Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | Page 66

A Lucky Fall
St. Stephen's College Preparatory School, Chu, Charlotte Tsz Ying - 8
The mighty China Ming treasure fleet sails in the South China sea and beyond, and is led by the
most famous admiral Zheng He of China. I am a young sailor in the China Ming treasure fleet. I was born
in a little village next to the ocean. It was my childhood dream to sail to different parts of the world. I am
honoured to be a member of the China Ming treasure fleet. Our mission is to meet with different people
around the world and exchange goods. The fleet is famous for its size and the treasures it carries such as gold
bars, Chinese silks, jewellery, jade sculptures and much more. However, the voyages can sometimes be
dangerous because there are pirates everywhere!
We had been at sea for weeks, and one hot summer’s day, I was helping mop the floor and clean
the deck when suddenly, I heard screaming from other sailors. They were yelling “PIRATES ARE
COMING!! RUN!!” Instead of running away, I ran to the back of the ship wanting to see the pirates with
my own eyes. I saw five pirate ships sailing towards us. The huge pirate ships had cannons, and I heard loud
noises like claps of thunder and saw smoke coming out of the pirate ships as cannon balls flew towards us!
Luckily, the cannon balls narrowly missed us. Frightened the pirates would sink our ships, I was about to run
and hide, when I heard a strong voice saying “Stay calm!!” “Every sailor on deck gather your weapons. The
pirates are here for our treasures and we must protect them!” It was Admiral Zheng He and he ordered his
men to arm themselves and prepare to fight the pirates. The Ming treasure fleet began to turn around and
head towards the pirates. As we got closer to the pirate ships, we fired back with our cannons. Our cannon
balls hit some of the pirate ships and badly damaged them. Our fleet ran straight into the pirate ships and our
armed men jumped onto the pirate ships then attacked them. Admiral Zheng He shouted “Attack and
destroy their ships”. I followed the Admiral as we boarded the pirate ship. I swung my sword wildly with
my eyes closed because I was so scared. The next thing I knew, I had tripped and fallen into my Admiral! I
heard the sounds of the fighting continuing. Many pirates were injured in the battle and some fell
overboard. At the end, the pirates were outnumbered and retreated. Some pirates abandoned their ships and
some were captured by us. Zheng He claimed victory and everyone cheered.
That night, we had a big feast to celebrate our victory and the Admiral told me that I had saved his
life by falling into him and knocking him out of the path of a bullet! The next morning, we repaired our
ships and we set sail for more adventure on the mighty China Ming treasure fleet!