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Ma Liang and the Magic Brush

This story happened in old China. It is about a boy named Ma Liang.

Ma Liang was a nice boy. His parents were dead

and he had to work hard for money.

Ma Liang was very poor. He loved to paint,

but he did not have money to buy a paint brush.

One day, Ma Liang passed an art school. He dreamed of all the beautiful pictures

he could paint.

With a frown on his face but his dream in his heart,

Ma Liang went to the art teacher.

Ma Liang said politely, “Excuse me." He asked the teacher,

"May I learn how to paint from you?”

“You want to learn painting? That’s great!

Do you have any money?” the teacher asked.

“No money at all? Just get out of here!” Unlike Ma Liang,

the art teacher was not a polite person. He pushed Ma Liang away.

Ma Liang was very sad, but he did not lose his dream.

“I don’t have a brush, but it’s not a problem,” said Ma Liang.

“I can use a stick to draw.”

Ma Liang began to draw pictures on the ground with a stick.

His pictures got better, day after day.

One day, Ma Liang drew some chickens

on the ground.

Suddenly,he saw a very big shadow on the ground!

Ma Liang was so scared that he hid behind a stone.

Ma Liang looked up at the sky.

What did he see?

He saw an eagle flying to him.

The eagle thought the chickens were alive!

The eagle fell on the ground. There were no real chickens, only Ma Liang’s lively work.

“I wish I had a paint brush,” said Ma Liang that night

before he fell asleep.

When Ma Liang opened his eyes, there was an old man in front of him.

He had a long white beard.

“You are a smart boy,” said the old man.

“I believe this brush can help you do good things.”

Ma Liang was happy. This was the first time

he had ever owned a paint brush.

Suddenly the old man was gone.“Am I dreaming?”

Ma Liang could not believe what just happened.

The old man had gone before he could say thank you.

Ma Liang drew a rooster on the wall.

Then he painted

his head, eyes, neck, legs,

wings, body,

and his long tail.

Suddenly, the rooster began to move and it jumped off the wall!

A real rooster stood in front of Ma Liang!

Because the brush was magic, everything Ma Liang drew became real.

He began to paint for other poor people.

Ma Liang saw a farmer pulling a plow

in his field. The farmer's son was trying to help.

Ma Liang drew a big strong cow for the farmer.

Then he painted the cow’s head,

eyes, neck,

horns, four legs,

and a long tail. The cow moved

from the wall.

Ma Liang took the cow to the farmer. The cow pulled the plow.

The farmer and his son waved to Ma Liang.

But one day, a bad thing happened. A big strong man came with soldiers.

“Come with us!" he yelled. The king wants you to draw for him.”

“No! I won’t draw for him!” said Ma Liang.

“I draw for poor people.The king is not poor. He lives in a palace.

He has land and money."

The strong man did not say any more. He grabbed Ma Liang and took him.

Ma Liang didn’t want to go at all. But he was taken

to the king’s beautiful palace.

The king was selfish and greedy. He was very rich,

but he still wanted more.

“Don’t be afraid,” said the king.“Just draw a pile of gold coins

on this paper.”

Ma Liang said no to the king. The king was angry

and he put him in prison.

In the prison, there were many good people,

just like Ma Liang.

Ma Liang wanted to help them. He used the magic brush

and drew a door on the wall.

When the door became real, Ma Liang opened it.

He let the people go.They were free now.

The guards did not know because they had fallen asleep.

The guards were surprised when they found out the prison was empty.

When the king got the news, he was very angry.

“This brush is mine! Throw him back in prison!” said the king. He took Ma Liang’s magic brush away.

The king called the art teacher. He told him

to draw a tree of gold.

The king was happy when he saw the tree.

He wanted to hug his gold. He ran to the tree.

But the picture didn’t become real, and the king hit his head on the wall.

Only Ma Liang’s paintings could become real.

The king went to prison and he tried to be nice to Ma Liang.

“Could you paint a gold mountain on this wall please?”

The king asked him very politely.

Ma Liang drew the gold mountain, but he put the mountain in the sea.

Then the king asked Ma Liang to draw a ship for him.

He took his guards to go to the gold mountain.

“Faster! Faster! Draw me more wind!” the king told Ma Liang.

Ma Liang gave him the wind.

The wind was too strong, but the king didn’t want to stop.

“To the mountain! To the mountain!” the king yelled.

Gold! That was the last thing he saw. Then, the king and his men sank

to the bottom of the sea.

After the greedy king died, everyone lived happily ever after.

The End