New Tales of the Great Wall
Nicole Wing Tu
t’s such a boring day today” said Carey to her best friend Ian. They were in Beijing on a school trip,
and today they were going to the Great Wall of China.
ng Chan, Group 1: Fiction, Holy Family Canossian School
“
I
“
Cheer up, Carey. Let’s have some fun.”
“
How are we going to do that?” asked Carey.
“
We are just walking along this wall and we have nothing to do.”
“
Let’s do something fun when we have free time,” replied Ian. But Carey frowned and said, “I want to do
something fun now! Let’s sneak off when Mrs. Wong is not looking.”
So when the class was listening to the tour guide introducing the Great Wall of China, Ian and Carey ran off.
They kept running and running, as fast as the wind, until they noticed a cyclone behind them. They yelled and
kept running, but the cyclone swept them away. They were so frightened that they fainted as they floated in the
air.
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves lying in front of a big wall that didn’t seem to end.
They saw some soldiers, wearing helmets and armor. It was a thick wall, built of big stones. Ian looked around
and said, “Where are we? Why are we lying here? Why are all the people wearing such old-fashioned clothes?”
“
I think we are still on the Great Wall, but why is the wall not completed? Where are our classmates and
teacher?” asked Carey.
Ian went up to a soldier and asked, “Why are you wearing such strange and old fashioned clothes? Are you
in a play?”
Carey said “We are lost. Have you seen a group of children wearing this uniform?”
The solider said, “I can’t see your friends, but why are you two alone? Where do you live? I must take you
home, because it is dangerous here. Invaders will come at anytime. That’s why I and the other soldiers are
building this wall to defend us from them.”
Ian exclaimed “Oh! Who is going to attack us?”
The soldier said, “Everybody knows the Qings want to take over the Mings!”
Carey exclaimed in excitement to Ian, “We are in the Ming dynasty!”
The soldier looked at the children strangely and replied, “We must protect ourselves, the king and our city.
Yes. I must get back to work and cut the stones into rectangular shapes so that we can build a good foundation
and gateway.”
Ian said, “Can we help you?”
So Ian and Carey helped the soldiers until they felt very tired, and fell asleep.
“
Ian! Carey! Are you two OK?” said Mrs. Wong.
Ian and Carey woke up in an old shed and saw their classmates and teacher looking at them.
“
Let’s go back to the Wall” said Carey. Mrs. Wong said “I thought you said it was boring!”
Ian said “No! No! This is an important wall with a lot meaningful history”.
“
And Ian and I helped to build it!” yelled Carey.
Everyone looked very puzzled at what Carey had said.
So, Ian and Carey began to tell the children about their “adventure” on the Great Wall of China.
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