Tearful Tragedy of the Great Wall
Ji Won Yang, Gro
nce upon a time, in China, there was a young cute boy called Min. His father has been dead since he
was 3 years old. He was living with his mother, Hwa and his sister, Lyn. They were living in the
place where the Great Wall would soon be built.
the playground
up 3: Fiction, Korean International School
One day Min went to get food his mother ordered. After buying all the groceries he went to
and found some girls and boys who were about his age. He asked them to play together but they
ignored him. They had no interest at this country boy. Min gave up and started to play alone.
O
Something strange happened. Before, the playground was very noisy and filled with children's laughter.
Now, it was deadly quiet. When he looked up he saw an old man gazing at him. An old man had sinister eyes, a
rough face, long whisky beard, crooked nose and twisted lips with yellow teeth. Min could smell the danger
from him but he stayed tranquil and asked, "Excuse me sir, who are you, and why you are gazing at me to
sharply?" The old man didn't say anything, he just kept the silence. Eventually he opened his mouth, "What is
your name?" Min could smell rotten fish from the old man's mouth. He could see the left-over food between his
yellow teeth. Min felt a sudden disgust but he held down it. The old man sharply stated to Min, "I don't like
asking one question twice. What is your name?" He accidentally answered, "My...My name is 'Ryeong'." The
old man made a creepy smile and asked, "How old are you, Ryeong?" Min wanted to run away from this old
sinister-looking man, but his legs didn't listen to him.
"
I am 10 years old." This was a lie. Actually, he was only 8 years old. At this moment, Min himself
didn't know why he was telling tales. Suddenly, the old man took out some large tweezers, picked Min up with
it and threw him into the bag. Min struggled to get out of the bag because the old man blocked the way. Min
shouted as loud as he could. However, he heard the old man's voice. "This is an enchanting piece of luggage.
Only I could hear what you said. Fortunately no one can hear you."
At this time, Min's mom and Lyn were anxious about Min not coming back home until late evening.
They couldn't wait anymore so they went out to find Min. They went to the stores where Min had gone before.
Everybody couldn't answer Min's mum and Lyn's question. They didn't see Min. Eventually they figured out
where Min was. At the fruit store, there was a one boy who saw Min in the playground. He was the one of the
children who refused to play with Min. He told Lyn and Min's mother, "I saw that boy in the playground. He
was playing alone. Suddenly Upsala came to the playground. My friends and I all ran away. Upsala is a vicious
wizard. He kidnaps little boys and puts them in his magical luggage. No one knows what happens to those boys
who were kidnapped by Upsala."
Hwa and Lyn went back home in despair. Tears slid down their faces. They wanted to see Min's
smiling face. They scolded themselves for being stupid. Hwa thought, 'If I went to the store instead of Min, I
wouldn't lose Min...I am very absurd. Sending an 8-years-old boy to those big stores, alone, is very careless act.
I wish I could reverse the time again...' Lyn thought, 'If I accepted Min's request, this thing won't happen. If I
didn't play with my friend and follow Min, Min wouldn't be kidnapped.'
After that incident, Hwa and Lyn forgot a way to smile. They were determined not to move. They
thought that if they move their house, Min couldn't come back to them. 15 years later Emperor Qin ordered the
people to build the Great Wall. He wanted to defend against an attack from another country. Unfortunately, one
of the places Emperor Qin wanted to build Great Wall was the place where Min's home was set up. Hwa and
Lyn were asked to move out, but they didn't listen to that order. At this time, Min became 18 years old. He was
planning hard to escape from the luggage. This old man, Upsala, wanted to sell him at first. However, Upsala
wanted to make this cute boy his son. So Upsala took Min to his home. Uppsala’s home was very luxurious.
There were many varieties of food. Some foods were very expensive so most of the people who were not rich
couldn't taste those foods. The tastes of food were marvellous, so if two people ate those foods at the same time,
one person dies. However the other person doesn't realize that another person's death. This person was too
concentrated to the taste of the food. There were many jewels, gold, money, rooms, books...etc. Upsala had an
abundant life. Min only concentrated on his escape. But, there was no chance of escape. He was imprisoned in
the home.
Min was getting thinner. Sometimes, Upsala took Min outside but always inside his magical luggage.
He made a tiny hole fitted for Min's eyes so Min could see the outside. This hole can be only made by Upsala.