5

The next day，Laogu and Laotai walked outside of the cave.Ah！The sky cleared up and the snow melted away，and the mountains and the rivers appeared as usual.Laotai went into the cave and woke up the children.As ten sons and ten daughters ran out of the cave，they were so happy that they hugged each other excitedly and rolled on the ground.

In order to seek happiness，the couple had to let all children leave them.The father pulled out ten small trees at the cave entrance and gave each son a branch.The mother picked ten stone eggs at the cave entrance and gave each girl one stone egg to protect themselves on the road.Before leaving，the father said to the sons and the daughters，“You are just like the newly unearthed bamboo shoots and cannot stand the sunburn，but you should not come back each time when you encounter some difficulties.Only on the day you find happiness can you come back！”The mother said to the children，“You are just like the birds out of the nest which can not stand the wind and rain；as long as you are willing to bear hardship，you will find happiness.Walking into the deep side of mountains and the woods，you will find something good.If you are lost，just tell us by birds，then mom and dad will go out to look for you.”

With the ten sons holding branches and the ten daughters holding stone eggs，and remembering their parents'words，they kissed their parents，and then left home in two.

Laogu and Laotai stood at the cave entrance and saw their children go away until the white cloud covered their figures.

After the children left，Laotai picked up some small stones from the cave entrance and put one into the pit as one day passed.Laogu picked up some thin stone tablets and drew a horizontal line with it on the tree at the cave entrance as one day passed to record the days the children left home.