水木兽 Water-Wood Beast
祸兮福兮本难料，怨天怨地自难逃。
不如淡泊图快乐，乘风破浪定有朝。
Fortune or misfortune, hard to foresee,
Blaming heaven and earth, you can't break free.
Better to seek joy in a simple way,
Ride the waves, your dawn will come one day.
昔年，有棵楠木长了千年，正是枝繁叶茂，郁郁苍苍，一朝天灾，将它被连根拔起，掀翻至河中。
因它枝干巨大，十分沉重，落入又窄又小的河湾里，河水无法载起它，它便只能搁浅在此。
数日后，岸上的村民便打算将其拖走，拿去制成木料。
那楠木却突然发出声响，扑腾起来，化作一只四足的木头巨兽，潜伏在水中。
此后，每有心怀不轨的工匠靠近，都会被它喷入水中，吓得三尸神炸惊魂难定。
但若有孩童来河湾里游水戏耍，它非但不吓唬他们，还偶用木枝将溺水者救上岸去。
久而久之，村民也习惯了它的存在，唤它作水木兽。
某年，有个游方的道士途经此地，听人提及水木兽之事，便在岸旁对它大声道:“你困在此间岂不无聊，那外头多有你的同伴哩，快快起行罢。”
这水木兽丝毫不为所动，如此又过了两年。
一次，大雨连绵了数日，河水越长越高，水木兽不住冲撞河岸，将村民全都吓得躲去了邻村。
是夜，上游河堤决口，将下游的村庄冲毁了。待大水退去，村民回到村庄，那河湾里的水木兽也不见了踪影。
Long ago, there stood a camphor tree that had grown for a thousand years, its branches lush and verdant. One day, a natural disaster uprooted it, casting it into a river.
Due to its immense size and weight, the narrow river could not bear the camphor tree, leaving it stranded. A few days later, the villagers planned to drag it away for lumber. Unexpectedly, the camphor tree began to stir, transforming into a colossal four-legged wooden beast that lurked in the water.
From that time on, any craftsman with ill intentions who approached would be hurled into the water by the beast, striking fear into their hearts. However, when children came to play in the river, it never frightened them. Instead, it would occasionally use its wooden branches to rescue those in danger of drowning. Over time, the villagers grew accustomed to its presence and named it the "Water-Wood Beast."
One year, a wandering Daoist passed through the area and heard about the Water-Wood Beast. He called out from the riverbank, "Are you not weary of being confined here? There are many of your kind elsewhere. You should consider leaving."
The Water-Wood Beast remained unmoved, and two more years passed. Then, during a season of relentless heavy rain, the river's water level rose ever higher. The Water-Wood Beast repeatedly battered against the riverbank, causing the villagers to flee to a neighboring village in fear. That night, the upstream riverbank gave way, flooding the downstream village. When the floodwaters finally receded, the villagers returned to find that the Water-Wood Beast had vanished from the riverbend.
