EN6–8Leseprobe
The Statuette of Tides
Kai rowed through Trowulan's canals as monsoon clouds piled like purple mountains. His little boat carried spice baskets of clove, nutmeg, and pepper for the busy ocean port.
Kai was only thirteen, but his arms were strong from work. He dreamed of saving his family's creaky floating market dock before the next storm swallowed it.
After a wild night of rain, a palace ship sent for emergency spices. Kai pushed into the foaming harbor, where sea birds screamed above outrigger boats.
A wave bumped his oar against something heavy. Kai hauled up a small volcanic stone statuette, smooth as night and carved like a coiled dragon.
The statue warmed in his hands. Green light spilled from its eyes, and a white dragon uncurled into the stormy air.
I am Bailong, the dragon said, his voice like rain on temple roofs. To be free, I must grant exactly three humble wishes.
From behind silk curtains on the palace ship, Zoe stared in wonder. She had never been allowed beyond guarded decks, though she longed to know the real port.
Kai hid the statuette under a spice cloth, but Commander Sura had seen the glow. The pirate commander wanted it to rule every trade route from Trowulan to the far islands.
Sura's black-sailed outriggers sliced across the harbor. Kai rowed hard through canals lined with brick walls and volcanic stone shrines.
Zoe leaped from her palace ship into Kai's boat. I know a shortcut past the lotus warehouses, she said, surprising even herself.
A fisherman's mast snapped in the wind ahead. Kai wished the fisherman's family would reach shore safely, and Bailong breathed a bridge of jade mist beneath their boat.
One wish was gone. Zoe smiled because helping felt brighter than all the gold lamps on her father's ship.
Sura's sailors blocked the canal with ropes. Kai wished the frightened market children could escape the crush, and Bailong turned falling rain into stepping-stones of light.
Two wishes were gone. Then Kai saw his own family dock tearing loose, spice baskets spilling into the brown water.
His heart thumped. He wanted to wish his dock safe, but Bailong's emerald eyes reminded him of the rule.
Beyond the dock, Sura steered toward the old floating markets, where sailors told stories, grandmothers mixed spices, and every family had a place. If those were taken, Trowulan would lose its living memory.
Kai lifted the statuette high. I wish for the harbor's shared heritage to be protected, so the floating markets, sailors' stories, spice traditions, and working families can endure.
Bailong roared joyfully. Jade light wrapped the market boats, braided their ropes together, and turned the storm winds away from the harbor.
Sura's fleet spun harmlessly toward open water, chased by sea birds and thunder. The people cheered, and Zoe stood beside Kai, brave beyond her silk curtains.
Bailong bowed as dawn gilded the canals. Three humble wishes are complete, he whispered, and folded back into the volcanic stone statuette.
Before Kai could blink, a wave lifted the statuette from his hands. It vanished beneath the sea, carrying Bailong across time to the next selfless heart.
