捉狐 Catching a Fox
孙翁者，余姻家清服之伯父也，素有胆。Old Man Sun was the uncle of my in-law's family who was in mourning attire. He had always been brave.
一日昼卧，仿佛有物登床，遂觉身摇摇如驾云雾。窃意无乃魇狐耶？One day when he was taking a nap during the day, it seemed that something climbed onto the bed, and then he felt his body swaying as if riding on clouds and mists. He secretly wondered if it might be a fox causing a nightmare.
微窥之，物大如猫，黄毛而碧嘴，自足边来。蠕蠕伏行，如恐翁寤。He peeked slightly and saw that the thing was as big as a cat, with yellow fur and a green beak, coming from beside his feet. It wriggled and crawled slowly, as if afraid that the old man would wake up.
逡巡附体，着足足痿，着股股软。After lingering for a while, it attached itself to him. When it reached his feet, his feet became weak; when it reached his thighs, his thighs went limp.
甫及腹，翁骤起，按而捉之，握其项。物鸣急莫能脱。As soon as it reached his abdomen, the old man suddenly rose up, pressed it down and caught it, grasping its neck. The thing cried out urgently but couldn't break free.
翁亟呼夫人以带系其腰，乃执带之两端笑曰：“闻汝善化，今注目在此，看作如何化法。”The old man quickly called his wife to tie its waist with a belt. Then, holding the two ends of the belt, he laughed and said, "I've heard that you are good at transforming. Now I'm keeping my eyes on you. Let's see how you transform."
言次，物忽缩其腹细如管，几脱去。翁乃大愕，急力缚之，则又鼓其腹粗于碗，坚不可下！力稍懈，又缩之。As he was speaking, the thing suddenly shrank its abdomen until it was as thin as a tube and almost slipped away. The old man was greatly astonished and quickly tied it tightly. But then it puffed up its abdomen until it was thicker than a bowl and was so firm that the belt couldn't be tightened any further! When his strength slackened a little, it shrank again.
翁恐其脱，命夫人急杀之。夫人张皇四顾，不知刀之所在，翁左顾示以处。比回首则带在手如环然，物已渺矣。The old man was afraid that it would escape, so he ordered his wife to kill it quickly. His wife looked around in a panic, not knowing where the knife was. The old man looked to the left to show her the place. By the time he turned his head back, the belt was in his hand like a ring, and the thing had already disappeared.
