Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 308

Laura, the King, and the Chinese Key
Lycee Francais de Shanghai, Allais, Jeanne - 9
L
aura was playing in her room. Suddenly a magic door appeared on the wall. Next to the door, Laura found a
key: a very old Chinese key. She opened the door, went inside and disappeared!
When she opened her eyes, she was in the old Chinese city (Shanghai) in 1930. She wanted to visit Yu Yuan
garden. She saw the beautiful little brooks with red and white fish, the strange trees…She was surprised to see a lot
of people with strange clothes and was astounded by the little women’s feet (the feet were smaller than hers).
She wanted to find someone who could help her find her way to Yu Yuan garden and understand what the key
was for. The people she approached didn’t understand what she was talking about, so she decided to go to the
king’s palace to ask him what she could do with the old key.
The king’s palace was at the top of a little mountain. The king helped her to visit the city. But the king had a
problem: the people that lived in this city didn’t have everything they wanted. They needed some clothes, some
toys for the children, some books…
Laura had an idea: they just had to build some new stores with new things that they didn’t have in the city! To
thank her, the king gave her a little chest with a treasure inside, and the very old Chinese key could open it! In the
treasure chest she found a roll of silk and a paper with instructions to be able to make a silk dress. Then Laura and
the king became the best friends in the world!
THE END