Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 12 | Page 554

The Magic Necklace
Yew Chung International School, Ma, Ashlynn – 10
A
rf arf !” barked Marrow excitedly.
“What is it Marrow ?” Hua Lin yawned. Marrow looked straight in Hua Lin’s gorgeous brown eyes and
pawed at the ground impatiently.
Hua Lin was a ten year old girl who always enjoyed adventures with her faithful dog Marrow. She lived in
Shanghai, which is a polluted city. She loved animals, big or small, cute or scruffy. Hua Lin had two pets, Marrow,
which you already know, and Cloppety, a chestnut brown horse. Her dream was to get rare animals to be her
friend or pet, such as a dinosaur, a unicorn, or a dragon.
Marrow was a kind dog who only tried to bite people’s bottoms if they tried to hurt Hua Lin. Marrow got his
name when he sucked the bone marrow out of a chicken bone.
One day, Marrow was waiting for Hua Lin to dress up and come and see what he found. Hua Lin was putting
on her silk dress when she heard a terrible roar! It was coming from the backyard. Hua Lin rushed outside and was
astonished to find a baby dinosaur sitting in the middle of the field chomping on some jiaozhi (dumplings)!
The dinosaur was a light green mamenchisaurus, a Chinese species which was found in places near Shanghai.
It looked up at Hua Lin sadly, gulping down the jiaozhi hungrily. Hua Lin carefully picked it up and carried it
inside her house and named it Muo Li.
A few days later, Hua Lin was reading the news when she found a part where it said that there was a special
necklace somewhere in China. It was said that the necklace had special magical powers that enabled you to talk to
animals and stop their extinction! Hua Lin then decided to go on an adventure with her pets to find the magic
necklace.
Hua Lin set off riding Cloppety with Marrow and Muo Li in tow, through the city of Shanghai when she
found a deep cave with an eerie glow. Hua Lin hopped off the horse, and told her to stay where she was. She then
asked Marrow and Muo Li to sit down near Cloppety to make sure they could not get lost. After she made sure all
her pets were safe, Hua Lin slowly crept down the cave. She carefully edged her way around a pool full of scalding
hot water. The glow she had seen before was now lighting up her path. All of a sudden, a bat swooped down and
nearly made Hua Lin jump out of her skin! After the fright, Hua Lin cautiously crept on toward the light. She
turned around the corner, and a blinding white burst of iridescent, multicolored light shone around an exquisite
teardrop-shaped diamond necklace! Hua Lin gasped with extreme pleasure and excitement as she grasped the
necklace in her two small hands and put it round her neck. When she put the pendant on, she felt simultaneously
like an eagle soaring through the sky and like a graceful dolphin playing amongst the aquamarine waves. Hua Lin
then clambered out of the cave slowly with the diamond necklace shimmering in the darkness. On her way out,
she came across the bat that had startled her earlier. Hua Lin decided to test the ability to talk to animals.
“Hi!” Hua Lin called out to the bat.
“Who’s talking?” replied a high pitched, squeaky voice. Hua Lin gasped with astonishment and amazement.
“Hua Lin” she replied with a shaky voice. “My name is Hua Lin.” Then Hua Lin awkwardly scrambled out of
the darkness and into the sunlight.
“I’m home!” Hua Lin called as she arrived home from her adventure. “Mama, have you seen all the plastic
bags outside?”
“No, I haven’t seen it, why?” answered Mama.
“Shanghai is so filthy and polluted, Mama,” remarked Hua Lin sadly.
”Yes, you are right, it is very polluted. “ agreed Mama, looking out the window. ”Oh no! “
”What is it, Mama? “ asked Hua Lin.
”I know you won’t like the sound of this, but a baby dragon is choking on a plastic bag! “ exclaimed Mama.
”Oh no! I must go and save it! “ cried Hua Lin. She hurriedly rushed upstairs, fetched her necklace and got
Muo Li, who was her guide to using the necklace, went back downstairs, and flew out the front door to try and
save the little dragon.