The Weeping Wall
Xin Jia Wang
he people living around the Great Wall were very frightened. It was because they could hear weeping
and moaning sounds all the time. There were different rumors. Some said that the sound came from the
ghosts of those that had died unjustly. Some said that the sound came from the poor folk, struggling to
live nearby. While others said that the sound was simply made by packs of roaming wolves.
,
Group 2: Fiction, Shenzhen Regents Primary School
However, an old woman living just at the foot of the Great Wall didn’t agree. She said that the
sound came from within the Great Wall. “My ancestors told me that there was a dragon hiding in the Great Wall.
Now, the dragon must be sick or hurt and therefore it is weeping and moaning!” said the old woman confidently.
T
A young boy called Anson was very interested in what the old woman said. He was determined to go to the
Great Wall to find out the truth. One day, after school, Anson put on a jacket, picked up his torch and led his dog,
Bob, out onto the Wall.
Anson took nearly three hours to climb up the Great Wall. It was very dark already. Suddenly, Bob barked
loudly and looked nervous. Anson turned on the torch and looked around. He could hear the weeping and
moaning sounds clearly. The sounds were coming from beneath him.
“
The old woman is right!” Anson shouted out excitedly. Although he couldn’t believe what he saw, there it
was!
The Dragon heard the noise and roared. Even though Anson was very afraid, he decided to go near the
Dragon. He thought the dragon looked in pain. He patted it and asked it what had happened patiently, “Hey,
Dragon, I came here to help you. Don’t be afraid. Please tell me your story.” Anson said to the Dragon softly.
The Dragon hesitated but at last, it began to talk. “I’m the Dragon hiding in the Great Wall. I stay here to
protect your country. Once, I was very cruel to your people. Then I realized I was wrong. I wanted to help
protect your kind to atone for my sins. So God let me lay in the Great Wall to protect the people living here.
“
That’s amazing. I have never heard about this!” Anson exclaimed while listening.
“
I have been lying here for almost 2,000 years. I snake through the mountains of the country for nearly
5,000
kilometers. Thousands of battles have been fought at my feet. However, I have successfully protected the
country from those foreign invaders. I’m one of the Seven Wonders in the World!” the Dragon said proudly. He
cherished greatly all of those glorious memories.
“
Yes, you’re an impressive testament to our nation’s persistence, ingenuity and power.” Anson responded.
The Dragon nodded his head and continued. “At the beginning, people took good care of me, but thousands
of years have passed by and people are becoming more and more careless, more and more selfish. They throw
rubbish on me. They spit on me. They scribble on me. They even damage me. I am becoming more and more
hurt day after day!” The Dragon sighed deeply. He wept and moaned again.
Anson felt so sorry that a strong will to help the poor Dragon began to burn inside of him.
The next day, Anson told his father, David, about all the things that had happened. David was a reporter. He
started to write about the legend of the Great Walls’ Dragon in newspapers. He worked with different
organizations to encourage people to protect and cherish the Great Wall. He also wrote letters to the government
to ask them to repair the Great Wall.
Ten years passed.
Now, the people living around the Great Wall do not hear the weeping and moaning sounds anymore. The
Great Wall is cleaner, tidier and more beautiful than it was. Many trees have been planted and the environment
is much nicer. People take care of this world heritage. No one destroys it anymore.
***