The myth
Arunav wrote this Myth which got selected from his school (10 out of 200 entries) to go for the competition of HK young writers. I loved it - it is so not something I would ever think of writing, totally boyish adventures and language :) We had no contribution to it other than correcting punctuation and giving him the websites to do research on the Yangtze River geography. He did not win any final HK level prize, but we are nevertheless very proud of it.
M - this is the writing I was talking about....
Baiji Dolphin and the Golden Eagle
A
zillion years ago, might have been an aeon ago, only one creature had fire and
that was the fastest, meanest dolphin in the world, the Baiji Dolphin. Baiji
dolphin lived midstream of the mighty Yangtze river which was full of fierce
rapids and dangerous shoals. The Dolphin was the most annoying, shrewdest yet
strongest animal on earth. When all the other animals tried to fight him they
backed off as soon as he flicked his tail, realizing they were no match for
him.
Near
the Dongting Lake of Yangtze river, on a sturdy, tall tree, there lived an
intelligent eagle. He never had fire, so he had to feel his way in the dark and
his beak chattered in the night. He often pleaded Baiji Dolphin for fire but
soon realized it was of no use. Once when he pleaded for fire he asked, “What
about all the animals near Yangtze River? How are they supposed to see in the
dark?” “They must perish in the dark,” said Dolphin gruffly, whacking the Eagle
into Dongting Lake with his tail.
Years
flashed by until the Eagle decided to design the Three Gorges dam to trap
Dolphin. The Eagle called all the living creatures together and asked them to
help him build the dam so everyone could get fire. It was difficult to build
the dam because of the strong currents of the river but all creatures
cooperated and finished the job. Because of its weaknesses in sight and
hearing, the Baiji Dolphin did not know its life was in danger from the dam.
After the dam was built, Dolphin was indeed trapped. With no access to food,
the Baiji Dolphin starved to death. To this millennia, Baiji Dolphins are
believed to be almost extinct.
The
Eagle then swiftly flew down to steal fire. Since he wasn’t used to it, he had
a ghastly experience of a burn which made the Eagle’s plumage around his neck
and head turn into a metallic gold colour. That plumage gives it a golden glow
which is how it got its name Golden Eagle.
Then
Golden eagle did a spin in the air and tossed one spark into every living
species’ home. He put the rest in a secret vault which appeared at any animals
need, except for those with evil intentions. Its true secret location was at
the deepest point of Poyang Lake of the Yangtze River, in a celestial bronze
sheath, which is how Dolphin carried fire around with him in the water. The
Golden Eagle gave a golden feather to his son and hid a map of the secret
location at his home. If needed his son could find the map and protect himself
with the feather along the journey to the secret location.
With
the villainous Chinese Sturgeon on the way, his journey wasn’t easy, but that’s
another adventurous myth!
posted by Tuya @ 20:01
2 Comments:
You really have to be proud, S!
Amazing vocabulary; sentence construction that I think is far too advanced for his age; and, imagination. Convey my hearty congratulations to Arunav and ask him to keep up the good work!
~M
Thanks :) He will be very happy to know that !!
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