The Savannah morning news., 1904-01-31

from the Emperor himself-an order
which was sure to make him rich
that she forgot her fright and cried
out: Thanks. good Emperor, we will
make the bell" And then, -recollect-
ing her manners. she tried TO kowtow,
put the Emperor caught her up in
his arms and asked her questions, and
listened to her prattle for twenty min
utes. so that the old soldiers and the
old courtiers whispered together, say
! ing: Surely our great Isl Chi is be-
ginning to show his age. All, yes,
his intellect is certainly falling"
Finally the Emperor put the little
glrI down and said to Wang Ho; Il
have found what I want, Wang Ho,
Make me a bell that shall repeat the
voice of child; even the voice of
Ko-Ngai."
Then he went away, after leaving a
handful of gold with the bell-maker,
and 1ourneyed far north to his capital
of Pelsin.
The first thing the bell maker did
was to go to the city and spend a part
OF the Emperors gold in purchasing
pair of slippers for KoNgai. They
were the most beautiful little slippers
he could get in Canton, and were
covered with pearls. Ko-Ngai was
immensely pleased with them and did
little else but admire them for two
whole days.
Day by day Wang Ho labored about
his furnace, melting iron for the bell
and throwing in pieces of gold and
silver and the other ingredients of
which he alone possessed the secret
In the earth he made a great mattrix
or mould into which to let the moul-
ten metal run, when the proper time
should come, and take the form of the
bell as it cooled.
All the time Wang Ho was working
at the mould; and at the furnace little
Ko-Ngai played about, chatting and
laughing. So in the shaping of the
mould and the melting of the metals
the father kept constantly in mind the
sound OF her vice, so that it should
be reproduced BY his art in the sound
of the bell But day by day he became
more and more Respondent fearing
that with all his wonderful skill, he
would be unable to reproduce the
music of a childs voice.
At last the day came when the mol
ten metal was to be released from the
furnace and run down the trough pre-
pared for it into the mould. In hon
or of the occasion Ko-Ngai had put
on her pearl slippers and stood laugh
ing to see the bright stream shooting
off it's myriad of little, scintilating
stars as it poured it's white-hot tor
rent from the furnace door TO the mat
rix.
But Wang Ho, as he heard the
laugh, was filed with despair, and lift
ing up his voice, he cried, Woe is me.
My work is a failure. 1 can catch
the sound of the waves on shining
beaches, of waterfalls in moon-lt
glens, of singing birds and rushing
winds, but never the sound of the
voice of child"
Little Ko-Ngai heard and was filled
with grief. Then, suddenly she said:
Fear not, father; The voice of a child
shall be in the Emperor's bell!"
And at once she sprang into the
glowing metal and was consumed in
it.
AS she sprang, Wang Ho reached
forth his hand to stop her, but he only
succeeded in catching hold of one of
the pearl slippers which came away
in his hand.
And that is the reason why, when
the great bell of Canton is struck, it
calls out "Ko-Ngai, Ko-Ngai!" and
then, after little pause, in a wailng
undertone like the voice of a child,
Hi Hi! Hi Hi"
And the people pause to say to one
| another, There is Ko-Ngai crying for
her slipper. Who will give Ko-Ngai
back her slipper"