- Origin
- China
- Source
- The Dragon's Pearl
- Retold by Julie Lawson
- Paintings by Paul Morin
- Clarion Books: New York, 1992
- The Story
- Xiao Sheng, a boy living in the days of cloud-breathing draongs, is
both hard-working and good natured. He gathers fresh grass to sell in
the market in exchange of meager income to support his mother. One year,
when the village goes through a severe drought, Xiao Sheng finds a patch
of grass, lush and never diminishes in size no matter how much he's cut
it. Xiao Sheng finds a pearl buried near the patch and brings it home
to please his mother, and also replants the grass near his house. The
grass withers next morning, but the rice jar where they keep the pearl in
and only has little rice left the night before is brimming with rice.
They realize that it's the pearl that's magical and from then on make use
of the pearl and share their fortune with other villagers. However,
jealousy and greed prompt two of their neighbors into robbing the pearl.
Xiao Sheng swallows the pearl in haste and it burns inside him. In order
to quench the burning and thirst, he drinks dry the river and turns into
a dragon which brings the long-expected rain to the village. When the
dragon leaves the village through the river, it turns its head many
times, and each time he turns, the dragon's massive body cuts into th e
river's edge, "sculpting the banks with his last farewell."
- Comments
- The dragon that Xiao Sheng turns into is scaly with antlers of a deer,
talons of a hawk and neck stretched like a snake, a serpent's tail. He
carries the flaming pearl in his mouth as he swims away from his
hometown. This dragon is mostly benign, since he brings the long-waited
rain to the village but also vengeful because he never bestows rain on
the land of the two villains. In the end, the two greedy robbers have to
leave town. Like most traditional Chinese dragons, this one is
associated closely with weather and rain. He is honored as the Most
Honored and Precious Dragon.
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Introduction/Index