In a small village of China, lived a boy named Chi Yu with his mother. They lived in a tiny house surrounded by lovely green meadows covered with fresh, green grass.
Every morning Chi Yu would go out in the meadows, cut the green grass and put it in a basket. He would then take it to the farmer Hieun Tse, who fed his cows with it. In return, Chi Yu got a jar of rice from the farmer.
Suddenly, there were no rains in the region for two years in a row. All the green grass of the meadow turned brown and dry. Chi Yu looked everywhere for some green grass for the farmer’s cow, but couldn’t find a single blade of grass anywhere.
One day while searching for grass, he noticed a patch of fresh green grass in the field behind the tall hills. He immediately cut the green grass and took it to the farmer. Every day he would come there and cut the grass and it would grow back the next morning.
A few days later, while slashing the grass he noticed a small shiny golden bead in the grass. Fascinated by its beauty, he took it home and hid it in an empty rice jar.
Next day, he was surprised to see that the empty jar of rice was now filled to the top! Every time Chi Yu emptied the jar, it would fill up again.
Chi Yu understood that the bead was the reason behind this miracle. He was very kind so he shared the rice with the entire village.
All the people in the village were happy except for the farmer.
His cows were starving without the grass and he wanted the golden bead for himself.
He offered Chi Yu all his money, farm and house in exchange for the bead. But, Chi Yu did not agree.
Hieun Tse, then, decided to steal the bead of gold. One night, while Chi Yu was sleeping, the farmer quietly entered his house and was about to steal the jar when Chi Yu woke up at the sound. Chi Yu rushed to the jar and swallowed the bead immediately.
Chi Yu still did not feel better; he became hotter and hotter and started breathing fire. Yellow and orange flames came out of his mouth.
Chi Yu did not realize that it was an extremely unwise thing to do. The bead started burning inside him and he felt extremely thirsty. He drank up all the water in the house. He then drank up all the water from all the houses of the village. He then drank up all the water from the pond. He emptied the lakes and swallowed the entire river.
Gradually, he changed into a creature that breathed fire. Unfortunately, he could no longer live in the village and had to go far far away.[/tab]
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