Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 164

Ming Treasure Voyages: Always Be Laughing
Victoria Shanghai Academy, Chan, Joshua - 9
As we were about to set sail from this beautiful island of snakes and men wearing turbans riding elephants
called India, I felt a pang of sadness leaving our newly-made friends, but also comforted by the fact that we
were to embark on a new adventure with my companions that have accompanied me to many distant lands.
We were given many soft fabrics to bring home, and brown beans which when crushed led to a distinct
aroma. Some of the men added water to it which when drank helped the men to stay awake whilst they
were on watch at night.
My best friend, Ching, was the cook and he served the best Chinese dim sum on board. He was a plump
little boy who was much more mature than he looked and he had a heart of gold. The many times he had
saved me from pirates, I have only him to thank for saving my life. The other close friend of mine was
Captain Fu, who I am also indebted to for taking me on board as an orphan after my parents both died
when I was a toddler. I am thankful to him as he gave me food and taught me how to look after myself
whilst guiding me along the many voyages. Captain Fu was kind and often made me laugh as we sailed on
our adventures in seek of new things, new cultures, new lands around the world on The Golden Phoenix.
The Golden Phoenix could carry a crew of over 15 strong men and often we had to stop at new islands for
supplies of food and water. We were due to stop soon as it had been over a month since our last stop, and
the food was starting to smell. From a distance we could see a mass of land approaching. It looked like
many strange animals we had never seen before with lots of tall grass and trees surrounding the waters. I
could see some horse-like animals with black and white stripes and millions of brown ones too that looked
like a larger dog. I had heard about a faraway land, where many animals roamed freely, and as we
approached land there was an amazing sightseeing these new creatures interacting with each other. I was so
excited that we had come across this new place. Some of the crew were muttering that they had heard of
this place before, a place that people called Africa.
The Captain decided to dock in a cove to see if we could find any treasures but it was full of crocodile. No
doubt, we had to explore this mysterious cave but first we had to fight off the crocodiles now moving
towards the entrance. Out came the swords as the men fought at the front of the deck. I used this new
invention called gunpowder which combined with fire would cause a loud noise. I hoped this would scare
away the crocodiles and luckily this worked, as the snapping beasts soon retreated and disappeared into the
depths of the waters.
The Captain ordered the men to dock the ship. The men were scared of what may be in the cave, so I
plucked up the courage and volunteered to go first. I was trembling with sweat pouring down my face as I
slowly climbed down from the boat to step into the swampy mud. I splashed my way into the cave with my
sword and as I was about to enter the dark cave, an echo of a cavernous, roaring sound came from the back.
Before I knew it, a ferocious group of hyenas ran out laughing. Surprisingly, these cat-like animals were
gentle and kind, not at all what I had expected. I immediately waved to my crew to hold off as I attempted
to make friends with them. They slowly crept up to me as I stroked their heads and let them do the same to
me. They welcomed all of us, visitors to their home where they offered us food and water.
Inside the main part of the cave was dark and damp but what I saw was an Aladdin’s cave filled with
priceless treasures that one could never imagine. There were glowing turquoise emeralds, blood-red rubies,
ocean blue sapphires, buckets of gold and glittering diamonds that filled the whole cave with colours. The
men were whooping as they gaped at the mouth-watering find and they started to plan how to divert the
hyenas to steal their treasures. As the crewmembers plotted, I realised that this was not the way to treat our
new friends who had just been kind in offering us food and shelter. I was not suffering from the same
amount of greed as my colleagues. I know times were tough back at home, where if we came back with
lavish treasures we could live like kings, but deep down I could not do it and it did not seem right.