Genres
- Short Story — A single brief episode follows a wager, a mock hanging, and the companions' discovery of the young man's death.
- Cautionary Tale — The fatal outcome of a practical joke leads to an explicit warning against such joking.
Tags
practical jokes · wagers · hanging · accidental death
What this Textopian page supports
Playing at Hanging 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, Cautionary Tale
- Length: 275 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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