Strange Happenings in the House

　　Mr. Li of Changshan County was the nephew of the Minister of Justice. His residence was filled with strange and uncanny events. Once, he saw a long bench in the hall. It was flesh‑colored, very smooth and moist. Since he knew he had never owned such a thing, he went closer to feel it with his hand. As soon as he touched it, it bent under his fingers—almost as soft as flesh. Alarmed, he backed away in fear. When he turned to look again, the bench was moving on its four legs, slowly creeping into the wall.

　　Another time, he saw a white staff leaning against the wall—clean, polished, and unusually long. He stepped closer to support himself on it, but the moment he touched it, it collapsed softly, slithered like a snake into the wall, and didn't disappear completely until after a while.

　　In the seventeenth year of the Kangxi reign, a scholar named Wang Junsheng was teaching at the Li household. One evening, just as the lamps were lit, Wang was lying on his bed with his shoes still on. Suddenly, he saw a tiny figure—about three inches tall—come in from outside. It wandered around for a moment and then left. A short while later, it came back carrying two little stools, which it placed in the middle of the room. The stools looked just like the ones children make out of sorghum pith.

　　After another moment, two tiny figures carried in a coffin—only about four inches long—and set it on the stools. Before they had finished arranging it, a woman led several maidservants into the room. All of them were just as tiny as the previous figures. The woman was dressed in mourning clothes, with a hemp rope tied around her waist and her head wrapped in white cloth. She covered her mouth with her sleeve and wept softly—ying ying—her voice like that of a giant fly.

　　Wang watched them for a long time, his hair standing on end. A chill covered his body like frost. He let out a loud shout and scrambled to get away, but he fell off the bed and lay there trembling, unable to get up. The other people in the schoolroom rushed in at the sound. By then, the figures in the hall—the little people, the coffin, the stools—had all vanished without a trace.


中文如下:

　　宅妖【原文】

　　长山李公，大司寇之侄也。宅多妖异。尝见厦有春凳，肉红色，甚修润。李以故无此物，近抚按之，随手而曲，殆如肉耎。骇而却走。旋回视，则四足移动，渐入壁中。又见壁间倚白梃，洁泽修长。近扶之，腻然而倒，委蛇入壁，移时始没。

　　康熙十七年，王生俊升设帐其家。日暮，灯火初张，生着履卧榻上。忽见小人，长三寸许，自外入，略一盘旋，即复去。少顷，荷二小凳来，设堂中，宛如小儿辈用粱秸心所制者。又顷之，二小人舁一棺入，仅长四寸许，停置凳上。安厝未已，一女子率厮婢数人来，率细小如前状。女子衰衣，麻绠束腰际，布裹首，以袖掩口，嘤嘤而哭，声类巨蝇。生睥睨良久，毛森立，如霜被于体。因大呼，遽走，颠床下，摇战莫能起。馆中人闻声毕集，堂中人物杳然矣。

　　【翻译】

　　长山县的李先生，是大司寇的侄子。他住的宅第常有妖异的事情出现。有一次他看见房间里有一条长条形的板凳，凳子是肉红色的，又光滑又润洁。李先生因为过去没有这个东西，便上前去用手抚摸按捺，板凳随着他的手变得弯弯曲曲，几乎像肉一样柔软。他吓了一跳，急忙离开了。不久再回头一看，那板凳用四条腿移动，慢慢隐入到墙壁里去了。还有一次，李先生看见顺墙靠着一根白色的棍棒，光洁润滑，细长细长的。他走近一摸，那棒子就软软地倒了下去，像条蛇似的弯弯曲曲地钻进了墙壁里，一会儿就不见了。

　　康熙十七年，有个叫王俊升的书生，在李家开设教馆，教授学童。一天傍晚，刚刚点上灯，王生穿着鞋躺在床上休息。忽然看到有个小人儿，三寸多高，从门外面走进来，在地上稍稍转了一圈儿，就又走了出去。没过多长时间，小人儿扛着两张小板凳又来了，他把凳子摆放在屋子中间，凳子好像是小孩子们用高粱秸芯做成的玩意儿一样。又过了一会儿，两个小人儿抬进来一口四寸来长的棺材，停放在凳子上。还没等安置稳当，就见一个女子带着几个粗使丫环走了进来，都短小得和前面来的小人儿一样。那女子身穿丧服，腰间系着麻绳，头上裹着白布，用衣袖掩着嘴，“嘤嘤”地哭，声音像是大苍蝇在叫。王生偷看多时，不禁毛发悚然，浑身冷得像结了严霜一样。于是他大声呼叫，急忙起身要跑，却跌倒在床下，全身不住颤抖，爬也爬不起来。教馆里的人听见喊声，全都跑了过来。而屋子里的小人儿、棺材、凳子却已经消失不见了