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1. One day, the Han dynasty physician Hua Tuo was on his way to visit a patient when he met a weeping woman.
2. "I say, what's the matter?"
3. "I've been stung by a bee, it really hurts!"
4. "That's a nasty sting, hurry and find some liverwort to rub on it. I mean the green liverwort which grows in damp spots in back gardens. It should work well."
5. The woman only half believed him, but the pain was just too great to ignore, and so she hurried straight home to find some liverwort.
6. A couple of days later, Hua Tuo was out with his apprentice, when the same woman came smiling to meet him.
7. "Thank you so much for the day before yesterday. Rubbing liverwort on that sting really did make it better."
8. "But of course! It not only made the swelling go down, even the wound is completely healed."
9. "Liverwort can counteract poison and relieve swelling; that gives another medicine we can use."
10. "Master, our books don't mention the effects of liverwort; how did you come to know of it?"
11. "Let me tell you a story:
12. "One summer, I was resting in my back garden when I saw a hornet fly into a spider's web.
13. "The spider paced slowly across its web towards the hornet. . .
14. "But suddenly the hornet stung the spider, which fell headlong out of its web.
15. "The spider happened to fall on some liverwort, and before long the swelling from the hornet's sting went away.
16. "The spider returned to challenge the hornet again.
17. "Once more the spider was stung, and fell swollen onto the green liverwort.
18. "In this way, the spider and the hornet fought again and again, until finally the spider made a meal of the hornet.
19. "The venom of the hornet's sting is 'fiery' in nature, and so liverwort, which is cold in nature, should be able to neutralize the poison and relieve the swelling. This experiment has shown that indeed my guess was right."
20. Hua Tuo's words filled his apprentice with admiration.