| | The ruler of the Wangwangguo people had shins longer than a zhang. They hunted animals for food, but when the animals lay down, they could not bend over to take them and were always hungry. The people of the Jiaojuanguo were short, with feet only three cun long. They hunted cicadas for food, but when cicadas flew, they could not look up to catch them and thus were also always hungry. They both complained to Di Nüwa, who said: "I divided the great mass of earth to create you. Although your forms vary in size, your ears, nose, mouth, eyes, head, abdomen, hands, feet, heart, liver, organs, intestines, pores, and joints do not differ in quantity from one another." Those who are tall should make use of their height, and those who are short should make use of their shortness; neither can be reduced nor increased. If a seed contains the potential for life, though minute and tiny, its roots, trunk, branches, and leaves are all complete within it. If an egg has a shell, though dark and formless as a lump, its feathers, beak, claws are all contained within. "Now, whether you wish to be the kernel of a seed or the shell of an egg is up to you; it is not something I can decide for you."
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