Abstract: “The Foolish Old Man Moving away the Mountains” is a fairy tale originated from the Taihang and Wangwu mountains, but its original text should not contain the last part where the two sons of the Kua'ers moved away the mountains because the mountains are still there. The current story text collected in The Works of Lieh Tzu is not the original one. Instead, it is one composed later at another location. As it is out of context, the last part of the story mentioned above was added to it. The Kua'ers are related to Kuafu and Erlang (meaning “two sons”). In central China people still tell the fairy tale “Two Sons Carrying away Two Mountains” where “God the Snakeholder” arguably refers to the Kua'ers.

Key words: The Foolish Old Man Moving away the Mountains, the Kua'ers, God Erlang, Kuafu Pursuing the Sun