They needed to know there would be rain so they could plant their rice. But the fields were dusty, the sky was clear and blue, and the air was still. There was no hint that rain would come.

In a dream, the old king saw the golden image of the Great King Wu, who commanded him: “Go to the forest early in the morning. Walk along the Path of the Odes. Concentrate on a sign from the Great Mother. It will come to you from above as a cry of nature, a music to answer the needs of your people.”

The next day, the king rose before dawn. He dressed in a coat of embroidered yellow silk, put on red boots and a hat, and rode to a nearby bamboo forest. Obeying his dream, the monarch strolled the wooded pathway, looking for a sign.

With bowed head, he prayed to the deity. “Great Mother, keeper of the rain and the sun, hear me, on behalf of your people. They are desperately hungry. Their babies cry; their stomachs are empty, they cannot grow. The venerated old ones give up their rice to the young. Hunger is heard in their prayers. Their only hope is to escape through death. All Mother, have we not honored you, following the fire-eating dragons through our streets in festivals? Has not the white ball symbolizing the moon, source of the dew and the rain, led the procession for you, respecting you and worshiping you? O Spirit, weep your joyful tears on our parched fields. Great Mother, it is not yet time that your people turn to dust. Pour your dew onto our fields; fill our wells.”

As the king meditated, two tiny birds with feathers that shone like blue pearls looked for a place to build a nest. They chose the peace of the royal forest in which to raise their family. There, they built their home in the leafy branches of a slender tree surrounded with bamboo.

Searching for twigs to finish his work, the father bird found beside a walkway a necklace made of jade. Attracted to the beautiful piece, the bird plucked it from the dust.

Quietly, a cool breeze stirred and began to play through the fronds of the bamboo. As they rustled together, their peaceful sound brought comfort to the tired monarch.

With the heavy necklace dangling from its beak, the father bird flew back toward the nest. But as the bird took flight, the jewelry, which was blowing in the rising breeze, slipped away. Falling, the necklace caught on a bamboo twig. Before the bird could rescue it, the sovereign drew near.