I recently came across this amazing poem by Zhao Yuanren (趙元任) (1892-1982).
Story of Shi Eating the Lions
施氏食獅史
A poet named Shi lived in a stone room,
石室詩士施氏,
fond of lions, he swore that he would eat ten lions.
嗜獅, 誓食十獅.
He constantly went to the market to look for ten lions.
氏時時適市視獅.
At ten o'clock, ten lions came to the market
十時, 適十獅適市.
and Shi went to the market.
是時, 適施氏適是市.
Looking at the ten lions, he relied on his arrows
氏視是十獅, 恃矢勢,
to cause the ten lions to pass away.
使是十獅逝世.
Shi picked up the corpses of the ten lions and took them to his stone room.
氏拾是十獅屍,適石室.
The stone room was damp. Shi ordered a servant to wipe the stone room.
石室濕,氏使侍拭石室.
As the stone den was being wiped, Shi began to try to eat the meat of the ten lions.
石室拭,氏始試食十獅屍.
At the time of the meal, he began to realize that the ten lion corpses
食時, 始識十獅屍,
were in fact were ten stone lions.
實十石獅屍.
Try to explain this matter.
試釋是事.
This story reminds me of the bittersweet victory in "The Old Man and the Sea" where a victory is granted but at great cost. Yet, the story here is different, because it is merely all the effort that was put into hunting the lions that is cost. He worked so hard for his lion dinner, only to find it turned to stone.
Many times, our own efforts can come to failure when we think we've succeeded. Many people work long hours at their job at the expense of time with their family with the result that their marriage collides and they never know their children. Such people may stop one day and notice in surprise, "what happened"? Or, it can be like running a race and finding yourself positioned for a clear victory, only to have it taken away unexpectedly at the last moment.
The tragedy of Shi's stone lions can echo tragedies in our own lives. But, one thing is for sure, that following Christ will never be a tragedy in eternity. And, in the small tragedies that we encounter on this earth, we always have Christ to get us through the situation.
