Long ago, there lived a fisherman name Xia Wu Dong, who was very poor but kind-hearted. One day, when he went fishing, a big carp fish got caught in his net.

“At last,” thought Xia Wu Dong. “This carp is the biggest fish I have ever seen. I will get good money if I sell this.”

Xia Wu Dong began dragging his net to the shore when suddenly he heard the carp speak.

“Please, sir, let me go. I have children who need me. If you let me go now, I will come to your aid whenever you are in trouble.”

“A fish that talks!” thought Xia Wi Dong. “It would be cruel to kill her now. I will let her go.”

So, Xia Wu Dong let go of the carp. Before the carp left, she said, “Anytime you need my help, come to this riverbank and call for me. I will come in front of you in an instant.”

Bidding farewell, the carp left.

After a few days, Xia Wu Dong decided to take a trip to the town. He crossed many lakes, rivers and mountains when he came across a cliff. On the cliff, he saw two baby hawks on a nest. A giant python was nearing the nest to eat the baby hawks. Quickly, Xia Wu Dong rushed to protect the baby hawks. He took a large boulder and scared away the python.

The parents of the little hawks saw the whole thing from a distance.

“Thank you for saving our little ones,” said the father hawk. “How can we ever repay you?

“I need nothing,” said Xia Wu Dong. “All I wanted to do was save the little hawks.

The hawk then plucked a feather from his wing and said, “If ever any misfortune befalls you, burn this feather. I will come before you in an instant to help you.”

Bidding goodbye, Xia Wu Dong continued back on his journey when he came to a forest. In the forest, he saw a hunter pointing his arrow at a fox from a distance. The fox, who had no idea of the danger she was in, was watching her cubs playing together.

Xia Wu Dong shouted, “Oiiiiii.”

In an instant, the hunter lost his aim, and the fox gathered her cubs and ran away. The hunter was angry and yelled at Xia Wu Dong, “You made me miss my shot.”

Xia Wu Dong replied, “You were going to kill a mother in front of her babies. There is no bigger sin than that in the world. I was trying to save you from committing such a grave mistake, sir.”

The hunter realized his mistake and said, “You are correct. Thank you for stopping me.” He then left.

The fox which was hiding from the hunter appeared in front of Xia Wu Dong. “I am greatly indebted to you. If ever you need my help in any way, come to this forest and call me out. I will be before you in an instant.”

Xia Wu Dong continued his journey and finally reached a beautiful town. There, he saw a few guards dragging a young man while a large crowd was standing and watching it.

“Why are they dragging that man?” asked Xia Wu Dong to the man standing next to him.

“They are taking him for his execution,” said the man.

“But why?” asked Xia Wu Dong.

The man then narrated the tale, “Our King has a beautiful daughter. Young men from all over the world have come wanting to marry the Princess. But the Princess has put forth a condition – She will only marry the person who can hide from her. If he is unsuccessful, she will get that man hanged.”

“That does not sound difficult. Why would the men fail at this task?” asked Xia Wu Dong.

The man continued, “It is not as easy as you think. You see, the Princess has a magic mirror which would search where ever the Princess commanded it to. Using the mirror, the Princess can see everyone and everything anywhere in this world. She finds the young man no matter where he hides. There must have been at least a hundred young men who have lost their lives because of this.”

“This Princess must be stopped. If she continues like this, many more innocent men will lose their lives,” thought Xia Wu Dong.

Xia Wu Dong then went to the palace and spoke to the guards, “I want to marry the Princess. Please take me to her.”

The guards took Xia Wu Dong to the Princess, who told Xia Wu Dong, “Go and hide. Tomorrow morning, I will go to my tower and look for you in my magic mirror. If I find you, I will get you executed.”

Xia Wu Dong immediately thought of the carp. He went to the river and called the carp, “Please help me hide from the Princess.”

“I can help you with that. I will hide you in my stomach. No one can find you there,” said the carp.

The carp swallowed Xia Wu Dong. She then asked all the smaller fishes in the river to swim around her so that movement will form ripples and she will not be visible.

The next day, the Princess went to the tower and took the magic mirror. She asked the mirror to search for Xia Wu Dong in the city, mountains, forests, but the mirror could not find him. Finally, she asked the mirror to search for him in water and found him hiding inside the carp’s stomach.

“Ah! There he is,” thought the Princess. She called her guards and told them, “Xia Wu Dong is hiding in the river inside a carp. Go to the river and bring him back.”

The guards brought back Xia Wu Dong. When the Princess was about to get him executed, the King said, “Give him another chance, daughter.”

So, the Princess said, “Fine, father. I will spare his life for now. Go and hide, Xia Wu Dong. This time I will give you two days.”

Xia Wu Dong then went to the cliff and burnt the feather given by the hawk. The hawk appeared in front of him in an instant.

“Please help me hide from the Princess and her magic mirror,” said Xia Wu Dong.

“Sit on me. I will fly high above the clouds where the Princess will not be able to find you,” said the hawk. Xia Wu Dong climbed on the hawk’s back, who then carried him above the clouds.

Two days later, the Princess went to the tower and looked in the magic mirror. Initially, she looked on the land and, she could not find him anywhere. Then, the Princess searched the water and still could not find him. Finally, she asked the mirror to look in the sky and found him.

When the guards again brought Xia Wu Dong before her, the Queen said, “Give him one last chance, daughter.”

So, the Princess said, “You have one last chance, Xia Wu Dong. This time, I will give you three days to hide from me.”

Knowing it was his last chance, Xia Wu Dong went to the forest and called the fox out. “Please help me hide from the Princess and her magic mirror,” he said.

The fox heard the whole story and told Xia Wu Dong, “Please stay here. I will come back soon with a plan.”

The fox then left Xia Wu Dong. After three days, the fox came back to Xia Wu Dong and took him to a tunnel, “Enter the tunnel and do not stop until you reach the end. Stay there until I come to fetch you.”

After three days, the Princess went to the tower to look into the magic mirror. She searched for Xia Wu Dong everywhere – on land, on water and up in the clouds but she was unable to find him anywhere. Finally, the Princess gave up and came down the tower.

After some time, the fox returned to Xia Wu Dong, “You have successfully hidden from the Magic Mirror. You can now go to the Princess and tell her you have won.”

“But where was I hiding?” asked Xia Wu Dong.

The fox whispered something in Xia Wu Dong’s ears. Xia Wu Dong laughed when he listened to fox and said, “You are indeed very clever. Thank you for your help.”

When Xia Wu Dong presented himself before the King, the King asked him, “How did you hide successfully?”

Xia Wu Dong replied, “I was hiding under the tower, your highness. The Princess looked at the sky, water and land but never thought to look for me underground below the tower.”

The King was amazed, “You are very clever, Xia Wu Dong. You are worthy of marrying the Princess.”

Xia Wu Dong answered, “Your highness, I never wanted to marry the Princess. My only intention was to ensure that no more innocent men die from the Princess’ cruelty.”

The King agreed. He always felt sad at his daughter’s cruelty, and it was his love for his daughter that prevented him putting an end to this. He allowed Xia Wu Dong to leave the palace.

When the Princess heard this, she got angry and smashed her mirror. Eventually, she regretted her mistake but remained unmarried.

As for Xia Wu Dong, he married a childhood friend of his and lived happily with her.