In this dream he walked into a house where an old man and woman sat together, weeping. Chin reached out toward them, but then he stopped himself. He stepped backward, out of their sight. Instead, Chin walked into another room, and there he saw a feast spread out upon a long table. He began to eat without asking permission.

A moment later he awoke, shivering with shame.

"How could I take from those people but offer them nothing?" he asked himself.

But the next night Chin dreamed the same dream, and then again the night after that. Night after night he would fall asleep, only to awake recalling all the old couple's sadness, ashamed at himself for offering them no help or solace.

Chin was eventually appointed by the king to be the governor of a large province. He was overjoyed, and when the day came for the celebration, Chin dressed in his finest clothes and set off for the palace where he would live and work.

ㄍそiHＷWW.fAｉｒY－ｔaＬｅ。IｎFOωㄌl℃

Months passed, and then one night after a long, exhausting day, Chin lay down upon his bed and fell fast asleep.

The dream returned. ㄖ≡Www.FAIＲＹ-TａlE。iＮｆｏㄖつpR≯し

He awoke and discovered it was midnight, but the dream felt so close and so clear, he knew he must investigate. And so he got out of bed and dressed, and walked as if drawn by something magical, though he had no idea where he was heading. So he walked on, out of the palace gates and into the village, then beyond the village gates. Suddenly, he saw on a narrow road the house in his dreams.

Оxy々낱WWｗ．ＦaIrY－ｔＡle．ｉnｆｏОぅィ

"That's it," he whispered to no one in particular. The house was not unusual, but he recognized the entryway, surrounded by blooming camellia.

"Can this be?" he said as he walked toward the door. "Could I have found the house in my dreams?" útMWwＷ.ＦＡIＲY-TalE.ｉnＦO

He reached for the door and discovered it was halfway open, and so he pushed it and hesitated only a moment. There in the room he entered was the old couple in his dreams, weeping just as he had seen them in his dream. ムYτРWｗW．FａIry－Tａｌe．ＩｎfO

They looked up, surprised to see a stranger standing there in the early light of dawn, but Chin only nodded and said, "I am sorry, but may I ask you to tell me the cause of your sadness?"

+WWＷ。FAｉrｙ-ＴＡＬｅ。ＩNＦOちょ낱ツ≡ゃū

The old man wiped his eyes. "Our son," he said tearfully. "He was a good boy, and wise beyond his years. He was so precious to us. But one day when he was young, we visited the governor, and as we stood before him, our son said he wanted to be governor one day." ョwww。ｆＡＩRＹ－tＡLｅ．iｎfｏˊ

"And why would this cause you sadness?" Chin asked. ∝WWW.ＦＡＩｒY－TAｌｅ．IＮｆｏГはツ(Б

Now the woman spoke. "We explained to him that we are poor people, and for this reason he could not become governor." WＷＷ.ＦＡｉRｙ－ｔalE.inＦｏ4КX

Chin nearly cried out, but he held himself firm. "And your boy? What happened after that?"

ǐfWｗw.fＡIＲY－ｔaＬE。inFOM±pゅūそ

"This news made him so sad, he fell ill, and soon afterward he died." The old man choked out these last words.

Chin too had once been poor, and now when he looked at the old couple again, he understood. ㄆЫㄌㄦǔｗWｗ.ｆａｉRy-taＬe.ＩnｆoH

"I want you to come with me to the palace," Chin said, holding out his hand to the couple. "I am governor, and you shall be my parents."

So the old couple moved into the palace, and their mourning ended. And that first dream that had long plagued Chin was finally laid to rest.

≡んㄧwｗw。fａＩＲｙ-ＴAlE．InfOケめぅ∩_