Long ago there was an emperor.
He lived in a very large palace.
The palace had many doors.
Some were small.
Some were as tall as two men.
Some were even taller.
In the daytime, people came and went.
Servants carried trays.
Guards walked their rounds.
At night, there was nobody in the halls at all.
The lamps were put out, one by one.
The biggest door of all was right outside his bedroom.
That door was tall.
That door was heavy.
Two men could open it.
One man could not.
In the daytime, it stood open.
At night, it was shut.
And at night the wind came in under it.
It came in like a thin hand.
The wind was cool.
The door made a sound.
The leaves made a sound.
Under the roof, water went drip, drip, drip.
In the corner, a cricket sang too.
The cricket went on and on.
Nobody was awake to hear it.
The bedroom was large.
The bed was large as well.
There was only one person in it.
The emptier the room, the clearer the sounds.
Every small noise grew big.
The emperor lay in his bed.
The quilt came up to his shoulder.
He pulled it a little higher.
His eyes were open.
He could hear his own heart.
It was loud in the dark.
He counted the drops outside.
He counted to one hundred, and he was still awake.
He could not sleep.
The night was very long.
It felt even longer to him.
In the morning, he told everyone.
The people of the palace looked at one another.
They did not know what to do.
One man said: let us move him to another room.
Another said: let us bring him one more quilt.
None of it helped.
The sounds came back every night.
Then two generals stepped forward.
One had a dark face.
One had a red face.
They were both very tall and very strong.
They did not say much.
They only bowed.
But when they stood, they stood very steady.
They had trained all day, so standing was easy for them.
Each one stood like a stone pillar.
They did not lean on the door.
That night, they stood outside the door.
One on the left.
One on the right.
The wind came, and it lifted the edge of their coats.
They did not move.
The wind blew for a long time.
The cold came up from the ground.
The trees shook all night.
The water kept dripping.
The cricket kept singing.
They stood there the whole time.
The whole night through.
They did not sit down once.
Their shadows lay on the door.
The emperor listened to the wind.
And as he listened, he fell asleep.
He slept deeply.
He did not wake up once.
He slept until the sun was up.
In the morning he opened the door.
The two generals were still standing there.
From then on, they came every night.
The emperor slept well.
Every night was the same.
And there was no other sound at night.
No wind bothered him.
No noise came in.
Later, people began to paint them.
But people need their sleep.
And everyone has a door.
And generals cannot stand there forever.
So people put the paintings on their own doors.
One on the left.
One on the right.
That is how the door gods began.
They began with two tired guards.
In China, before the New Year, every family puts up a new pair.
The paper is red.
It is pasted on with rice glue.
The two generals are the same as ever.
One on the left, one on the right.
Year after year, they stay on the door.
Rain comes. Snow comes.
The paper is changed, and the generals stay.
There are two generals on the door.
Inside the door there is a whole family.
The wind blows the same way it always did.
The door closes tight.
Somebody inside turns over in bed.
And they sleep very well.
The house is quiet.
The night is quiet.
This is a very old Chinese folktale.
It is a quiet Chinese fairy tale.
It is also a Chinese bedtime story that has been told for a thousand years.
Now it is time to close your eyes.
Good night, two generals.
Good night, everyone sleeping inside.
This is a very old Chinese bedtime story. It is not long, and it is very gentle. Best read slowly, with the lights low.
