Once upon a distant time, people made love by giving up some part of their bodies to their lovers. Everyone possessed1 leather bags into which their mates placed some part of their bodies as they made love. A fingernail or strand2（線，串） of hair, an eyelash（睫毛） or a bit of skin were commonly exchanged.

　　But it was not uncommon3 to hear of fingers or ears or a whole arm or leg being slipped into a bag in moments of great love or great passion. There were even a few stories of lovers who actually climbed into the leather bags and disappeared, literally4 swept away by their emotions.

　　The donated body parts sometimes rejuvenated5 miraculously6, the handicap（妨礙，不利條件） evoked7 by their love. Of course, those who climbed into the leather bags of another never emerged again. It was commonly thought that such people were reborn, perhaps as a family member of their lovers .

　　In those days the phrases "giving yourself to your lover" and "making sacrifices for love" were taken quit e literally.