The New Tale of Old Shanghai
Kowloon Tong School ( Primary Section ), Lai , Yu Kiu – 10
O
nce upon a time , there was a poor girl who was called Lily . Her mother abandoned her when she was five because of a divorce . Her father was kind to her . Ever after , her father took care of her .
Lily ’ s father was the owner of The Paramount . However , he gambled a lot , he lost a lot of money and became bankrupt , so he sold The Paramount to someone else , soon after , he became ill because of his addiction to opium .
Lily ' s dad had no money to treat his illness and he passed-away not long after . Before he died , he whispered to Lily “ Your mother is Sandy , she is a very famous singer , go and find her in The Paramount !” Lily was very surprised after hearing that because she may see her mother . She instantly rushed to The Paramount . When she was ready to walk inside The Paramount after she arrived there , a guard rejected her and forced her out . “ Only people who wear beautiful and gorgeous clothes can go inside . Look at you ! You are wearing torn and filthy clothes , I won ’ t let you go inside .” The guard said . “ I just want to meet my mother , my mother is inside there , can you just let me see my mother , Sandy , the famous singer ! Please !” She muttered with a very wretched voice . “ Who is she , there is no one named Sandy here ! Don ’ t play with me little girl , get out my way !” the guard exclaimed . Lily was depressed and furious . “ Why can ’ t I meet my mother !” Now , I need to think a solution to go inside The Paramount without being caught !” she said . She thought and thought . Finally , she came up with a very good solution to help her get into The Paramount , it is to become a singer or servant . The owner of The Paramount hired her to be a servant after Lily asked the owner for permission .
The next day , she stood outside The Paramount waiting for visitors . Finally , a car arrived in front of the entrance . Lily said “ Hi Mr ., I am Lily , I ’ ll bring you inside , please mind the steps !” “ Get away dirty girl , you will make my gorgeous clothes become dirty !” the rich British man pushed Lily and exclaimed . Lily was a little bit sad but she did not give up . But the Americans and Japanese who got out of the car and saw Lily , also said “ Get away from me dirty girl , I don ’ t want you to make my clothes become dirty !” But Lily still would not give up !
After a month , there was a performance in The Paramount , but Lily was still standing in front of the entrance , getting scolded by the rich people . Unfortunately , the singer for the performance was seriously ill . The owner was troubled about this . Then he said “ There is no one in The Paramount , just guards and servants and helpers , one singer is ill and one is on a vacation !” Suddenly , he thought , “ Wait a minute , there is a girl who always sing some wretched songs in front of the entrance , she has a beautiful voice !” Then , he went out from The Paramount and asked Lily “ Hey little girl , our singer for this performance is ill , and I want to invite you to sing for this performance , do you want to ?” “ Yes , sure !” Lily agreed and promised with the owner without a second thought , because she wanted to see her mother . She practiced singing very hard in order to see her mother , she never gave up practicing and always practiced even when she was home .
When the day of the performance arrived , Lily went on the stage and sang beautifully . All the audience clapped their hands loudly . Even Lily ’ s mum was here watching Lily ’ s performance , but certainly , Lily ’ s mum didn ’ t know she was Lily , she couldn ’ t recognize her ! Lily focused on singing a lot and all the audience were all ears , the owner was really happy about that too ! After Lily finished the whole performance , all the audience clapped their hands as loud as thunderstorms . Lily said “ Thanks a lot ! Thanks a lot !” After the performance , the rich British man went to the stage and said “ Sorry ! I thought you are just a poor and dirty girl and I didn ’ t know you have this talent ! Can you just forgive me once ?” “ Why not !” said Lily . Then , a lot of people queued for Lily ’ s autograph too !
Then , Sandy went in front of Lily and said “ Such a great girl , you have this talent , that you never found , just give yourself some courage , with diligence and determination and with faith and confident in yourself , I hope you can be a great singer , girl ! I am Sandy , do you want to practice singing with me ?” Lily was shocked and overjoyed that her mother was there and was in front of her . She exclaimed “ Mum !” she hugged her mother and cried . Her mum didn ’ t know what was happening and said “ Are you ... Lily ?” “ Yes !” Lily replied . After that , her mother quickly hugged her dearest daughter and cried like a fountain too ! Lily said “ Can you just come back home and lived together with me ?” Lily cried and muttered “ Sure !” Her mum said . They both laughed and cried together at the same time and hugged each other tightly .
Lily had great relationship with her mum . Her mum took good care of Lily after they met each other again , and they lived happily together ever after !