One of the things I did as a child was wish that I could create things from thin air like the magicians on television. It was a thrill to see rabbits and birds appear from behind a magician's magic hand with a wave of a wand. In the following story, Mike had a way to create things by drawing with his magic paintbrush.
Mike blinked his eyes, and blinked them again. The brush was on the table, waiting for the boy to pick it up. Mike picked up the brush and a tingle ran up his arm. He had to try out his gift. He unrolled a torn piece of cloth, mixed some ash with water to make ink, then drew a bird. Nothing happened for a moment but then Mike couldn't believe his eyes. The bird blinked, then ruffled its feathers. With a stretch of its wings, the bird came to life and flew off the paper. Mike fell to the ground! He tried again, but this time with a turtle. The turtle came to life with a hard shell and a head that popped in and out of that shell. All night, Mike drew little animals that came to life.
A week went by and news of Mike's paintbrush spread through the village. Neighbors visited Mike to have him draw new farming equipment. He was happy to help them all. One neighbor who heard about Mike was Mustache Sam, the mean rancher who lived at the end of the village. No one liked him. He abused his animals and stole from the village. Mustache Sam had a plan. He told his henchmen to kidnap Mike and steal his paintbrush. Wednesday night, Mustache Sam's men grabbed Mike when he was walking home from the farm. Mike was thrown into an abandoned shed and two guys stood guard at the door while another ran for Mustache Sam.
During this month, stories of Mike's magical paintbrush travel all over China. People described animals coming to life and how one village poverty turned around with the aid of new farming equipment; all of this because of one little boy's big heart and his paintbrush. The news reached even to the ears of the Emperor.
Mike was captured by the Emperor's soldiers and brought before the emperor. Mike was separated with his brush and then thrown into jail. The Emperor wondered what was to be his first drawing with the magical paintbrush. He drew what he thought was a golden phoenix. A golden phoenix to lay him golden eggs. The bird flapped its wings and came to life as a common chicken. "Bock," it cried and ran around the royal throne room. The emperor tried to draw a bar of gold. Since he was a greedy man, he drew a long bar of gold. The gold bar wiggled off the paper in the shape of a snake. The huge snake crept towards the emperor and wrapped itself around him. The emperor yelled for his men of court to free him. At the same time, the chicken ran and jumped up on the head of emperor, and laid a big yellow egg.
With all of the confusion, no one saw Mike sneak away, draw himself a horse and ride away. Where did he go? Some say that Mike went home to continue to help the poor. Some others say he created animal refuge in the middle of China's mountain range and drew animals until the day he died. When I was young, I never thought of having a magic paintbrush. If I did, I would have painted my mom a new vase. One to replace the one I knocked off the shelf causing it to fall and shatter to pieces. Never run in the living room. Trust me on this one.  This teacup will bring you back to the Introduction Page A Printable version is available. Copyright 1998 Colette Chooey |
Long
time ago in a village tucked away in the mountains lived a little boy
name Mike. His family were farmers. Farming was hard to do on a mountainside.
There wasn't much success for his family, nor for the rest of the village.
Being poor didn't bother Mike because he loved to paint. In the fields,
Mike drew animal shapes in the dirt. By the river, Mike drew fish and
plants on rocks with his wet finger. There was no stopping Mike's creativity
for canvas and paint. When he was old enough, he went to the monastery
to speak with the head monk. He knew the head monk was a famous painter
and Mike wanted to learn from him. The old monk told Mike he was too
young and that he should stay with his family to farm. Mike was devastated
and walked home slowly, crying silently all the way. 
That
night, a white owl appeared at Mike's window. "Whooo," the owl cried
as it flew into Mike's bedroom. In a flash, the owl changed into an
old man. Mike hid behind his bed, trembling. The old man laughed and
said, "I've been watching you, Mike. You're a very talented artist.
I've brought a gift from the gods. It's a magic paintbrush. Use it,
and it'll make many people happy." Then the old man turned back into
the white owl, flying out the window and into the night.
When
morning arrived, Mike ran to the farm to greet his father. He had to
show him his new paintbrush. Mike walked towards the broken cart. It
hasn't been used in years because it was missing a wheel. Mike waved
his magical paintbrush in the air and drew a wheel for the cart. POOF,
a wheel appeared on the cart. Mike continued to draw things for his
father to use on the farm. They were both very happy.
When
Mustache Sam arrived, he smelled something burning from inside the shed.
He opened the door and found a cooked meal and a blanket, both of which
were drawn by Mike for comfort. Mustache Sam discovered something else:
a ladder perched against the back window of the shed. Mike had drawn
a ladder to escape his capture. With all of his might, Mustache Sam
yelled and knocked over the fire, burning the shed to the ground. Mike
watched the chaos from behind a big rock and was not found. He ran home
and hid for the next month.
The
Emperor was a greedy man. He hoarded gold and gems from far away lands.
He counted his money daily. He even had servants killed if they were
eating too much food. The Emperor wanted Mike's magical paintbrush.
He set out a million-dollar reward for the capture of Mike and his paintbrush.