Opičjak, ki je ugrabljal ženske

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Opičjak, ki je ugrabljal ženske

High in the mountains of southwestern Shu lives a creature resembling a monkey, seven feet tall, that can walk upright like a man and runs swiftly enough to overtake people. It is called the Jiaguo, also known as the Mahua or the Jueyuan. It lies in wait for beautiful women traveling along the roads, then steals them away without anyone knowing. Travelers passing through its haunts tie themselves together with long ropes, yet even this does not always save them. The creature can distinguish men from women by their scent, and so takes only women, never men. Once it has captured a woman, it makes her its wife. Those who bear no children can never return home. After ten years, they come to resemble the creature, and their minds grow so confused that they no longer think of returning. Those who become pregnant, however, it carries back to their families, where they give birth to children who are all human in form. If a family refuses to raise such a child, its mother dies; thus, out of fear, none dares refuse. When grown, these children are no different from other people. All take Yang as their surname. Hence the many Yang families now living in southwestern Shu are, for the most part, descendants of the Jiaguo or Mahua.