The Tale of the Great Wall
Hui Qiu Jiang
nce upon a time, there was a girl named Samantha. She lived in a farm with her aunt Betty and Uncle
Tom. Even though they were poor, she lived happily with her little dog, Tiffy.
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Group 2: Fiction, Shenzhen Regents Primary School
One day, Samantha and her dog, Tiffy sat on the doorstep with Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom looked
ously at the sky, which looked even more grey than usual. Samantha stood with Tiffy in her arms
looked at the sky too. Aunt Betty was sweeping the floor. Suddenly they heard a low wail of the
wind coming from the north. They could see the grass spinning in the air. There now came a sharp whistling in
the air from the south. Uncle Tom stood up. “There’s a cyclone coming, Betty,” he said to his wife. “Quick, run
for the cellar!” Aunt Betty, badly frightened, dropped her work and screamed: “Samantha, run for the cellar!”
Samantha was worried because she couldn’t find Tiffy anywhere. At last, she found the little dog hiding under
the bed. She was about to follow her aunt, but when she was half way across the room, the house suddenly
shook so hard that she lost her footing and fell on the floor. A strange thing then happened.
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The house shook three or four times and rose slowly into the air. It was very dark and the wind howled
horribly around her. Samantha was afraid that the house might fall down and crush her, but hours passed and
nothing terrible happened. Tiffy did not like it at all. She ran around the room, barking loudly and sometimes hid
under the bed. Hours and hours passed away, and Samantha got over her fright. In spite of the wailing of the
wind, Samantha closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.
The house landed with a bump, which made Samantha wake up. Tiffy put her cold little nose into her face
and whined. Samantha realized that the house was not moving and bright sunshine shone in from the window.
Samantha opened the door, and gave a cry of amazement. There were trees everywhere, all in different shades of
green. Right before them there was a Great Wall. A fairy was walking towards them. “Hello, my dear child,”
said the fairy, “Welcome to the Great Wall.” “Oh, my God! Where is this place?”asked Samantha. “This is the
land of the Great Wall.” replied The Fairy.“This land is so pretty but I am anxious to get back to my aunt and
uncle, for I am sure they will worry about me. Can you help me find my way?” asked Samantha. “Well, I think
you should go and look for Lila, the Great wizard. She lives at the end of the Great Wall. Maybe she can help
you.”said the Fairy. “How can I get there?” “You have to walk along the great wall, all the way to the end. Good
luck, my dear”said the Fairy. So Samantha packed her basket with food and began her journey.
The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly and Samantha enjoyed skipping on the path and breathing
in the fresh air. Not long after, she heard someone cry on the top of the trees. She was surprised to find a raven
crying on a tree. “What’s the matter?” asked Samantha. “all of the other birds laugh at me because I can’t sing
and I look ugly. Where are you going?”asked the raven. “ I am going to find the great wizard and ask her to send
back to my aunt and uncle.” “ Do you think Lila can give me beauty?” asked the raven . “Maybe. Why don’t
you come along?” So the raven joined Samantha to find Lila.
After a few weeks, Samantha and the black raven arrived at the end of the great Wall, but Lila was nowhere
to be seen. “ I am Lila, the great wizard.” The voice came out from a cloud, which frightened Samantha. “Why
do you come here to see me?” asked Lila.
So Samantha told the wizard her story, how she got to the land of the Great wall and how she met the raven.
“
Now I badly want to get home because my aunt and uncle will be worried. A fairy told that you were the
Greatest wizard in all of the land. That is why I come to see you.” Said Smantha.
Next the raven told Lila his story, how all the other birds laugh at him and that Samantha found him crying
on the top of the tree. “Now I want to be more beautiful and have a sweet voice so the other birds won’t laugh at
me. That is why I come to see you.” said the raven.
Finally Lila spoke: “I will help you grant all your wishes, but you must promise me one thing. You must be
kind, graceful and helpful to everyone. That’s the most important thing.” With those words, Lila gave Samantha
a pair of silver shoes and said: “knock the heels of the shoes three times and command them take you wherever
you wish to go.” Then Lila gave the raven a bottle of potion and said: “drink this potion and you will become
beautiful.” So Samantha said goodbye to the raven and thanked Lila for her kindness. She picked up Tiffy and
shouted:” Take me back home!”
In an wink of an eye, she was standing in the middle of the farm again. Aunt Betty had just come out of the
house to water the plants. She looked up and saw Samantha running towards her. “My darling child !” She cried,
holding the little girl into her arms and covering her face with kisses. “Where did you come from?” asked Aunt
Betty. “ From the land of the Great wall.” said Samatha .“Oh, Aunt Betty, I am so glad to be back home again!”
said Samantha with a smile.
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