Knights of the Round Table, evil witches, magic spells, damsels with long blond hair: All of these things filled my television set when I was younger. There was always a dragon holding a castle, a village, or a damsel hostage. There was always a young knight in training or a young sorcerer in training who killed the dragon with wit and a magical sword. Always. Now I’ve found a story where there is a dragon but it wasn’t a young knight nor a young sorcerer who finished off the beast…..

In the eastern most part of China, there was a valley so deep you had to walk fifteen days before reaching the town in the middle of the gorge. Guarding this town was a horrible serpent. He was eighty feet long, scales as thick as steel, and claws that could up root trees in seconds. His eyes pierced the bravest man’s courage and his roar deafened the townspeople. For years he would eat the oxen from carts pulling food into town. The only thing that satisfied his hunger for one year was a meal consisting of a young girl. Each year, for nine years, the townspeople took a daughter from a poor family and fed her to the serpent. And it was time to feed the serpent once again.

The townspeople looked at the remaining families in town. The only family left with daughters was the Li family. Mr. Li had seven daughters. It broke his heart when he had to decide who should be given to the serpent. He had until the sundown of the next day to choose.

During this time, Mr. Li’s youngest daughter, Chi, approached him. She explained that she should be the one to go because, being a girl, was worthless to him. Mr. Li denied his daughter because he loved her, and the rest of his family, too much.

When sundown came, Chi marched to the magistrate’s office and demanded that she be the one who would save the town. She explained that she is the one who captures the wild boars in the forest for family meals, and she chops the wood for the family fireplace. Everyone in court laughed at her. To mock her even more, they gave her a sword and a dog to stand by her side.

Chi stood alone at the serpent’s cave. Rumbling through the silence, the serpent awoke with a roar. Chi stood firm while her dog barked to warn her of the serpents movements. Chi could see the glow of the eyes and the steam from the breathe escape from the cave. Soon after the serpent emerged and noticed Chi’s scent. The dog barked more which distracted the serpent attention. The dog jumped up to bite the serpents ear. The serpent let out a horrible growl. Chi lunged forward with her sword at the serpent’s side but did no harm because his scales prevented the sword to penetrate. The serpent retaliated and tossed Chi and her dog fifty feet. Bruised but not stopped, Chi ran towards the monster. From behind the serpent, Chi’s dog bit the serpent’s end, causing it to open its’ mouth wide. Chi took this opportunity to pierce through the top the serpents mouth. "Howl," the serpent again let out, but this time it was his last. Unable to remove the sword from its mouth, the serpent fell over and died instantly.

The townspeople who watched from afar cheered and celebrated Chi for saving the town. The magistrate was so impressed with the girl that he wanted his son to marry her. Within a year the two were married and Chi’s family prospered.

See, no knights, no wizards, nor damsels in distress. Just cause only one version of a story is always on television, it doesn't mean that it's the only version.