Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 120

Zheng He's Adventures St Stephen's College Preparatory School, Ho, Marcus - 10 Inside a luxurious palace in China lived a very wealthy emperor. He had lots of riches and gold inside the palace that made him feel proud and satisfied. One day, he was thinking of a plan. He said, ''Let's go for an adventure around the world. No one has done it in the past and this could be very exciting and challenging!'' The Emperor’s assistants agreed but they were wondering who would be in charge of this mission? Where will we explore? Who will be going? Will we give presents to other countries? Suddenly, the Emperor came up with an idea and exclaimed, ''I know! Why don't we call Zheng Ha to take the lead, and find some of our army's greatest generals?'' Everyone agreed and cheered. The Emperor's assistants soon got Zheng Ha and sent him to the Emperor's palace. Zheng Ha accepted the great command with honor, and started to prepare for the great voyage. After a few months of preparations for food, equipment, weapons and training, Zheng Ha and his team were ready for the voyage. The Emperor also gave Zheng Ha some of his treasury including gold, silk and jewelry to give away as gifts in case he made friends with peaceful people. The Emperor gave a hearty goodbye to Zheng Ha and his team when they set out to ride the raging sea on his humongous boat. The first day in the sea was calm until suddenly, the sky turned as dark as black and a scary, ruthless band of pirates came to attack the ship. They wanted to rob Zheng Ha's treasury! Luckily, Zheng Ha's ship was equipped with cannons. James,who was in charge of the cannons, started to fire the gigantic cannons towards the pirates. The war was very violent, and few of Zheng Ha's people were injured. When the war ended, they continued their journey. They spent a few days to arrive their first destination-India. They were very excited because India was a mysterious country to them. When they arrived India, all the citizens there greeted Zheng Ha and his team. ''This is quite a peaceful place.'' Zheng Ha said. After they took a break for a few hours, they continued marching forward, helping people who they met in this new city. “It seems like that we are not only exploring the world,” Zheng Ha continued, “it also seems like that we are also spreading our friendship to others!” By dawn, the crew was exhausted. Suddenly, a woman found out about them. She asked, “Are you really tired?” Zheng Ha replied, “Yes, we all are.” “Would you like to come to my house to take a rest and to refresh yourself?” the woman asked. “Oh yes, it is very kind of you!” Zheng Ha replied in a warm and happy tone. “Good!” said the woman, “Come inside, I will fix dinner for all of you.” The team went into the woman’s house and had dinner. Everyone was amazed as it was the first time they had Indian cuisine and it was exotic! After dinner, they got ready to sleep by putting up their tents. Very soon, everyone was snoring loudly like pigs. The next day, Zheng Ha and his team woke up early. They cooked breakfast for themselves. The woman was pleased to see the team settle down nicely for themselves. When it was time to go, Zheng Ha thanked the woman.