Xiao Xiao the Snake and the Great Wall of
China
Sacha Field, G
long, long time ago a baby snake was born in an old cave in Beijing. All their lives his parents tried
to search for a new home for him as well as hunt for food and give him water to drink.
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roup 2: Fiction, Kennedy School
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Then one day his parents didn’t come home after hunting. Xiao Xiao thought they would have
home by now. He wondered what was going on so he slithered into his cosy warm bed and
ed they would be home by morning.
Xiao Xiao had a horrible dream that night. He dreamt that his parents had been killed by huntsmen and then
taken to the emperor to use their skin on his fine silk clothes. He woke up suddenly. It was bright daylight, but
still there was no sign of his parents.
He caught a mouse and had it for breakfast. After that, being such a young snake, he decided to go and live
with his grandparents. He gathered all his belongings and put them in a buddle and set off to his grandparent’s
house. His grandparents welcomed him and said he could stay if he did the hunting. He agreed and thought
about the hunting methods his father had taught him. This just made him think about his parents even more.
Xiao Xiao’s grandmother thought he must be quite tired after that very long slithering and gave him a big
juicy deer’s leg. They lived harmoniously in their little cave until one day Xiao Xiao decided he was old enough
to live by himself. His grandparents agreed and gave him water and food for the journey back to his old cave. So
once again Xiao Xiao gathered his things and went back to his old cave.
When he got back to his old cave he found it was now too small for him. But he was so tired he fell asleep
on his bed of leaves. When he woke up he decided to build a new bigger and better home for himself. He
decided to build a wall right next to his cave. He called for his friends, Ke Ke the pig, Le Le the panda, Ming
Ming the dragon and the life long friend that his father knew, an elderly warm-hearted man called, Fu. He called
them all together and asked for their help. He told them that if they helped to build the wall he would bring back
meat for supper. None of them agreed. “I don’t like meat. I prefer vegetables,” Ke Ke announced after Xiao
Xiao had spoken. “Me too,” Le Le said. Ming Ming and Fu nodded in agreement. “Ok then I’ll bring meat for
me and vegetables for you. But would you please eat an occasional bit of meat?” he replied. “Sure” they
chorused. Now that was settled they gathered bits of rock and mud to stick it all together with. Xiao Xiao knew
this process would take many years, but since the animals were in a jolly mood he decided he should be, too.
As the years passed the animals (and human) built the wall up bit by bit. They built the sides and a couple
of stone steps. They made it long. At that time it was probably the longest wall in the whole of China. People
started to become interested in what they were doing. One man seemed particularly interested and asked Xiao
Xiao “What are you doing. I think what ever it is, its amazing.” “Thank you. But I can’t tell you yet. You see its
not quite finished,” Xiao Xiao replied. “Ah. I see. Well, I can’t wait,” said the man with a smile.
That night Xiao Xiao thought long and hard about what that old man had said. Suddenly, he had an idea. If
that old man admired it so much then maybe others would too? That’s it, he thought. After we’re finished we
could make it into a tourist place that people can visit. The next day, Xiao Xiao told all his friends about the
idea. “As well as this wall being my home and yours if you want it to be, we could make it a place where
tourists can visit,” he said, rather excitedly. The others thought it was a brilliant idea. After the seventh long,
slow year, the wall was finally finished, but they had to agree on a name to call this great double-sided wall.
“
Friendship Wall,” suggested Ke Ke. “Wall Of Fire,” Ming Ming suggested. “Snake wall,” Xiao Xiao said with
pride in his voice. “What about The Great Wall Of China,” Fu said softly. “What a great name!” Xiao Xiao
exclaimed. The others agreed, nodding their heads. They made a sign saying “The Great Wall Of China.
Tourists are welcome to visit.” They also made a little box saying “Please put your money in here, any amount
will do”. “There. Perfect,” said Fu as he hammered the last nail into the sign. “Beautiful,” Fu whispered.
Five minutes later a lady passed by and looked interested. She put some money into the box and walked
along the wall. She was amazed. She thought she was in heaven seeing such a beautiful sight. Soon there were
other people on the wall looking at the sights.
One day someone reported this great wall to the emperor. The emperor thought that if the people who built
this wall were getting so much money then, if I build my own place for people to visit, then I’ll get money too.
He told his royal builders to build a fascinating place for people to visit. After a month the emperor’s
monument was built. But nobody came. Everyone was fascinated by the Great Wall of China. The emperor was