When Ling’er returned home, his sister-in-law felt very surprised to see he had really driven back 10 oxen. But she insisted that Ling’er had stolen the old bull from other people, and rewarded him with a good beat. His sister-in-law would not stop beating him until the villagers came to intervene. Afterwards, during the day Ling’er would graze oxen, while at night he would sleep at the side of them. For this reason, people in his village all called him Niulang (a cowboy). The old bull which the cowboy had rescued was much affectionate to him. Once, when his sister-in-law put poison into his dishes, the old bull told him not to eat. Later, his sister-in-law insisted they live separately. The cowherd stated that he didn’t want house or field, but the old bull with a poor cart and a broken case. Then left home and set up a straw shack under a mulberry tree to live. The old bull spit a bean out and asked the cowherd to plant it in front of the shack. The next day, it grew out of the ground. The third day, it had leaves when the cowherd was busy putting up a trellis. Several days later, the vines of the bean covered all over the trellis. The old bull said, “My boy, at night you can hide yourself under the bean trellis, then you can see the fairies in heaven, and the fairies can also see you. If there is a fairy who looks at you secretly, she is expecting to be your wife. Then, I will draw the cart carrying you to heaven for you to meet her and come back together to be married.”
Following the instructions from the old bull, the cowherd hid himself under the bean trellis and looked up into the heaven. He saw a group of fairies are bathing in a jade pool. When they left, one of them stole a glimpse at him. Next night, he saw the fairy alone came to the jade pool again and ventured to look at the cowherd directly. At the third night, she looked at the cowherd and smiled. At the fourth night, she nodded at the cowherd. At the fifth night, she took out a basket of silk worms. At the six night, she took out a loom. At the seventh night, she waved to the cowherd with a shuttle in her hand. The cowherd and the weaving fairy, one on the earth while the other in heaven, showed their love through their postures and expressions. The cowherd expected the weaving fairy to descend down from heaven, while the fairy expected the cowherd to meet her in heaven shortly. On July 7, a magpie flew down and sat on the head of the old bull, and chirped, “The weaver fairy sent me to tell you to meet her soon. Meet her soon, meet her soon.” The old bull nodded with a smile, while the cowherd set up the cart and sat on. The old bull drew the cart from the ground and came to the jade pool in a minute. The cowherd got off the cart and helped the weaver fairy to put her loom onto the cart. Then they both sat on the cart and flew back home on earth.
When the villagers knew that the cowherd had got married, they all came to congratulate him. The weaver fairy distributed the silkworms she had brought from heaven to the villagers, and taught them how to raise silkworms, how to pull out threads and weave.
Thus, all the villagers knew that the cowherd had got a capable wife, who could raise silkworms, weave smooth and bright silk. Some even said that her loom was brought down from heaven, so the silk she wove would be warm in winter and cool in summer if it was made into dresses. Eventually, this news went far away, and many silk businessmen rushed to Nanyang for silk. Shortly, the villages on both banks of Baihe River was stirred, and thousands of homes sent their daughters to the weaver fairy to learn. The weaver fairy was warm-hearted, always ready to help. In less than two years, each and every family learned how to raise silkworms and weave silk.
(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)
