Chang-0 and the Moon

  Chang-0 and the Moon

Long, long ago, ten sun birds lived in a
volcano. Each day, one of the birds would
leave the volcano and fly up into the sky and
around the world, bringing heat and light to all
the land. One day, the ten birds decided to go
out on the same day. Ten sun birds in the sky
made it ten times hotter on Earth. The land
was scorched. The rivers and seas dried up.
Animals and crops died in the fields. It felt like
the world was about to catch fire. A traditional
tale from China, retold by Cherie Wu
Something had to be done quickly. The
Emperor sent for a young man named Hou
Yi, who was known to be a great archer.
“Save us,” said the Emperor. “Shoot down the
sun birds.” Hou Yi took ten arrows and a huge
bow, and he walked to the top of a hill. He
shot down the sun birds one by one, until
there was only one left in the sky. He let the
last one go so that it would continue to give
light and warmth to Earth. “You have saved
the world,” said the Emperor, and he rewarded
Hou Yi richly.

Hou Yi became known as a hero. Young men
flocked to him. They wanted Hou Yi to teach
them to be great archers, too. The Queen of
Heaven also saw what Hou Yi had done and
wanted to reward him. She gave him the Elixir
of Immortality and told him, “You deserve to
live a long and happy life. If you drink half the
elixir, you will live forever. If you drink all of it,
you will ascend to Heaven.” Time passed.
Hou Yi married a beautiful girl named
Chang-O. He told her about the elixir. “We will
pick a good day,” he said, “and share the elixir
so that we both become immortal. Then we can
live a
happy life together forever.”

But one of Hou Yi’s students, Feng Meng,
overheard this conversation. Feng Meng
wanted to become immortal, too. One day
when Hou Yi was out hunting and Chang-O
had gone to the market, Feng Meng sneaked
into their house. He wanted to steal the elixir
for himself, but Chang-O arrived back from the
market before he could find it. “What are you
doing here?” she demanded. “I want the elixir,”
Feng Meng shouted. “Where is it?” Chang-O
refused to tell him, but she knew Feng Meng
would soon find it. She rushed to the cupboard
where it was hidden, grabbed the bottle, and
ran for the door. But she was not quick
enough – Feng Meng stood in the way.
Feng Meng was a strong
man. Chang-O
knew that she could not escape,
a clear night, you will

be able to see her.