Long, long ago, in a town in Tibet, there lived an old couple and their son, Dunzhu Zaxi. The only property the family had was an old axe that had been used for many generations.

No matter if it was windy, rainy, or snowing, the old man took this axe every day to climb high hills and cut a big bundle of firewood, which he sold to restaurants in the city to get some tsampa and tea to support his son and wife.

It was really hard for poor people, and things got even worse. When Dunzhu Zaxi was fifteen years old, his father fell while cutting firewood and died. His mother cried heartbrokenly, holding her son and saying, "My child, what will we do now?" Dunzhu Zaxi said, "Mother, don't be sad. From tomorrow on, I will go up the mountain to cut firewood."

From the next day on, no matter if it was windy, rainy, or snowing, the son took his father's axe and went deep into the mountains to cut firewood, brought it back to sell at the restaurants, and used the money to maintain the life of the two of them. The neighbors all praised, "Dunzhu Zaxi is a good young man."

One time, when Dunzhu Zaxi was tired from cutting firewood, he saw a big stone by his side, round and plump like a lion's head, and lay down to rest on it. Suddenly, the stone spoke: "Young man! Young man! Please get off my head. What treasure you want, I can give you."

At first, Dunzhu Zaxi was scared. After a while, his courage came back. He thought, "I am a human, and it is just a stone. What should I fear?" So he said, "Lion Stone Brother, I don't need any treasure. Just give me a tool for cutting firewood. Look at this axe, it's as broken as an old woman's teeth."

After saying that, there was a loud clanging sound, and a golden axe came out of the lion-shaped stone, bright and sharp. The young man was so happy he jumped up. He raised the golden axe and made a quick cut on a tall pine tree, and the thick tree fell with a loud crash. He hid the axe in his chest, ran and jumped back home, telling his mother about this happy news.

With the golden axe, the life of the mother and son gradually improved. Some days later, when Dunzhu Zaxi was cutting firewood, a terrible strong wind suddenly blew in from nowhere. Large stones the size of sheep heads rolled all over the mountain; the firewood he had just cut was blown apart. He shouted and cursed while picking up the firewood. Unexpectedly, on a branch, he found a very delicate little shoe, with silk soles decorated with seven-colored flowers and filled with sparkling pearls.

The young man was very surprised and went to ask a chef who was good friends with him. The chef was a man who had seen the world. He looked at the pearl shoes three times front and back, then said, "Ah, these are precious shoes. I don't know who they belong to. Go ask Qiangjiu, a merchant in the tea shop facing south on the west street!"

Qiangjiu was a man who traveled all over the country. His horse caravan went to the mainland every year to transport tea and silk. After looking at the shoes, his face full of wrinkles immediately became full of smiles. He patted Dunzhu Zaxi on the shoulder and said, "Ha ha, friend! You've become rich! These are the embroidered shoes worn by the princess of the emperor in the mainland. Come, let's go to the capital and sell the shoes to the emperor to make a lot of silver."