Part 2 (1/2)
”That's water trickling!” she said to herself as she turned toward the sound. ”There's water here somewhere.” Soon she noticed a small stream, running with clear sparkling water. She eagerly bent down to drink and fill her jug, but as soon as Minli tasted the water she spit it out!
”Salt water!” Minli exclaimed. ”This water is salty!”
As she sat back, Minli began to wonder, ”How is this stream salty? I am far from the ocean. This is very strange.” And unable to contain her curiosity, Minli forgot about her thirst and began to follow it.
The stream widened and deepened, becoming more of a river than a stream. Just as Minli began to think that she should return to her journey, she began to hear deep moans that gently shook the earth.
”Who's there?” Minli shouted.
”Help!” a m.u.f.fled voice whimpered. ”Can you help me?”
”I'm coming!” Minli called. She quickly put down her compa.s.s on the side of the water, and waded in. The water was warm, like bathwater, and clear as gla.s.s. Minli could see her feet and all the stones and leaves at the bottom of the stream. As she moved toward the voice the water rose higher and higher, to her knees and then almost to her neck.
”Are you still there?” the voice asked plaintively. ”Please help me!”
”I'm coming!” Minli called again. She took a deep breath and dove toward the voice. The salt water stung her eyes so she closed them tightly until she broke through the surface. When she finally opened her eyes, Minli almost sank back under water with shock. Because there in front of her was... a DRAGON!
CHAPTER 9.
Underneath the moon shadows of the trees, Ma stumbled with weariness. Ba did not know how long they had been walking. With every step he peered at the ground, the light flickering as the lantern swayed in his hand. The forest was full of shapes and shadows and only barely could he see the faint footprints on the ground - it was like searching for a wrinkle in a flower petal. As Ma tripped, he steadied her with his arm.
”We should rest,” Ba said.
Ma shook her head and pulled away angrily. ”We must keep going. We have to find Minli.”
”But you are tired,” Ba said, ”and I am too. We can rest and afterward we will be able to continue faster.”
”I am not tired,” Ma said fiercely. Her irritation seemed to give her energy. ”If you are tired, you can rest. But I will continue to look for our daughter.”
”We should stay together,” Ba said quietly.
”If you wish to stay with me,” Ma said, ”then you will have to keep going.”
Ba sighed and took out another candle for the lantern. The light from the lamp kept away the forest animals but it could do nothing for Ma's fury. Her resentment seemed to darken with the fading moon.
But as they walked, the morning bloomed in the distance, its light slowly filtered over Ma and Ba through the veil of tree branches so he could finally blow out the candle in his lantern. He looked at Ma and could see that her bitterness was only sharper in the softening sky.
”If Minli stopped to rest,” Ba said, ”we may catch up with her soon.”
”When we find her,” Ma said, ”she must know that she is never to do this again. Never!”
”Now, Wife,” Ba said, ”Minli did not leave to cause us harm.”
”No,” Ma said, her words cracking the air around her, ”she left to find a fairy tale. Never-Ending Mountain and the Old Man of the Moon! Of all the foolish things.”
”Stories are not foolish,” Ba said again, in his quiet way.
”Says you!” Ma said. ”Because you are the one who filled her with them. Making her believe she could change our miserable fortune with an impossible story! Ridiculous!”
”Yes,” Ba said sadly, ”it is impossible. But it is not ridiculous.”
Ma opened her mouth again, but stopped. For up ahead there was a noise of breaking branches. It was the sound of someone pus.h.i.+ng their way through the forest. Ma and Ba looked at each other. ”Minli!” Ma said.
Forgetting their fatigue and frustration, Ma and Ba began to run through the woods. Ma ignored the branches that scratched her and Ba let his hat fall to the ground as they rushed toward the unseen person. ”Minli!” they called, ”Minli!”
But as they burst upon the figure ahead, they stopped in shock. It was not Minli. Instead, Ma and Ba stared openmouthed at the goldfish man.
CHAPTER 10.
Minli gaped at the dragon in front of her. It was brilliant red, the color of a lucky lantern, with emerald-green whiskers, horns, and a dull stone-colored ball like the moon on his head. At least what Minli could see of him looked like that. Because he was also half-covered by ropes of twine that had been tied tightly around him so he couldn't move and by the silvery lake of water his tears had formed all around him.
Minli had always thought it would be thrilling but scary to meet a dragon. Her father's stories always made them sound so wise and powerful and grand. But here was a dragon before her, tied up and crying! Minli didn't feel awed by it at all. In fact, she felt rather sorry for it.
”Can you help me?” the dragon sniffled. ”I am trapped.”
Minli shook herself and started swimming toward the dragon. ”What happened to you?” she asked.
”The monkeys tied me up while I was sleeping,” the dragon said, ”I have been here for days.”
Minli swam over to the dragon and climbed onto his back to get out of the water. There, she opened her pack, took out the small, sharp knife she had brought with her, and started cutting the twine.
”Why did the monkeys tie you up?” Minli asked.
”Because I want to go farther into the forest to the peach grove,” the dragon said, ”and the monkeys will not let anyone through. I have been trying to make them let me pa.s.s peacefully for days, but they are so unreasonable. Finally I told them if they did not let me through, I would just force my way. They know I am big and strong enough to go through without their permission so when I went to sleep, they tied me up.”
”Why won't the monkeys let anyone pa.s.s?” Minli asked.
”Because they are greedy things,” the dragon said. ”They have just discovered the peach trees that make up the next part of the forest. The monkeys do not want to let anyone through because they do not want to share the peaches. Even when I promised not to touch any of the fruit, they would not let me through. They do not even want to share the sight of those peaches.”
”Why do you have to go through the forest?” Minli asked. ”Can't you just fly over?”
More tears, the size of lychee nuts, rolled down the dragon's face.
”I cannot fly,” he sobbed. ”I do not know why. All other dragons can fly. But I cannot. I wish I knew why.”
”Don't cry,” Minli said, patting the dragon, feeling more sorry for it than ever. ”I'm going to Never-Ending Mountain to see the Old Man of the Moon and ask him how to change my family's fortune. You can come too and ask him how to fly.”
”You know where Never-Ending Mountain is?” the dragon asked. ”I thought to see the Old Man of the Moon was impossible. You must be very wise to know how to find him.”