法苑珠林 6.113

6.113

魏黃初中。頓丘界有人騎馬夜行。見道中有物大如兔。兩眼如鏡。跳梁遮馬令不得前。人遂驚懼墮馬。魅便就把驚怖暴死。良久得蘇。蘇已失魅不知所在。乃便上馬前行數里逢一人。相問訊已說向者事變如此。今相得為伴甚佳歡喜。人曰。我獨行得君為伴快不可言。君馬行疾且前。我在後隨也。遂共行語曰。向者物何如乃令君懼怖耶。對曰。其身如兔而眼如鏡形甚可惡。伴曰。試顧視我耶。人顧視之猶復是也。魅便跳上馬人遂墜地怖死。家人怪馬獨歸。即行推覓。於道得之。宿昔乃蘇說狀如是。

During the Huangchu era of the Wei, in the region of Dunqiu, a man was riding a horse at night and saw something in the road as large as a hare, with two eyes like mirrors. It leaped about and blocked the horse so that it could not advance. The man was terrified and fell from his horse. The demon came upon him, and from fright he suddenly collapsed as if dead. After a good while he revived. Once revived, the demon was gone and he did not know where it was. He then mounted his horse and traveled forward several li, where he met a man. After greeting each other, he recounted the recent bizarre incident, saying: ‘Now to have found your companionship brings me great joy.’ The man said: ‘I was traveling alone, and to have you as a companion is delightful beyond words. Your horse travels swiftly; pray go ahead, and I will follow behind.’ As they traveled together, [the companion] asked: ‘What did the thing earlier look like, that it made you so terrified?’ He replied: ‘Its body was like a hare, its eyes like mirrors, and its shape was utterly hideous.’ The companion said: ‘Try looking back at me!’ When the man looked back at him, it was that very thing again. The demon then leaped onto the horse, and the man fell to the ground, terrified to the point of collapse. His family wondered why the horse had returned alone and immediately went searching, finding him on the road. Only on the following day did he revive and recount what had happened.