Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 1 | Page 83

The Most Amazing Fruit
St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Wong, Vanessa - 8
“Captain Zheng, we’re running out of food. We’ve been sailing for 200 days. Our sailors are starving,” said
Xiao Ma, my assistant who had been serving me for more than 10 years.
“We must keep sailing and find a place to refill our supply,” I looked at the sky and commanded.
“There is an island over there!” another sailor shouted.
I took the telescope. “This island looks like a snake.” I thought.
“Set sail!” I commanded.
We stepped onto a dark island and went into a haunted forest.
Hiss….Hiss….Hiss….
“What is that sound?” someone whispered. “Monster!” We were surrounded by thousands of half human,
half snake creatures. Suddenly I saw many stars and I felt like I was in outer space. When I woke up I was
no longer in the forest. I was in a gigantic cave with Xiao Ma.
“I am the queen of Python Kingdom. Why have you come to our kingdom?” said a beautiful half human,
half snake woman.
“My beautiful queen, we bear no malice. We have come seeking food. I am going to present some gifts,” I
exclaimed. “Xiao Ma, bring the treasure boxes!” I said.
The queen was amazed by the silk, silver, gold and jewels. “What would you like in return?” she said.
“We will be grateful if you can give us some food,” I replied.
“Food? We only eat the migratory birds that rest on this island,” The Queen laughed. “Aha! There is a kind
of thorny fruit on our island. You can take as many as you wish,” she continued.
We found the fruit and loaded thousands of them onto our supply ships. Their odor could be smelled from
miles away and no one dared get closer to them. I took one and gazed upon it. “Bring a knife to me!” It
smelled like pig dropping and was so rotten that no one on this universe could bear it.
I cut the thorny, ball-shaped monster and found some creamy substance inside. I took a deep breath, bit the
golden yellow flesh and then closed my eyes. Surprisingly it was soft and smooth. It was a strange
combination of smelly, sweet and creamy.
“This fruit tastes heavenly! This is the most amazing food I have ever had!” I exclaimed.
The sailors, looking incredulous, took their first bite. Their contented face proved that they agreed with me.
Our ships sailed off to our home and the fruits saved our lives. After two months, we were finally home.
“My Majesty, may I present to you the most amazing fruit in the world,” I kowtowed to the Ming
Emperor. The Emperor took his first bite and was delighted.
“Zheng He, it tastes wonderful! What is the name of this fruit?” the Emperor asked.
“My Majesty, this is Durian,” I answered.
“Very well, I am fond of this fruit and I command you to prepare for your next voyage. This time, bring
back more durian!”
Xiao Ma and I looked at each other and smiled.