Enjoy one of our new bedtime stories for kids. This time on Fairy Night, we present a traditional Chinese dragon fable. Listen to the story of the origins of China’s most important rivers!
Once upon a time, there were no rivers or lakes on earth, only the Eastern Sea, home to four dragons: the Long Dragon, the Yellow Dragon, the Black Dragon, and the Pearl Dragon. Every day, they soared carefree in the sky, playing hide and seek among the clouds. But one day, something interrupted their frolic.
The Pearl Dragon suddenly called out to his brothers:
„Look! What’s happening over there?”
All four dragons looked in the direction indicated by the Pearl Dragon. They saw many people on the earth scattering crumbs of cakes and fruits and burning incense sticks. They were praying. An old woman knelt on the ground holding a small child and wailed pleadingly.
„Send us rain quickly, God of the Heavens! Please give our children rice to eat!”
They saw that it hadn’t rained for many days. The crops had dried up, the grass had turned yellow, and the soil was cracked under the scorching sun.
„Poor people!” said the Yellow Dragon. „They will die of hunger if it doesn’t rain soon.”
The Long Dragon nodded in agreement and suggested:
„Let’s go together and ask the Jade Emperor for help!”
So saying, they rushed through the clouds straight to the Heavenly Palace. The Jade Emperor was very powerful, responsible for all matters in heaven, on earth, and in the sea. When the dragons rushed through the gate, a great feast was taking place. The Emperor frowned upon seeing them.
„What nonsense is this? Why do you bother me instead of flying among the clouds where you belong?”
The Long Dragon approached and said:
„The crops on earth are withering, and people are dying of hunger, Your Majesty. We beg you to send rain quickly!”
The Emperor didn’t pay much attention to what the dragon said, as he was more interested in listening to heavenly songs sung in his honor. He dismissively replied:
„Fine. Go back. I’ll send some rain tomorrow.”
The four dragons bowed deeply and flew back, pleased with the Emperor’s promise. However, ten days passed, and not a single drop of rain had fallen. People suffered even more – eating bark, roots, and grass. Some, when even this ran out, began to suck clay and mud. Seeing this, the dragons felt even sadder. They realized that the Jade Emperor cared only for himself and his pleasures. They wanted to help but could only rely on themselves. What to do?
In the distance, the sea was visible, and the Long Dragon had an idea.
„What idea? Tell us quickly!” the other three dragons couldn’t wait.
„Look to the east! There’s the sea, full of water! Maybe we can gather some and spray it into the sky. In this way, we’ll bring rain and save the people and their crops!”
The dragons were delighted with the idea, but then the Long Dragon became sad.
„If the Jade Emperor finds out what we’ve done, he will be angry that we defied him. The Emperor’s anger is no joke, we may regret it…”
„I’ll do everything to save the people!” said the Yellow Dragon decisively.
„Let’s start! No more hesitation,” said the Long Dragon.
All four – along with the Black and Pearl Dragons – flew to the sea, scooped up water in their enormous mouths, then flew high into the sky and sprayed the water over the land. They repeated this many times, flying back and forth. Eventually, the sky darkened all around, and rain poured in streams.
„It’s raining! It’s raining! Our crops are saved!” People on earth started to shout, jumping and dancing with joy. The wheat stalks lifted their heads, and the sorghum stalks straightened up.
When the God of the Sea saw what had happened, he immediately went to the Jade Emperor and told him everything. As the dragons had feared, the Emperor was very angry.
„How dare four dragons bring rain without my permission???” he exclaimed.
He immediately ordered his generals and soldiers to arrest them. The dragons had no chance to resist. They were captured and brought to the palace. The Emperor then summoned the God of the Mountains.
„For their disobedience, let each dragon be buried under a mountain! Heap whole mountains upon them! So that they never manage to escape!” he ordered.
The God of the Mountains used his magical powers and summoned four great mountains, crushing the dragons under them. Even though they were buried, they didn’t regret what they had done. Wanting to continue doing good for the people, they transformed themselves into streams and managed to escape through the crevices.
In this way, the four largest rivers of China were formed – the Heilong Jiang (Black Dragon River) in the far north, the Huang He (Yellow River) in central China, the Yangtze (Long River) further south, and the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) in the far south.
Explore all of ours bedtime stories for kids: Bedtime stories
