Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 111

New Beginnings
German Swiss International School, Chen, Veronica - 10
My name is Harold and I am a Reticulated Giraffe. I used to live on the East side of Africa, in Somalia with
my other animal friends. We used to talk together, play together, and eat together. One day, my friends and
I were eating just like on any other day, when my giraffe friend heard some strange noises. When we turned
around, I saw a group of short animals with silver sticks and nets. Men. We started moving away from the
men because they were walking right towards us. As they came closer we saw they were a group of twenty
poachers, all looking scary and strong. We tried to run, but they brought sticks and forced us to move. Soon
we were being led by ropes around our neck. We were pulled for many miles until we reached the ocean.
I saw several giant looking ships with funny writing on the side and very large flags of gold and black. Soon,
and much to my confusion, we were being led up a steep wooden path and onto the boat. The ground on
the boat was strange because it was made of wood and moved. I immediately felt sick. Before, we knew it,
we had left our homeland. I watched it from out of the window in my stall. My long neck could fit out of
the window and I could feel the breeze in my mane. It made my eyes water as I saw us sail away and saw
the grasslands getting smaller and smaller,
As nightfall came, we were all nervous about where we were going. I saw a cage with lions in it, who I do
not usually like, but they looked so sick I felt sorry for them. Eventually everyone calmed down and the
swaying of the boat made us all sleepy. As soon as I woke up, I heard hundreds of people shouting and
running around. The only person that didn’t seem frantic was the poacher, standing tall and trying to look
brave and bold.
To avoid feeling dizzy, I poked my head out of the window. Covering the whole ocean in front of me, it
seemed, were boats. The huge fleet, with over 200 boats looked fierce. The boats had five tall and proud
sails and there were so many it looked like the ocean was a marketplace. The boats were powerful and swift
compared even to sharks or whales.
Soon we pulled into a harbour in a strange land. There was a strong smell of spice in the air and many
people were gathered on the beach as the boats approached. The ships docked and then, as I watched, the
leader on the biggest boat of the fleet walked onto the shore. Two other men came with him. As you
know, we giraffes understand all languages, as we are intelligent and can figure things out easily, so it was
fun to know what the foreigners were saying before the short man understood. The massive man, who the
others called Zheng He, was over two metres tall. He spoke in chinese to the first translator, who translated
it to the second translator in arabic, and finally to the local man. After many rounds of speaking and
translating, the brave and arrogant man summoned all the frightened faces out to trade with the new people.
Not long after, the streets were buzzing with bargaining street vendors, loudly shouting, and every type of
noise you could have imagined. It was soon apparent that the people in Quillon, where we were, were
giving a gift to the people from the boats. They called the gifts tributes. There were many spices and cloths
that looked bright and colourful and, in return, the Chinese sailors gave them food and gold and beautiful
silk. After a few days resting in the sun and on the firm ground, finally we set off again. This time I heard we
would be going to China!