Our story begins in Ancient China, where a noble prince and his wife lived in peace except for the troubles that plagued their poor daughter. Despite all of the prince's fortune and accomplishments, his daughter was victim to having something known as "ill luck." This plagued his daughter all her life up until it came time for her to marry when noble men from all over China came to offer her their hand in marriage. In this large crowd of princes and lords was a beggar who happened to wander into this event. The princess decided that she would choose her husband through a sort of ceremony where she was to throw a ball of red silk into the crowd and whoever catches it will win her hand in marriage. The princess noticed the beggar in the crowd and could see a small dragon moving through his nose and ears, and she knew that this man had luck on his side. She immediately threw him the ball of silk much to her father's anger as he spoke out against it and tried to forbid her. This led to the princess running away with the beggar as she believed that his good luck could fix her luck if they were together, so she moved into his measly hut and left her life of fortune back at the palace. After a few months living happily with her new husband, the princess was approached by her husband as he wanted to go out and get a fortune for her to be comfortable again. She agreed reluctantly, but believed in this man due to his luck and waited for almost 18 years when suddenly a powerful lord rode into town claiming this territory to be his. Confused the wife came out and instantly recognized her husband and pleaded that he spare her father and mother in the castle, so the two made their way to her childhood palace. The once beggar looked at his wife's father wondering if he could recognize him from the ceremony. The now old prince couldn't seem to piece it all together in his old age and was prepared to surrender to the mighty lord who stood before him until he threw him something in a flash, a red ball of silk. The prince was amazed and knelt before his son-in-law as he knew now the error of his ways. The family lived in the palace and finally were as one, thanks to what can only be described as luck.
Bibliography:
(
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/p/weeks-7-8-9.html from the UN-Textbook)
Author's Notes:
Changed the back half of the story as in the original the wife somehow does not recognize her husband as well as he becomes this powerful figure and just comes back to test his wife to see if he remembers her. The original also ended with the two going off and the wife dying shortly after due to bad luck, so I incorporated the father back into the story and added a happier ending.
