Have you ever heard of King Xuan? He was a king in a land called Qi, a long, long time ago. King Xuan absolutely loved music, especially the sound of an instrument called the Yu. The Yu was a special kind of flute, and the king thought it sounded best when many, many people played it together. So, he had a huge orchestra, with hundreds of musicians all playing the Yu at the same time! It was a magnificent sound.

Now, in that same land lived a fellow named Nanguo. Nanguo heard that the king paid his Yu players very well and gave them yummy food. "Wow," thought Nanguo, "that sounds like a great job!" There was just one tiny problem: Nanguo couldn't play the Yu at all. Not even a little bit.

But Nanguo was a clever fellow. He thought, "Hmm, with so many people playing, maybe no one will notice if I just pretend!"

So, Nanguo went to the palace and said he was a wonderful Yu player. They gave him a Yu and a spot in the orchestra. When the music started, Nanguo would hold his Yu, wiggle his fingers like the other musicians, nod his head to the music, and look very serious and important. But guess what? No sound came out of his Yu! Not a peep. Because there were hundreds of other Yu players making beautiful music, nobody noticed Nanguo’s silence.

Nanguo got paid well and ate delicious food. Life was good for Nanguo, even though he wasn't really making any music. He just blended in with the crowd.

This went on for quite some time. Then, one day, sad news came. King Xuan passed away. His son, King Min, became the new king.

Now, King Min also liked Yu music. But he had a different idea about how to enjoy it. He said, "I want to hear each musician play one by one. I want to hear how good each of you really is!"

When Nanguo heard this, his heart went thump-thump-thump like a drum! "Oh no!" he thought. "If I have to play alone, everyone will know I can't play a single note! They'll find out I've been pretending all this time!"

He knew his secret would be out. He imagined standing there, all alone, with everyone watching him, and no music coming from his Yu.

So, before it was his turn to play for the new king, Nanguo packed his bag very, very quietly. When no one was looking, he tiptoed out of the palace and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him!

And so, Nanguo, the man who pretended to play the Yu, was never seen in the palace orchestra again. He learned that you can't pretend forever, especially when people want to see what you can really do!

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