Original Text
A man of Lu'an Prefecture, whose father was imprisoned and awaiting execution, gathered all his savings, amounting to one hundred taels of silver, intending to bribe the authorities for his father's release. He mounted his mule and set off, but his black dog followed behind. He scolded it away, yet as soon as he resumed his journey, the dog appeared again at his side, refusing to be driven off even with a whip, accompanying him for several dozen li. He dismounted to relieve himself by the roadside, then threw stones at the dog, which finally ran off. Once he was on his way again, the dog suddenly returned, biting at the mule's tail and hooves. Angrily, he lashed the dog with his whip, but it barked incessantly, then leaped before the mule and fiercely bit at its head, as if trying to block his path. The man, deeming this an ill omen, grew even more furious, turned his mule around, and chased the dog back, only to see it had run far away; he then wheeled about and sped off on his mule. By the time he reached Lu'an, dusk had fallen, and when he felt for the money pouch at his waist, he found half the silver missing. Cold sweat poured from him, and his soul fled in terror. He tossed and turned all night, suddenly realizing that the dog's barking must have had a reason. At dawn, as soon as the city gates opened, he left the city and carefully searched the road he had traveled. Yet he thought, this was a busy north-south thoroughfare, teeming with travelers like ants—how could lost money be found? Hesitantly, he arrived at the spot where he had dismounted, and there he saw the black dog lying dead in the grass, its fur drenched with sweat as if washed in water. He lifted the dog by its ears and looked beneath it—the bundled silver lay intact under its body. Moved by the dog's loyalty, the man bought a coffin and buried it, and the people called it the Tomb of the Faithful Dog.
Commentary
This tale unfolds like a silent play, a wordless film, simply recounting how a certain man from Lu'an, riding a mule with funds to rescue his father, was accompanied by his black dog, which first followed him, then repeatedly blocked the black mule's path, refusing all attempts to drive it away. Only upon reaching his destination did the man realize the money had been lost, and the dog's strange behavior was tied to this. Returning to search, he found "the dog dead among the grass, its fur drenched with sweat as if washed. Lifting its ears to look, there lay the sealed silver, perfectly intact."
It is worth noting that the author described the black dog's unusual behavior, yet did not write how the black dog protected its master's lost money, nor how it came to be "drenched in sweat as if washed" and even died, thereby leaving the reader with ample room for imagination. Perhaps this subtlety is precisely what makes the short tale so thought-provoking.