Page 6 - 《原YOUNG—青少年雜誌期刊》101期

部落傳說
Symbolizing Thao Fertility and Dominance in Shuishalian

Bishop Wood the Guardian

Lord of Thao people

The ancestors of the Thao people chased a white deer and
arrived at Shuishalian where it jumped into the water, swam

towards today's Peacock Garden and disappeared. They decided

to settle at this lush and fertile place. After some time, they noticed
that a Thao child would be born when a huge bishop wood at
Lhilhian by the lake grew a leaf, and started to regard it as a prophet

tree, a tree king, and a guardian lord of the Thao people. Indeed,
under its protection, the Thao people grew in population and

prosperity until becoming the dominant power in the Shuishalian
area.

However, this beautiful and fertile land with abundant water
sources was coveted by others and several battles broke out. In

the beginning, the Thao people, guarded by the tree king, were
invincible and beat the invading Han people every time. When the

Han leader heard that it was because the Thao were protected by
the tree king, he sent someone to cut the bishop wood.

The person went under the cover of darkness to bring down
the tree but in vain. That night, a voice told the puzzled Han leader

in a dream: "A toothy elf is what you need to destroy the tree king."
At first, he had no idea what a toothy elf was. When he finally found

out that it referred to a saw, he sent someone again with a saw, and
finally had the tree king brought down. To prevent the tree from

recovery, he made sure the root of the tree was nailed with a long
copper nail and some black dog blood on it, and the trunk covered

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