there are a lot of things magical in china: the people, the culture, the stories. sometimes ordinary things seem magical, but in reality, they aren't. it usually takes a great fool to transform the ordinary into magically nothing.
in a small village deep in the heart of china, the local tax collector was feared. he taxed the villagers often. if they had no money, he took their possessions. and when possessions were of no interest to the tax collector, he would beat the taxpayers.
one day, a poor man entered the village. he had heard of the tax collector and his terrible ways. the poor man was carrying a plant that had many beautiful green leaves. the tax collector stopped the poor man before walking any further and told him he had to pay entrance fee if he wanted to walk through the village. the poor man said he had no money, but only the magic tree he was carrying. the tax collector, intrigued, asked what kind of magical tree it was. the poor man explained that it would make the holder of the leaves invisible. the tax collector snatched the tree from the poor man while striking him across the face. the poor man fell to the ground and was left in the dust of the tax collector's horse.
that night, the tax collector picked a leaf from the magic tree and held it up to his forehead. "wife," he asked, "can you see me?"
