96.THE TADPOLE’S GRATTITUTE
　
　　Zhang Caozhi was a county official in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. One day he went out on a tour of inspection. He was passing through some rice paddies, when suddenly thousands and thousands of tadpoles rushed to the side of the road. They wriggled and squirmed. They lifted their heads to look at Zhang.

　　"How odd! It seems like they're pleading for something," Zhang said to his secretary.

　　"Yes, you can practically hear them weeping and wailing."

　　Zhang decided to investigate. He got out of his sedan chair. The tadpoles got excited, and started swimming in a certain direction, stopping every few feet to look back, just like a dog trying to lead a person on!

　　"Stranger and stranger," Zhang thought as he splashed through the paddy after them. Then he stopped with a gasp. Three corpses were lying in the water in the center of the field!

　　Zhang pulled out his sword. There was nobody in sight but his retinue. He looked at the corpses.

　　"Look, sir!" cried his secretary, "One of them is still alive!"

　　Zhang was a powerful man. Without waiting for help, he pulled away the two corpses and dragged the third man to the side of the field. He was still breathing, and his heart was beating weakly.

　　"We got here just in time. Much later, and he'd be dead."

　　Zhang immediately called for some hot broth. Before long, the man revived. He thanked Zhang profusely, but Zhang was more interested in finding out what had happened. 　

　　"I run a little store," the victim told him. "I was on my way back from collecting a bill. I saw two men in front of me heading for the market: these guys here. I asked them what they had to sell, and they said they had fresh tadpoles. Some people like to eat those, as Your Honor knows.

　　"But, Your Honor, I'm a Buddhist, and I don't believe in killing animals to eat. I always like to set animals free. I had just collected a bunch of money. So I made a deal with those guys. I asked them to sell me their tadpoles and I would set them free.

　　"They said, 'Okay, but the water here is shallow. If you let them go here, somebody else'll just catch them again. There's a pond over there in that grove,let's go set them free there.'

　　"But we didn't realize that two bandits had seen me collect the money, and they were following me. Before we could get to the pond, they attacked us with hatchets, and that's the last thing I know, Your Honor."

　　Zhang said, "They must have killed the other two men so there wouldn't be any witnesses. When did this happen?"

　　"Not long ago, Your Honor."

　　"Then they can't be far!" Zhang sent out his men, and in a short time, the bandits were caught. Zhang returned the money to the businessman, and the bandits were charged with robbery and murder.

　　Zhang never forgot that even a tadpole loves its life, and can show gratitude!

96.蝌蚪报恩
　
　　张操志是浙江绍兴县令。一天，他出外巡查。当他经过一片稻田时，突然间，成千上万的蝌蚪冲到了路上。它们不停地蠕动着。每一只蝌蚪都抬起头看着张操志。

　　“真奇怪！它们好像在请求着什么，”张操志对随从说道。

　　“真的，它们简直就是在哭泣哀号。”

　　张操志决定调查一下。他下了轿子。蝌蚪于是都骚动起来，它们开始沿着一个方向游着，每游几尺就回头看看，就像一条狗在给人引路一样。

　　“真是越来越奇怪了，” 张操志一边跟着蝌蚪在水田中淌行一边想着。突然，他停住了，倒吸了一口凉气。在稻田中央横卧着三具尸体。
　　张操志拔出佩剑。可周围除了随从看不到别的人。于是他仔细地观察尸体。

“快看，大人！”他的随从喊道，“这一个还活着！”

　　 张操志是个勇武之人。不等别人来帮忙，他就把另两具尸体拖开，将第三个人拽到田边地头上。这个人还有呼吸，而且他的心脏还在微弱地跳动着。

　　“幸亏我们及时赶到。再晚一会儿，他就没救了。”

　　张操志立即让人端来一碗热气腾腾的肉汤。没过多久，这个人苏醒过来。他向张操志千恩万谢，可这时张操志最关心的是究竟发生了什么。

　　“我开了一家小店铺，”受害人对他说道。“我收完帐正走在回家的路上。我看见在我前面有两个人正往市集方向走，就是这两个人。我问他们要去卖什么，他们说他们有新鲜的蝌蚪。大人您知道，有人专喜欢吃这种东西。

　　“但是，大人。我是个信佛的人，非常反对这种杀生的事情。所以我总是喜欢把它们都放生。刚好我收到了一笔钱。于是我就让它们把蝌蚪卖给我去放生。

　　“他们说，‘好吧，不过这里的水太浅了。如果你在这里放的话，别人会把它们又捞走了。在那边的小树林里有一个小水塘，咱们去那里放生吧。’

　　“可是我们没有发觉有两个强盗看到我去收帐，而且他们一直在跟着我。还没到水塘，那两个强盗就用短斧把我们砍倒，然后我就什么也不知道了，大人。”

　　张操志说道，“那两个人一定是他们杀的，这样就不会有证人了。这是多久前发生的？”

　　“没有多久，大人。”

　　“他们一定还没走远！” 张操志派出随从前去搜捕，不一会儿，两个强盗就被捉住了。张操志把钱还给了商人，而两个强盗则因为抢劫杀人而被定罪。

　　最令张操志难忘的是连一只蝌蚪都热爱自己的生命，并且知道报答救命之恩。