"宋人有好行仁義者，三世不懈。家無故黑牛生白犢，以問孔子。孔子曰：“此吉祥也，以薦上帝。”居一年，其父無故而盲，其牛又復生白犢。其父又復令其子問孔子。其子曰：“前問之而失明，又何問乎？”父曰：“聖人之言先迕後合。其事未究，姑復問之。”其子又復問孔子。孔子曰：“吉祥也。”復教以祭。其子歸致命。其父曰：“行孔子之言也。”居一年，其子又無故而盲。其後楚攻宋，圍其城。民易子而食之，析骸而炊之；丁壯者皆乘城而戰，死者大半。此人以父子有疾，皆免。及圍解而疾俱復。"
"A family in the state of Song which had been unremitting in its virtuous deed for three generations is confronted by a black cow belonging to the family giving birth to a white calf without any reason. The family sends the son to consult Confucius, who thinks it is a good omen and advises sacrificing the white calf. As a result the father turns blind a year later for no reason at all. When the cow gave birth to another white calf, the father instructed his son to consult Confucius for once more. Confucius again considers this an auspice and calls for the calf to be sacrificed. Following this, the son too loses his eyesight for no obvious reason the year ensued.
Years later, the city of Song is besieged by the army from Chu. Inhabitants of the city start to exchange their children and eat them to survive, while all able-bodied men of the city are called to its defense. Being invalid and useless in battle, both father and son were spared from the fighting -- both were saved by blindness. And when the siege was over, they regained their eyesight." "Lieh Tzu, Book VIII, Explaining Signs"
Speaking of the devil, the french toast of Lok Yuen, stuffed with satay beef filling and drenched in generous, buttery sweetened condensed milk is, needless to say, a favorable sign by itself.
Lok Yuen
Shop 1, 3/F, Kowloon City Municipal Services Building, Ngu Tsin Wai Road, Kowloon City, Kowloon
Tel: 2382 3367
Hours: 0630-1700 hrs. (Mon-Sat)
