Mulberry Epiphyte(Loranthus parasiticus)

1. A long time ago, a rich man's son was afflicted with rheumatism, and he stayed ill in bed for many years. All the doctors were completely powerless to help him.

2. One day the rich man heard that in Nan Mountain there was an agriculturist who grew medicinal herbs, and he quickly entreated the herbalist to come give his son a prescription.

3. Every other day, a servant boy in the rich man's household went to fetch medicine, but the rich man's son's sickness never got better.

4. That winter, the snow fell far more heavily than in years past. When it started falling, it fell for several days and nights.

5. The servant's whole body was shivering from the cold, and the snow fell a foot deep. The herbalist's house was still twenty miles away.

6. The servant discovered an old mulberry tree growing at the side of the road outside his village, and in a hole in the tree grew several slender twigs.

7. "Oh, this is quite similar to the Little Lord's herbal medicine. Well, no matter what he drinks, it has no effect. I'll just pluck this and use it in place of his medicine!"

8. The servant snapped off several twigs, and after taking it to a friend's house to chop them up, he carried them back to the rich man's house.

9. The rich man's son drank a tea made from the new twigs, and gradually his ailment was healed.

10. When he heard that the rich man's son had recovered from his sickness, the herbalist from Nan Mountain became very curious.

11. "All winter they have not come for more medicine. Exactly what has he been taking, then?"

12. The herbalist went to pay a visit to the rich man's house. Just as he approached the front door, he bumped into the servant boy.

13. "This could be trouble. When the herbalist and my master meet, I'm sure to get a good scolding."

14. The servant frantically told the herbalist the real story.

15. "I beg you not to tell my master."

16. "I'll do as you ask, but you have to tell me exactly what has the Little Lord been drinking?"

17. "I broke off some twigs from the hole in a mulberry tree on the road outside our village."

18. "Goodness! I have never heard that a parasite growing from a mulberry tree could cure rheumatism."

19. The servant took the herbalist to the mulberry tree.

20. "Okay, I'll try it myself."

21. Afterward, it really did cure all his other patients afflicted by rheumatic illnesses. Because that kind of twig grows as an "epiphyte" (a plant growth that does not extract nutrients from its host) in the mulberry tree, it came to be known as the Mulberry Epiphyte.