The Dumpling Dash
Eve Messerv
he leaves were swishing, the birds were singing, and it was a beautiful clear morning in Northern
Chi
who
hern
y, Group 2: Fiction, Kennedy School
na. A little girl was listening to the birds and enjoying the swishing of the leaves. Everyone
knew this little girl agreed she was lovely, charming and helpful, she was 9 years old, and
ame was Mei Mei.
Mei Mei's Father's job was to help build the Great Wall of China, and Mei Mei liked
nothingmore than going and seeing how he was doing after school. One morning, Mei Mei was making
delicious homemade dumplings, with warm meat in the middle, for her Father to take with him for his
lunch. Suddenly, she realised that the house was quiet and her Father had already left for
T
work. Mei Mei's heart was pumping so fast she hardly knew what to do, so she started shouting
“
wait Father, come back!” but it was no use, her Father could not hear her.
Mei Mei thought to herself, I could run, and if I run fast enough, I could catch up with him! Mei
Mei ran as fast as she could through the village, dodging the chickens that ran in between her feet,
and almost bumping into an apple cart. As she passed her Aunts house, she saw her standing in the
doorway and gave a hurried wave, noticing the puzzled look on her Aunts face as she dashed
through the dusty street. In fact, most of the village had stopped to stare at Mei Mei's dumpling
dash!
All the time, she imagined her Father working on the Great Wall without any lunch to keep up his
strength. He will be tired and hungry. After twenty minutes of fast and exhausting running, Mei
Mei finally reached the edge of the village, and the part of the Great Wall that her Father was
building, but she could not see him anywhere. Mei Mei was determined not to give up, and decided
to start searching for him. Mei Mei set off along the Great Wall, hoping she was heading in the
right direction.
Mei Mei did not pass any other people, and it was very quiet, silent and empty, she felt like the only
little girl left in the whole wide world. Suddenly she saw a shadow of a human figure appearing
through the early morning mist. Mei Mei could not see properly, as the mist was swirling about, but
she was hoping it was her Father and started walking towards the shadowy figure. As she got
closer, the figure got smaller, and looked more like a child. She no longer thought it could be her
Father.
When she was close enough, she realized that it was a grubby little boy, and he was trying to sell
her something. Mei Mei asked his name, and the boy told her it was Li Qing. Mei Mei knew this
meant 'strong and mighty' in Chinese, and she liked his name. She was glad to have another person
to talk to, and after she had introduced herself, she found out that Li Qing was also nine.
Mei Mei explained that she was looking for her Father, and they started walking together. It was
getting late, and was long past lunchtime., Mei Mei was worried and a little scared, she had never
been lost before, and although Li Qing told her not to be frightened, she just wanted to be safe at
home.
As it got darker, Li Qing told Mei Mei he knew a warm and safe place to sleep, if they hid from the
soldiers, they could stay in one of the lookout towers. Li Qing told Mei Mei that this is where he
slept every night, and had learned how not to get caught!
Before they knew it, the dawn was breaking, and the two children crept out of the tower before
anyone could spot them. They set off in the direction they thought that Mei Mei's village was in. As
they walked, Mei Mei enjoyed hearing the birds sing, and thought what an amazing sight the Great
Wall was in the early morning mist, with the huge mountains all around them, she was proud that
her Father had helped to build it.
They walked for a long time, and they shared the dumplings that had been meant for her Fathers
lunch, they tasted delicious, but of course they did, as Mei Mei had made them herself! Just at that
moment, they saw a figure in the distance, Mei Mei had a warm feeling in her heart that it might
just be her Father, and she started to run. Then she realised the figure was running as well, and as
they got closer Mei Mei could see it was her … FATHER!
Mei Mei could not say in words how happy she was, and they both held on to each other tightly for
a long time. They all walked home happily together, talking constantly. When they got home, Mei
Mei's Mother was waiting for them, so was her Aunt. They were very relieved to see her as they
had been searching for Mei Mei all night. Just standing behind her was Li Qing still grubby and
dirty. Mei Mei's Aunt asked her “who is this little boy you have with you?” Mei Mei explained
that Li Qing had helped her when she was lost, and had shown her a safe place to sleep on the
Great Wall. She also added that he had no family and was an orphan. Mei Mei's Aunt thought for a