Excerpt from Chinese Fairy StoriesNear the table stood the proud mother and father watching eagerly for the infant's first desires. The five Sisters, the grandparents, and the other relatives also waited near by. All were anxious to see which one of the many new playthings about him the child would seize on for his first toy. By this means, according to their belief, they could foretell his future. If he grasped the book or the pencil, doubtless he would become a famous scholar, if the counting frame, the scales, or the gold orna ments, a man of wealth if the knife, a warrior, if the fruit, a farmer.For a moment the little fellow looked up from his toys into the eager faces of those about him. He seemed to know that they were awaiting the result of his actions. Then with out further delay, stooping over, he stretched out his chubby arms and swept all Of the Objects Into a pile before him, as if by this movement claiming everything in sight.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.