Old Man An of Changshan

　　There was an old man named An who lived in Changshan County. He had always loved working the land. One autumn, his buckwheat ripened, and he had it cut and piled along the edges of the field. Around that time, people from a nearby village had been stealing crops. So he ordered his tenant farmers to haul the buckwheat to the threshing ground by moonlight. After they had loaded the carts and headed home, he stayed behind to keep watch himself. He lay down in the open field with a spear as his pillow.

　　He had just closed his eyes when he heard someone stepping on the buckwheat stubble—crunch, crunch. Thinking it might be a thief, he quickly raised his head and saw a huge demon, over ten feet tall, with red hair and a bushy beard. It was already very close to him. Terrified and with no time to think of anything else, he sprang to his feet and thrust his spear at it with all his might. The demon let out a thunderous roar and vanished.

　　Afraid it might come back, he shouldered his spear and headed home. On the way, he met the tenant farmers coming back. He told them what he had seen and warned them not to go to the field. But none of them fully believed him.

　　The next day, as they were drying the buckwheat on the threshing ground, a noise suddenly came from the air. The old man cried out in alarm, "The demon is here!" and bolted. The others ran too. After a while, they gathered again. The old man ordered them to set up several bows and crossbows and wait. The following day, the demon did come back. They loosed several arrows at once, and the frightened creature fled. It didn't come back for two or three days.

　　Once the buckwheat was stored in the granary, the threshing ground was littered with straw and stalks. The old man told the hands to pile it all into a stack. He climbed up himself to trample it firm, raising the stack several feet high. Suddenly, he looked into the distance and cried out in horror, "The demon is coming!" The men scrambled for their bows and arrows, but the demon had already rushed at the old man. It knocked him down, bit off a piece of his forehead, and vanished.

　　The men climbed onto the stack to look. A palm‑sized chunk of bone had been torn from his forehead. He was unconscious, completely unaware of anything. They carried him home on their backs, and soon after, he died. The demon never appeared again. No one ever knew what kind of monster it was.

　　【原文】

　　长山安翁者，性喜操农功。秋间荍熟，刈堆陇畔。时近村有盗稼者，因命佃人乘月辇运登场。俟其装载归，而自留逻守，遂枕戈露卧。目稍瞑，忽闻有人践荍根，咋咋作响。心疑暴客，急举首，则一大鬼，高丈馀，赤发[生僻字]须，去身已近。大怖，不遑他计，踊身暴起，狠刺之。鬼鸣如雷而逝。恐其复来，荷戈而归。迎佃人于途，告以所见，且戒勿往，众未深信。越日，曝麦于场，忽闻空际有声，翁骇曰：“鬼物来矣！”乃奔，众亦奔。移时复聚，翁命多设弓弩以俟之。翼日，果复来。数矢齐发，物惧而遁。二三日竟不复来。麦既登仓，禾 杂遝，翁命收积为垛，而亲登践实之，高至数尺。忽遥望骇曰：“鬼物至矣！”众急觅弓矢，物已奔翁，翁仆，龁其额而去。共登视，则去额骨如掌，昏不知人。负至家中，遂卒。后不复见。不知其何怪也。

　　【翻译】

　　长山县有个姓安的老头儿，平素喜欢干农活儿。一年秋天种的荞麦熟了，收割完毕后就堆放在田陇边上。当时邻近村子里有偷庄稼的，安老头儿因此让长工们乘着月光连夜把庄稼装车运往场上。等他们装车回去，他独自留下来巡逻，头枕着长矛在露天地里休息。他两眼刚刚闭上，忽然听到有人踩着荞麦根发出“咔咔”声。他心里怀疑是来了偷庄稼的，急忙抬头察看，只见一个一丈多高的大鬼，长着红红的头发，乱蓬蓬的胡子，离自己已经很近了。老头儿大吃一惊，顾不上想别的，猛地纵身跃起，对着那鬼狠命一刺。鬼发出一声打雷般的嚎叫后就消失了。老头儿怕鬼再来，就扛着长矛往家走。他在半路上碰见了前来的长工们，告诉了他们刚才所看到的一切，并且劝他们不要再去了，但长工们都半信半疑。过了一天，大家正在场上晾晒荍麦，忽然听见半空中有响声，安老头儿吓得大喊道：“鬼来了！”撒腿就跑，众人也跟着他奔跑。过了一会儿，大家又聚集在了一起，老头儿让大家多准备些弓箭，以防大鬼再来。第二天，鬼果然又来了。大家数箭齐发，那鬼惊怕地逃走了。这以后有两三天竟没有再来。荞麦打完后收进了谷仓中，场上满是杂乱的麦秸，老头儿让长工们收拾起来堆成麦秸垛，自己亲自爬上去用脚把它踏实，麦秸垛离地有几尺高。忽然，他远望空中又大声惊呼：“鬼来了！”众人急忙去找弓箭，但这时大鬼已经扑向了老头儿，将他扑倒，咬掉他的前额就逃走了。长工们爬上麦垛顶一看，老头儿的头上被咬去了巴掌大的一块额骨，已经昏迷不省人事。大家急忙把他背到家里，不久就死了。以后，那个鬼再也没有出现。不知究竟是什么妖怪。