New Tales of the Great Wall
Jamie Lam, Group 2:
h no! It’s the mundane Chinese lesson again!” I complained to myself and slumped in my seat.
On the contrary, our teacher, Mrs Churk seemed very enthusiastic in this topic – The Great
Wall of China. She elaborated on it animatedly to us, “Class, today we are going to write about
the Great Wall. Isn’t this wonderful? The Great Wall is one of the most magnificent
architectural sites in the world. It was built under the command of Qin Shi Huang Ti two
thousand years ago in order to protect the empire from invaders…” She babbled on and on like a bumblebee,
buzzing and hovering over my head as if hypnotizing me into slumber. Soon the whole classroom blurred into
darkness and I couldn’t help but drifted into unconsciousness.
Fiction, St. Paul’s Convent School Primary
“
O
Someone nudged me awake, I struggled to lift my eyelids open and dreamily pushed myself up. Coming
into sight was complete alien surroundings, I was totally baffled to find myself lying on a grazing field! A lamb
was scowling at me and impatiently shoving me off the juicy green grass with its hoof. Wandering aimlessly, I
saw people pushing carts loaded with rocks and boulders towards a long, winding wall. Over one side of the
wall, there was a beautiful patch of green stretched to the horizon; on the other side, a lively and bustling village
stood on the plain. As I strolled down a hilly slope, someone yelped, “Wwwatch out!” A cascade of rocks was
rolling down the hill, chasing me like a stream of gigantic bullets. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me,
skipping and skidding between the rocks, fleeing for dear life. Swerving to another direction, I luckily escaped
the hunting bullets just in time! Phew! That was close! “Sorry…I didn’t mean to hurt you, my wagon broke and
the rocks just scattered and tumbled down…” A boy about my own age came running towards me, apologising
guiltily. “Ne…never mind, no harm done after all. My name’s Jamie. What’s yours?” I tried to catch my breath.
“
Jamie? What a funny name! My name’s Chun.” The friendly boy wore baggy clothes with button knots and
straw shoes. I realized I was dressed in the same kind of ancient Chinese clothing! I must have travelled back in
time to ancient China! “Chun, Why are you loading rocks?” I asked curiously. “Our family lives in the village.
In these few years, the Huns have been raiding and robbing our village, not only taking our possessions, but also
capturing our people as slaves. Many villagers have been injured and have died in the attacks, so I help build the
wall to protect ourselves,” he explained grimly. “Haven’t you tried to fight back?” I asked. “Of course, we’ve
tried! However, the barbarians are too fierce and powerful, and they outnumber us in the fights,” Chun
grumbled in exasperation. “I am too young to fight but I can help build the wall to defend ourselves.” Picking
up the scattered rocks, Chun reloaded his wagon and planned to leave. “Want a hand?” I volunteered. Chun
nodded gratefully and we set off to the wall.
Along the way, I saw soldiers standing as still as statues, guarding every single watchtower. They were
vigilant as eagles and alert to every sound and movement. Chun and I heaved and hauled the rocks to the wall
builders, beady sweat trickled down our cheeks and my four limbs were beginning to ache. I was about to ask
for a break, yet spotting a glint of anger burning in Chun’s eyes, I swallowed the request and kept on loading.
Out of the blue, a piercing shriek of horn torn the air and flames from a bonfire licked the darken sky. “The
Huns are coming!” Chun exclaimed. A heavy pounding of hooves stirred up a thick fog of dust, we were blind
and trapped in the sandstorm. Gradually the dust rolled back and revealed a savage troop charging towards us,
wielding their weapons and roared, “Let us kill!” As Chun had described, the Huns were skillful and brutal
warriors, they had snake-like eyes and hideous faces. In no time, they broke the Chinese defense and took down
a lot of soldiers. Chun seized my hand and sprinted back to the village, however, I felt my collar was tightened
around my neck and I was lifted off the ground! I was captured by a Hun! “Help! Help...Let me down, you big
bully!” I squealed and kicked with all my might. Luckily, Chun came to the rescue, he aimed some spiky stones
at the Hun’s head and threw as hard as he could. After a few attempts, the Hun let out a howl of pain and
dropped me onto the ground. Chun scurried over and helped me to my feet. Heaving a sigh of relief, we
reckoned we were safe for now, however, an arrow whizzed overhead and Chun screamed, “Jump!” He grabbed
my sleeve and leapt into a trench. What a narrow escape! Peeping out fearfully, I saw the Chinese soldiers
fighting gallantly against the Huns. “CCLANG!” a razor-sharp blade was viciously whacked down in front of
me, closely followed by a familiar screech, “Jamie Lammm! How…” At once, I snapped out of the trance.
My eyes cracked open and I realized that I was back to reality. My neighbour nudged me in the ribs and
whispered, “Wake up!” A livid Mrs Churk stood before me, a hand on her hip and the other brandishing a ruler
like a sword. “Jamie Lam! How dare you sleep in my lesson? What? Not a word for your essay! Do you want
detention? Uh?” she shrieked at the top of her lungs. After a string of apologies, I whizzed my pen like a
lighting bolt across a piece of paper and my neighbours gaped at me open-mouthed. Instead of scratching my
head out of confusion as usual, I vividly described my adventure and created a miraculous story.
A week later, Mrs Churk happily danced into the classroom, she announced, “Class, you’ve all done a great
job for writing about the Great Wall. And the “Best Essay” goes to Jamie Lam!” What? Was this a dream again?
The whole class including myself was dumbfounded. I pinched myself hard on the thigh to confirm it was real.