Part 9 (2/2)

Before either child could say a word, Minli rushed up with a hurried bow.

”Please,” she said, ”my friend, the Green Tiger injured him and he's hurt and...”

The grandfather quickly pushed the children off of him and stood up. ”Hurt by the Green Tiger!” he said, ”Take me to your friend quickly. It is lucky I brought the medicine bag with me. Da-Fu, get your blanket and give it to this girl. She is cold.”

The boy ran for his blanket, stopping to pick up the torn fabric from his pants, and brought it to her. Minli wrapped the gray blanket around her. She was grateful for its warmth but even more grateful that the man wanted to help immediately. ”How long ago was your friend injured?” the man asked as he urged her to lead the way. After Minli told him, he shook his head. ”We must hurry, then,” he said. ”The Green Tiger is no ordinary beast. His teeth and claws are poison. Without the medicine I have, he will die before seeing the sunset.”

Minli swallowed hard and quickened her pace. The wind seemed to scream a warning and even under the layer of Da-Fu's blanket, she felt cold. Would they be too late? Would they be able to save Dragon?

CHAPTER 33.

”He's in here!” Minli called to A-Fu, Da-Fu, and their grandfather, pointing to the cave opening. Even before reaching the entrance, A-Gong was already holding the medicine bottle in his hand.

As they rushed inside, Minli was relieved to hear Dragon's rasping breath. He was still alive! But as the children and their grandfather saw him lying in the dim light, they stopped, shocked still.

”Your friend... your friend...” the boy said in awe, ”... is a dragon?”

The old man recovered from his surprise. ”It matters not,” he said to them. ”Quickly, where is his wound?”

Minli carefully unwound her blanket from Dragon's arm and winced. The gashes seemed to have burned into him like evil coals; the blackness had spread and his arm looked like a burnt tree.

Swiftly, the man pushed Minli aside and began to pour the liquid from the medicine jar over Dragon's black arm. The tonic was a clear yellow-green, with a gentle aroma of fresh flowers and gra.s.s, reminding Minli of a spring morning. As it washed over Dragon's diseased arm, his tightly closed eyes relaxed and the grimace on his face smoothed - as if a deep pain was relieved. The medicine melted the dark poison; the blackness seemed to be rinsing away and Dragon's breathing became easier and even.

Minli sighed. She hadn't realized until then that she had been holding her breath. She knew, even before the man smiled, that Dragon was going to be okay.

”Da-A-Fu,” the old man said, and Minli realized that he was calling both his grandchildren with a single name. ”Go home and tell the family what has happened and where I am or they will worry. I need to stay with the dragon. Tell Amah and all the women to make more medicine and when it is ready, bring it to me. This dragon will need to drink it when he awakens.”

”Thank you,” Minli said softly.

The man turned and looked at her wind-burned face, tangled hair, and eyes shadowed with weariness. ”He is going to be fine,” the grandfather said to her kindly, and then turned back to the children, ”Da-A-Fu - bring this girl home and tell Amah to take care of her. She has not slept in a warm bed for a long time.”

”I want to stay with Dragon,” Minli protested. ”I want to help him.”

”I will stay with him,” the old man said to her. ”Don't worry, he will be fine. You have already helped him.”

Minli opened her mouth to argue, but a yawn formed instead. She realized the man was right and nodded her head. The boy took one of Minli's hands and the girl took the other and they led her out of the cave.

CHAPTER 34.

”Which one of you is A-Fu and which one is Da-Fu?” Minli asked the twins. ”My name's Minli.”

The children laughed; their giggles were like bells playing in unison. ”I'm A-Fu,” the girl said, ”he's Da-Fu. But you can just call us Da-A-Fu, because we are always together. Everyone does.”

Minli smiled. The exhaustion from the long night of worry had made her feel heavy and clumsy, but the children's happiness seemed to carry her. Their every word seemed to be mixed with merriness; their laughter pushed her toward the cheerful yellow patch in the distance.

And as they approached the spot, Minli realized that the yellow was flowers - in front of them was land full of blooming trees. The trees were heavy with bright blossoms and as the wind blew through the branches golden flowers showered down like rain.

As they reached the trees and breathed in the spicy scent of the flowers, Minli gasped. ”It's beautiful,” she said. The children laughed again, and the brilliant red of their clothes and the golden yellow flowers of the trees seemed to make Minli's eyes dazzle with color.

But their brilliance was a contrast to the stone rooftops of a village below. The homes looked as though they had to be hewed from the cold, harsh rock of the mountain; and Minli saw that the flowering trees were the only things that grew easily from the unforgiving rough soil. The boy saw Minli's gaze.

”That's our home,” he told her, ”the Village of the Moon Rain.”

”Village of the Moon Rain?” Minli asked. ”That's a strange name. Why isn't your village named after the flowering trees?”

”It is,” Da-Fu said.

THE STORY OF THE.

VILLAGE OF MOON RAIN.

Over a hundred years ago, when our ancestors were first brought here, the land of the village was barren and gray. Everything was dull and colorless, the wind cold and bitter. Still, our ancestors worked hard. They built houses out of mountain stone, sewed warm, wadded-cotton jackets, and planted seeds in the hard dirt.

But, despite their efforts, the land refused to bear a single plant or flower. However, even though it looked hopeless, our ancestors continued to work.

Then one night, when the moon was big and round, the air filled with a strange fluttering sound. Our ancestors thought that a great storm was coming and rushed inside.

And a great storm was was coming. With a crash, raindrops seemed to fall from the sky. coming. With a crash, raindrops seemed to fall from the sky.

But what strange rain it was! Round and smooth, in the glowing light the raindrops looked like silver pearls! And when they touched the ground, they disappeared.

”It's raining pearls!” our ancestors said to each other. ”Jewels from the moon!” And they rushed out with baskets and bags, catching what they could from this strange storm. Magically, when the raindrops were caught, they didn't disappear; and soon their baskets and bags were full.

But in the morning, our ancestors saw that the drops were not pearls or jewels. In the sunlight, they saw that they were really seeds. But no one knew what kind of seeds they were. Curious, they planted them in the hard earth.

And when the moon rose again that night, the strange rain fell again as well. This time our ancestors were not fooled and just watched the drops disappear into the ground. But in the morning, the planted seeds were sprouting as if watered by a magic brew.

So night after night the seed rain fell from the sky. And as daylight broke over the land, the seedlings grew higher. Soon they grew into beautiful silver trees with golden flowers. They were so beautiful, our ancestors planted more and more seeds and soon the whole village was blooming with hundreds and hundreds of flowering trees.

And since then our home has been called the Village of Moon Rain. We plant new seeds every day, and every night, the moon rain falls and every morning a new seedling sprouts. Maybe in another hundred years all this stony land will be covered with trees and the mountain will be as golden as the Moon.

”So these seeds rain from the sky every night?” Minli asked.

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