In the summer after Confucius arrived in Qi state, an animal appeared in the pond in front of the palace of Duke Jing of Qi state. Duke Jing felt strange and sent envoys to consult Confucius. Confucius said, "This animal is called Shangyang, which is an omen of heavy rain. As a folk saying goes, ‘It will rain heavily when Shangyang starts dancing.’ Tell the people to regulate ditches and rivers, and to repair dikes, so as to prevent floods this year." Shangyang is actually a crocodile. Crocodiles can forecast the coming of heavy rain and will make a noise like thunder before the rainy season. In the summer of that year, it really rained heavily and caused widespread flooding. Other states were all flooded, but Qi was exempted for being well-prepared. To this, Duke Jing said, "We should believe in what the sage said as it is often verified."