ABSTRACT
When Master Yun referred to himself as a dog, Tadpole was tempted to tease him with a request for a loud bark. However, such a jest would have been too impertinent. So, swallowing his true feelings, Tadpole consoled Master Yun with unctuous words, telling him that the head of a prosperous family with grown children and grandchildren cannot escape worrisome responsibilities of various sorts. Master Yun ignored Tadpole's hesitation. Tadpole's endeavors to ingratiate himself with the old man ended up aggravating his ill-humor instead. Now Tadpole was in a sweat as he tried to mobilize his rhetorical skills in an enumeration of all the reasons why donations for public causes are invariably worthless. Since the local debacle and the Manchurian Incident, the front had been moving gradually toward the south-central regions of China, expanding into a Sino-Japanese War.
