Both Tou and Kouan felt deeply the loss of the enchanting prospect, and gazed sadly upon the barren wall which rose before their eyes, but each consoled himself with the idea that his neighbor was as badly off as himself.

Things went on in this way for several years.  Grass and weeds choked up the pathway between the two houses, and brambles and branches of low shrubs intertwined across it, as though they would bar all communication forever.  It appeared as if the plants understood the quarrel between the two old friends, and took delight in perpetuating it.

Meanwhile the wives of both Tou and Kouan were both blessed each with a child.  Madame Tou became the mother of a charming girl, and Madame Kouan of the handsomest boy in the world.  Each family was ignorant of the happy event which had brought joy into the home of the other, for although their houses were so near together the families were as far apart as if they had been separated by the great wall of the empire, or the ocean itself.  What mutual friends they still possessed, never alluded to the affairs of one in the house of the other; even the servants had been forbidden to exchange words with each other, under pain of death.

The boy was named Tchin-Sing, and the girl Ju-Kiouan, that is to say, Jasper and Pearl.  Their perfect beauty fully justified the choice of their names.  As they grew old enough to take notice of their surroundings, the unsightly wall attracted their attention, and each inquired of their parents why that strange barrier was placed across the centre of such a charming sheet of water, and to whom belonged the great trees of which they could see the topmost boughs.

Each was told that on the farther side of the wall was the habitation of a strange and wicked family, and that it had been placed there as a protection against such disagreeable neighbors.

This explanation was sufficient for the children.  They grew accustomed to the sight and thought no more about it.

Ju-Kiouan grew in grace and beauty.  She was skilled in all lady-like accomplishments.  The butterflies which she embroidered upon satin appeared to live and beat their wings, and one could almost hear the song of the birds which grew under her fingers, and smell the perfume of the flowers she wrought upon canvas.  She knew the “Book of Odes” by heart, and could repeat the five rules of life without missing a word.  Her handwriting was perfection, and she composed in all the different styles of Chinese poetry.  Her poems were upon all those delicate themes which would attract the mind of a pure young girl; upon the return of the swallows, the daisies, the weeping willows and similar topics, and were of such merit as to win much praise from the wise men of the country.