The Journey of Xiao Tao

A red-haired naughty boy Xiao Tao saw that a silly hare had hit its head accidently against a tree trunk and died. He picked up the hare gave it to his mom so she could make it into a delicious dinner. He then waited near the trunk everyday hoping hares would come continuously and hit their heads against the tree. His dad had gone to town on a trip and had told Xiao Tao to sow seeds in the farmland but Xiao Tao only concentrated on his plan of catching hares and forgot about the sowing. Half a month later Xiao Tao suddenly remembered his dad's order. He then sowed seeds in a rush. Seedlings grew very slowly because of the delay in time. For fear of dad's rebuke Xiao Tao quietly got up at midnight to help the seedlings grow more quickly by pulling them upward. When Xiao Tao's dad came back home he saw all of the seedlings lying down in the field with their roots exposed in the air. He knew that Xiao Tao had done this. Dad asked Xiao Tao why he had made this mess and wanted him to admit his fault. Xiao Tao did not acknowledge his mistake but instead said that this had been the hares' fault. Lately no hares had come to hit their heads against the tree trunk and so he had to wait patiently for them; had it not been for the hares' fault he would have remembered his task and would not have pulled the seedlings upward and would not have been criticized by dad. Xiao Tao's dad was so angry that he slapped Xiao Tao's face. Xiao Tao did not cry. Instead he decided that he would leave home to visit various scenic spots and make a living wandering from place to place. In his adventurous journey Xiao Tao experienced more than a few strange affairs met many interesting people and animals and learned a lot about the world. In the end his trip turned the naughty boy into a good one.