Prevod

In the days of Qin, there was a shrine to the Raging Bull at Gudao in Wudu, and a catalpa tree grew above it. In the twenty-seventh year of his reign, Duke Wen of Qin sent men to fell the tree. Whenever they struck it, fierce wind and rain arose, and the cuts in its trunk closed up as soon as they were made. After a whole day, the tree still stood. Duke Wen sent more soldiers, until forty men were wielding axes, yet they still could not bring it down. Exhausted, the men withdrew to rest. One of them had injured his foot and could not walk, so he lay beneath the tree. He heard a ghost say to the tree spirit, “Has the battle worn you out?” The other replied, “What hardship is that?” The ghost said, “The Duke of Qin is certain not to give up. What will you do?” The spirit answered, “What can the Duke of Qin do to me?” The ghost said again, “If Qin sends three hundred men with their hair hanging loose, has them wind red silk around the tree, and makes them wear ochre clothes and scatter ashes into the cuts as they chop you, will you not be in trouble then?” The spirit fell silent. The next day, the injured man reported what he had heard. The duke thereupon ordered the men all to dress in ochre and sprinkle ashes into each fresh cut. The tree fell. A blue-green ox emerged from within it and fled into the Feng River. Later, when the ox came out of the river, the duke sent horsemen to attack it, but they could not overcome it. One rider fell to the ground, and as he mounted again, his topknot came undone and his hair fell loose. The ox took fright at the sight and retreated into the water, not daring to emerge again. From that time on, Qin maintained the “Maotou Cavalry.”