Another time, after a banquet, Cao Cao was seeing his guest start from the
gate of his palace when he noticed that his charger was very thin.
"Why is it so thin?" said Cao Cao.
"My worthless body is rather heavy and really too much for it. It is always
out of condition."
Cao Cao at once told his attendants to bring out a certain steed, and before
long it appeared. It was red, like glowing charcoal, and a handsome creature in
every way.
"Do you recognize it?" asked Cao Cao.
"Why, it is no other than Red Hare!" cried Guan Yu.
"Yes; it is Red Hare," said Cao Cao.
And he presented the horse, all fully caparisoned, to his guest.
Guan Yu bowed many times and thanked him again and again, till Cao Cao began
to feel displeased and said, "I have given you many things, lovely handmaids and
gold and silks and never won a bow of gratitude from you before. This horse
seems to please you better than all the rest. Why do you think so poorly of the
damsels and so much of the steed?"
"I know the horse: It can travel five hundred miles a day, and I am very
lucky to get him. Now as soon as I find out where my brother is, I can get to
him in a single day," said Guan Yu.
Cao Cao grumbled to himself and began to repent of his gift.
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