Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 453

The Great Duck Revolution
St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Kraft, Elisabeth - 9
I
n a tiny deserted shop as dark as a dragon’s belly in Old Shanghai, strangely, you could hear joyful quacks and
little patters of webbed feet. Here, there lived two duck sisters named Xiaolingya and Xiaoxingya. They had a
kind and loving old lady as their owner. She sold traditional painted fans for a living. Sometimes, she used the
remaining pieces of fabric to sew some toys for them. They had a very happy life.
Someone suddenly knocked sharply on the tattered door. The old lady rushed to open it. In came a man who
wore a dirty chef’s robe. Xiaolingya stared at him, disgusted, “Go tell that dressed up monkey to get out of our
door, please.” Xiaoxingya giggled.
“It’s just a man coming to visit us!” But the conversation soon ended there because the old lady held out some
dried fish on her palm and they were attracted by the fishy scent. Seconds later, they were waddling up and down
excitedly at her feet.
“So are they fat?” He asked loudly. ”I will give you eighty Yuan for them?” He continued in a hopeful tone. The
old lady looked at her ducks and then at the stacks of money. The old lady sniffed, tears glistening in her eyes. ”I
am afraid I’ll have to sell you to him. I’m really sorry but I need the money. Only a few people have come to our
shop these last couple of days, so there isn’t enough money to buy food. I really don’t want to do it, but it is better
than letting you two starve to death, OK?” She took out of her pocket two miniature fans each with their names
engraved on them.
They took over the fans then nodded understandingly. Suddenly, they were roughly pushed into a cage.
Xiaoxingya whispered into her sister’s ear. ”At least she’s not bad enough to sell us to some anti-duck, crazy chef
who loves to cook duck.” Xiaolingya grinned mischievously. The chef whispered to them, “You ducks are
perfect for my “Mr. Chin’s Famous Eight Treasures Steamed Stuffed Duck”!” Xiaoxingya and Xiaolingya looked
at each other, and then shrieked in unison, “Holy Mackerel! We’re going to be eaten! Quaaaack!”
After a bumpy ride, they were finally at the chef’s home. Xiaolingya thought “How will we escape? There is no
way we can escape his jaws!” Just then, the doorbell rang. It was the newspaperman! Almost instantly, an idea
popped into her mind. She and Xiaoxingya used the handle of her fan to open up the lock and immediately they
sprang onto the newspaperman’s head. Then they used their wings to cover his eyes, making him stumble out of
the doorway and fall into the goldfish pond outside. Luckily the ducks could swim, so they paddled to land safely
and off they were, flyingaway in the blink of an eye. When the chef looked into the distance he sighed, “Serves
me right for choosing two CLEVER ducks...”
Xiaolingya and Xiaoxingya waddled for what that felt like a million years when, almost out of the blue, they saw a
shed filled with rations! Inside they could smell sardines, cucumber, carrots, mangoes... the list could go on
forever! But just as they were about to come any closer, they heard the sound of hissing. Afraid that it was a snake,
they huddled into a tight corner. Alas it was just a thin and bony cat. It slyly hissed. ”I will scratch you if you take
one more step, this is my bounty, I came here FIRST!”
Xiaoxingya giggled, “Why, you are just a cat! Don’t be so selfish!”
The cat frowned, then sniggered, “Keep your nosy beaks out of my things! I can be selfish if I want to! Hee , hee,
hee!” Now he got the ducks angry. They growled, nipping at him with their beaks threateningly. “Okay, Okay!”
he stammered, “You can have the cucumber and the mangoes!”