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Location:
Szechuan Province, China, Asia
Description:
Nie Lang was a human boy who lived with his
mother in the Szechuan province of China. There was a drought in Szechuan,
and Nie Lang had to cut grass for his master's horses every day. One day
he could not find any grass. A white hare appeared and led him to a place
of lush grass. Everyday he returned to cut more grass, and the grass regrew
where he had cut it. One day he decided to take some of the grass home to
plant, so that he did not have to walk so far everyday. When he dug the grass
up, he found a pearl underneath which he also took. He planted the grass
by his home, and put the pearl in an almost empty rice jar to cover its glow.
The next day the grass was shriveled, but the rice jar was overflowing. The
pearl gave Nie Lang and his mother more rice than they needed, so they shared
it with their neighbours.
Nie Lang's master, Lord Zhou, heard about the magic pearl and wanted it for
himself. He and his guards came to Nie Lang's house looking for the pearl.
Eventually Nie Lang swallowed it to stop the guards finding it, and the guards
were chased away by Nie Lang's neighbours. The pearl felt hot inside him,
so Nie Lang began drinking lots of water. Eventually he went down to the
river to drink. When Lord Zhou and his guards returned to find him, Nie Lang
rose out of the river - he had transformed into a dragon. He sent a great
wave that washed Lord Zhou and his guards away. Nie Lang the dragon ascended
to heaven, and still watches over Szechuan today.
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