闲谈奇闻（奇闻趣事怪谈录）

蝉怪

吴孙皓世，淮南内史朱诞，字永长，为建安太守。诞给使妻有鬼病，其夫疑之为奸。后出行，密穿壁隙窥之。正见妻在机中织，遥瞻桑树上，向之言笑。给使仰视树上，有一年少人，可十四五，衣青衿袖，青幧头。给使以为信人也，张弩射之。化为鸣蝉，其大如箕，翔然飞去。妻亦应声惊曰：噫！人射汝。给使怪其故。后久时，给使见二小儿在陌上共语。曰：何以不复见汝？其一即树上小儿也，答曰：前不幸，为人所射，病疮积时。彼儿曰：今何如？曰：赖朱府君梁上膏以傅之，得愈。给使白诞曰：人盗君膏药，颇知之否？诞曰：吾膏久致梁上，人安得盗之？给使曰：不然。府君视之。诞殊不信。试为视之，封题如故。诞曰：小人故妄言，膏自如故。给使曰：试开之。则膏去半。为掊刮，见有趾迹。诞因大惊。乃详问之。具道本末。

The Young Man on the Tree

During the reign of Sun Hao of the Wu Dynasty, Zhu Dan, whose other name was Yongchang, was promoted from the post of civil officer of Huainan to the governorship of Jian’an. His secretary’s wife was possessed by an evil spirit. At first her husband suspected her of playing him false. One day, therefore, after pretending to leave the house, he spied on her through a hole in the wall. He saw his wife weaving at her loom and holding a laughing conversation with someone some distance away on the mulberry tree. In this tree the secretary observed a youth of about fifteen in a black suit and black cap. Thinking this must be a messenger, he shot at him with his crossbow, whereupon the lad changed into a cicada as large as a winnowing fan and flew off. At the same time the wife exclaimed:

Ah! Someone has shot you!

The secretary was amazed. Some time later he saw two boys talking together on the road. One said:

Why haven’t I seen you for so long?

The other was the lad who had been on the tree. He answered:

I was unlucky enough to be shot, and it took me a long time to recover.

How are you now? asked the first.

I treated my wound with some ointment from the beam in Governor Zhu’s house, was the reply. Now I am better.

The secretary asked the governor:

Do you know someone has been stealing your ointment?

Impossible, said the governor. My ointment has been on the beam all this time.

The secretary said: No. You had better look.

The governor did not believe him, and when he looked he found the seal unbroken.

That fellow is talking nonsense! he declared. The ointment is untouched.

But the secretary insisted: Open the packet.

Then the governor found the ointment inside half gone, and noticed the marks of nails. He was shocked, and asked for an explanation. Then his secretary related the whole story.