Song Dingbo and Ghost 宋定伯与鬼

It is said that the following ghost story was told by Cao Pi (187 - 226), the Emperor Wen of Wei.
Song Dingbo, a young man in Nanyang, met a ghost one night while walking along the road. ‘Who is it?’ he asked.
‘I am a ghost.’ The ghost answered, ‘who are you?’
‘I am a ghost too.’ Song lied.
‘Where are you going?’ The ghost asked.
‘I am going to Wan city.’ Song answered.
‘I am going there too.’ The ghost said. So they went a few miles together.
‘It is very tiring to walk like this. Why don’t we take turns to carry each other on our backs?’ The ghost said.
‘It is a great idea.’ Song agreed. First the ghost carried Song for a few miles.
‘You are very heavy. Are you really a ghost?’
‘I am heavy because I died quite recently.’ Song said. Then it was his turn to carry the ghost, which was almost weightless. They went on like this, each carry the other several times.
‘Since I have just died, I do not know what a ghost fears.’ Song said.
‘A ghost fears nothing but to be spat at.’ The ghost told him.
They came to the river. Song asked the ghost to cross it first. He listened and found that the ghost made no noise at all. When he crossed the river, he made a lot of noise.
‘Why did you make so much noise?’ The ghost asked.
‘I beg your pardon. I am a new ghost and I have not learned how to cross a river quietly.’ Song answered.
They were approaching Wan city when Song put the ghost on his shoulder and held it tight with his hands. The ghost demanded in loud voice to be let off, but Song turned a deaf ear to it. He walked straight to the centre of the town. When he put the ghost on the ground, it turned itself into a goat. He sold it and spat at it again for feat that it might change again. After getting fifteen hundred coins, he went away.
So people said at the time, ‘Song Dingbo earned fifteen hundred coins by selling a ghost.’
.
以下据说是魏文帝曹丕(187 - 226)讲的鬼故事。
南阳宋定伯，年少时，夜行逢鬼。问曰：‘谁？’鬼曰：‘鬼也。’鬼曰：‘卿复谁？’
定伯欺之，言：‘我亦鬼也。’鬼问：‘欲至何所？’答曰：‘欲至宛市。’鬼言：‘我亦欲至宛市。’共行数里。鬼言：‘步行大亟；可共迭相担也。’
定伯曰：‘大善。’鬼便先担定伯数里。鬼言：‘卿大重！将非鬼也？’定伯言：‘我新死，故重耳。’定伯因复担鬼，鬼略无重。如其再三。
定伯复言：‘我新死，不知鬼悉何所畏忌？’鬼曰：‘唯不喜人唾。’
于是共道遇水，定伯因命鬼先渡；听之了无声。定伯自渡，漕漼作声。鬼复言：‘何以作声？’定伯曰：‘新死不习渡水耳。勿怪！’行欲至宛市，定伯便担鬼至头上，急持之，鬼大呼，声咋咋，索下不复听之。径至宛市中，着地化为一羊。便卖之，恐其便化，乃唾之，得钱千五百，乃去。于时言：‘定伯卖鬼，得钱千五百。’