The Angry Dragon
A long time ago, there was a lovely village near a mountain in China. The mountain used to be full of trees and the clouds from the sea far away would often rest on that mountain and shed their waters down the sides in little rivers and waterfalls. All the water reached the village, and it made the crops grow well. The people of the village had plenty to eat, and everyone was very happy. Suddenly, all that changed. The clouds stopped coming to the mountain and there were no rains. The crops stopped growing and even the trees withered away. The people became poorer and poorer. There was also another problem that weighed on the people's minds all the time. There seemed to be a huge dragon living on top of the mountain. It breathed out fire and threw up rocks. Sometimes it bellowed in such a loud voice that all the people in the village ran into their houses. The elders in the village wondered if the dragon had something to do with the clouds staying away. They warned their children, "Don't go anywhere near the mountain. If you do, the dragon is sure to take you away and eat you up."
All the children were really scared of the noise the dragon made and were happy to keep away. But there was one little girl called Mei-Ling. She was five years and eleven months old. She was an only child and spent a lot of time playing in her garden from where she could see the top of the mountain. Sometimes as she played there with her dolls, she could see the dragon spewing out fire and rocks and making such a racket that she couldn't even hear her dolls. "My, what a tantrum!" she thought. "Has no one taught the dragon how to behave? I wonder who looks after it? Maybe it's just feeling lonely." She would often look at the top of the mountain and wonder about the dragon. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that the dragon was really lonely. Like the rest of the villagers, Mei-Ling's family was also poor but they loved her very much. Mei-Ling's birthday drew nearer and she was almost six years old. Her parents were very happy that their daughter was growing up so well. "Who would you like to invite to your party?" they asked her. "I'll invite all my family and friends and I'll ask the dragon as well," she announced. And she started climbing the mountain to invite the dragon. "Come back! Come back, you foolish one!" yelled her mother. "The dragon will kill you!" When Mei-Ling had got halfway up the mountain, there was a huge roar. From where she stood, Mei-Ling could hear some of the words the dragon was shouting, "I live alone, I roar alone, I'm the nasty dragon. Begone, begone!" There was a rush of hot stones down the mountain and Mei-Ling ran back home. "I hope that taught you to listen to your elders," scolded her mother. The next day Mei-Ling's father said, "Mei-Ling, your birthday guest list is almost ready. Would you like to add anyone to it?" "Well, I really want to add the dragon," declared Mei-Ling and set off for the mountain once again. "Come back, you stupid, silly girl!" roared her father beside himself with worry.
"The dragon will pick you up and carry you away from here forever!" But Mei-Ling would not come down. She almost reached the top. Now she could see the enormous dragon with its long, huge tail. It was thumping the tail and belting out a fearful song, "I live alone, I sing alone, for I have no one, no one!" Fierce flames flew out of the dragon's mouth and almost licked at Mei-Ling's shirt. She ran back home. "I hope you've learned your lesson," said her father. "Don't ever do anything so foolish again." Mei-Ling's birthday dawned beautiful and clear. It was a lovely day for a party. Mei-Ling's mother said, "All your friends have brought you a few gifts, all that they could spare. A little rice saved from the harvest and a few fruits from the trees. Would you like anything else today, for it is your birthday?"
"I want the dragon at my party," said Mei-Ling. And she set off to climb the mountain. Her father called her back. Her mother begged her not to be so foolish. Her grandparents begged her, "Go no farther, Mei-Ling!" Her friends pleaded, "O Mei-Ling, don't do this terrible thing." But Mei-Ling paid no heed to anyone. On she went higher and higher until she reached the very top. There was a fire up there and the ground shook with the dragon's song. Mei-Ling wanted to see the dragon so much that she wasn't afraid anymore. This time she heard the dragon clearly. "I live alone in my deep dark cave. Who comes here so daring and brave?" Mei-Ling said, "You're certainly fearsome but lonely as well. So I've come to invite you to my party. My name is Mei-Ling." The dragon suddenly stopped his thundering and bellowing. "Mei-Ling," he said in a very different voice, "nobody has ever spoken to me before. You're very kind and brave. I'll certainly come to your party. Climb onto my back and we'll go down the mountain together." As they moved down the mountain, a cool, blue-ribbon of water flowed behind them. The river followed them all the way down to the village. It gave cool, freshwater to the village forever after that. Soon the trees grew and the crops started thriving again. The people had plenty to eat and were happy once again. As for the dragon, he stayed in that village and the people thought of him as a mascot that brought good. Mei-Ling became a great leader and lived to celebrate many, many birthdays.
For More Bedtime Stories Click Here
Comments
Post a Comment