The New Tales of Old Shanghai
Po Leung Kuk Camoes Tan Siu Lin Primary School , Lo , Charlie - 8
I woke up in the morning and realized something was wrong . The city of shanghai was burning . My parents had disappeared . With a shock , I realized they were Japanese . My mother had told me about them . “ Beware , Xiaodong , of the Japanese . They are coming to our city . Soon , they will be here .” I thought of Tasha . She was my only friend , apart from Flame , my phoenix . He had been with me . I looked among the Japanese and my heart sank .
Tasha was huddled behind a crate . “ This is terrible . “ She whispered . “ They took my parents .” We stayed huddled behind the crate as the sky darkened and thunder growled and the Japanese took hold of our city . Then I realized it wasn ’ t about to rain . I looked up and saw a dragon . Everyone scattered – Shanghainese and Japanese alike . I was about to run too , but Tasha tripped over a stone and collided into me . The dragon was zooming at us head – first with its mouth wide open . But at the last minute , Flame grabbed our collars and yanked us out of the dragon ’ s path . The dragon looked mad . Then suddenly , the pavement burst into flames . THE DRAGON COULD BREATHE FIRE ? Flame saved us again , grabbing hold of our collars and lifting us up into the sky .
We soared higher and higher . I saw the Huangpu River . I gazed at it – and got an idea . I whispered to Flame and Tasha . Flame nodded his head and set us on the ground , then flew off toward the dragon . Flame dodged the blast and pierced the dragon ’ s eye with his golden beak . Then Flame attacked the other eye . He turned around suddenly and dove straight at the dragon ’ s good eye . Now it was time to carry out my plan . Flame dove at the ground , picking us up and depositing us on the blind dragon ’ s back . Flame positioned himself in front of the dragon ’ s nostrils . The dragon , catching the scent , flew in the direction of Flame .
As soon as its head touched the water , Tasha and I extended our arms and dragged a huge boulder from the side of the river . We released our arms , letting the boulder sink with the dragon . Then , we propelled ourselves upwards with all our might . All the Shanghainese helped us out of the river . “ Where did the Japanese go ?” I asked a woman . “ They retreated to their territory . They were scared away by the dragon ,” she replied . Then someone lifted us up . We were brought to the Emperor . “ Well , saviors of Shanghai . You will be the emperor and empress after I die , as I have no heir .” So , just like that , we went to the palace to live . We all got the riches luxuries . Flame even got a room of his own , complete with a tree and other birds to keep him company . The only thing sad about this quest was that I had lost my father and mother .