This is a folk legend of the Bai people circulating in Yunnan Province. It not only tells about the cruelty and selfishness of human beings who shoot swans, but also tells us that those who cannot keep secrets will not only bring trouble to others, but will also be tortured themselves.
Long ago, Tongdian Dam was a large lake.
Every Lunar New Year’s Day of the first month, a group of fairies would come here to bathe, transforming into white swans.
From sunrise to sunset, they played in the water.
The Bai people ancestors around didn’t know the true identities of these swans.
One day, when cowherd Ayan was looking for his cows by the lake, he accidentally fell into the lake.
Just when he was about to drown, a group of beautiful swan fairies saved him.
When Ayan woke up, he firmly believed he had encountered fairies.
But the villagers laughed at him, calling him crazy.
Because Ayan was short and ugly, he was often bullied, and no one believed him.
However, he went to the lake every day, hoping to see the fairies again.
Finally, Ayan heard the familiar voices and saw the swan fairies again.
One of the swans turned into a beautiful girl after landing on the shore.
She told Ayan they were the attendants of Guan Yin Bodhisattva.
They didn’t want to leave because the scenery of the lake and mountains was too beautiful.
Last time, they saved him because they couldn’t bear to see him drown.
This time, they met because Ayan’s sincerity and perseverance moved them.
However, the villagers’ young men didn’t believe in fairies.
They ambushed and hunted swans on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
Ayan’s ignorance revealed the fairies’ whereabouts.
This led to the killing of the swan fairies.
Ayan was in great pain and disappeared after wandering by the lake for a day.
It was said that he jumped into the lake and drowned himself.
From then on, it didn’t rain, and a severe famine occurred.
Many people died.
The lake gradually dried up.
The Lancang River changed its course, and the Tongdian River flowed backwards.
After the lake dried up, a lonely stone mountain was left.
People believed that this was Ayan transformed.
The drought was considered as a punishment from heaven for the people.
People didn’t want to admit their cruelty and selfishness.
They described Ayan’s death as “a toad trying to eat swan meat.”
And they called that stone mountain Toad Mountain.
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