I was surprised that many of these Chinese fairy tales have no discernible moral message. The story about the father who leaves his daughters in the mountains ends up with a happy ending for everybody, leaving no indication that the father learned any kind of lesson.
The story of "The Panther" was amusing for two reasons. First, it was heavily reminiscent of "Little Red Riding Hood", to the point that there must have been some cross-cultural influence in one of the two stories. Second, the ending of the story called to mind a Tom-and-Jerry-esque skit of physical humor as the panther falls for one pratfall after another.
Lastly, it was interesting that in two of the stories there were said to once have been ten suns. Both stories offer distinct explanations for how the suns were brought down except one, which begs the questions of which story came first or why the ten suns were so significant in myth.
A statue of Guan Di, god of war (Wikimedia Commons)
Bibliography. The Chinese Fairy Book, edited by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens. Web Link.
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