One day, the peachwood charm against evil hung on the door turned its face upward to curse the figure made of Chinese mugwort: "Who do you think you are to dare to set yourself over my head?"

 

The figure of Chinese mugwort, unwilling¹ to be outdone, looked down and retorted: "It is summer now. You have only half a year to go, and can't live long. Why squabble over who is higher or who is lower?"

 

The peachwood charm was beside itself with rage, and answered back sarcastically². Both sides refused to give in, and squabbled endlessly with a stream of abuse against each other.

 

At this moment, the deity³ of the door came to mediate⁴: "It is only because we have no ability that we have to attach ourselves to the door of others. What's the point of quarrelling with each other?"

 

一天，挂在门上的桃符仰起了脸，大骂艾草人：“你这个艾草人算什么东西，胆敢高踞在我的头上！”

 

艾草人不甘示弱，低头还嘴，说道：“现在已经是夏天了，你只有半年了，活不了多长时间了，还争什么高低呢？”

 

桃符怒不可遏，反唇相讥。它们互相不服气，彼此骂不绝口，争吵不休。

 

这时候，门神出来劝解说：“我们都是因为没有什么本事，才依附在别人的门下，还争什么强，斗什么气呢？”

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