The Hunger Test

A folktale from China

By Ishan Hasan

The Hunger Test A Folktale from China

There once was a panda named Li Dang who lived in the Shilin Stone Forest of China. He was a kind panda who was always very grateful for what he had, he was also a large panda for his kind and had a matching large head to go with it. He lived in the stone forest only because a past emperor had made him live there from a few years ago. The old emperor had planted a garden of bamboo for the great pandas to live off of by having people cut through the stone until there was nice soft soil to plant the bamboo in. From there, the bamboo grove regenerated itself through its seeds. However, now that the old emperor was gone, the new one decided he wanted to resurrect the stone forest back to the dazzling monument it was. An array of the tallest, sharpest, and most beautiful rocks in the whole of China, towering over every building in the area, creating lumbering shadows spreading over the largest amounts of space, it also created a great post card perfect scene with the bright blue sky contrasting with the majestic giants of rock. Not a panda inclosure. Some lovely use of imagery here. The emperor's palace was a three story building with a double, deep brown and curving roof that terminated in a dragon at each end point with jade engravings of Chinese words on the walls and a deep, bright red making up the inside of the palace. From that palace, the emperor's most trusted guards were sent to rid the Shilin of pandas, even if that meant killing some. They handed the task of finding and turning in the pandas to their dog, an incredibly smart Shar Pei who had the tracking skills of a Bloodhound. He loved to make things amusing for himself, but did sometimes have a soft spot for his enemies. The dog, whose name was Mo Ling, found all the pandas except for two, one of them being Li Dang, who was still in the forest because all the other animals had helped him hide, they did this because he was always so kind to them and they couldn't stand to see him go. The other being the wise Zhu, who was still around thanks to his fantastic hiding skills. The rest of the pandas, all of whom had been caught, had either been sent to a fake animal habitat in Beijing, or were dead by now. Then one day Li Dang was spotted roaming through some bushes, searching for something to eat. Knowing which of the two pandas it was because of his abnormally large head, Mo Ling told Li Dang that he had to come with him. Terrified of what was to happen to him, Li Dang begged for mercy and pleaded with the shar pei to let him stay on in the rock jungle he had now identified as home. He couldn't imagine not being around his other animal friends and his home. "Qing, please don't send me away!" Li Dang pleaded, tears, the size of light bulbs trickled down his furry cheek. He thought about all that he was gifted with, like the marvelous sights to be seen, the lovely house he had; which was crafted out of mud-brick, the common material for people's houses, all his nice friends and realized that it all might go away. "Hao, okay," the dog agreed not to report him yet seeing how miserable he was. He felt pity for the panda and offered him a deal that would provide a chance for the panda to live on in the Shilin, as well as provide some entertainment for a while.

"I have a test for you, if you complete it you can stay, if you don't then you will see..." Mo ling trailed off then continued, "If you can survive a whole month without food or anything else at the bottom of the Teeth Of The Dragon formation of rocks, you will be let go and never looked for again." He paused for emphasis, and then continued once more, "If you fail, you would have died, if you cheat, I will turn you over to the guards." He then explained the month would start tomorrow at sundown and Li Dang better be there, or else. He also explained that if the panda was able to complete the task, then Mo ling would tell him the location of another bamboo grove that was hidden under the ground, where Li Dang could eat as much as he liked and never be found by anyone.

Li Dang agreed to the deal because he had once heard his mother went five weeks without eating and still lived while she had been pregnant with Li Dang. Worried though he was, Li Dang bid farewell to the dog for now, who reminded him that if he tried to run, the dog had Li Dang's scent to follow, the panda then took off to the wise Zhu's house.

The Zhu, or master, was the smartest animal in the land. He had big black eyes and a thin white beard that looked as if it was just combed. He wore shoes made of a flat piece wood that had a strap going over the front to make a slipper. He had a slightly hunched back and moved very slowly and steadily. So as Li Dang approached the mud brick house that belonged to the Zhu, he grew confident because he knew Zhu would be able to help him through his wisdom, he must be able to help him. He was after all, the wisest creature of the land. Knocking politely at the door, Li Dang hoped the wise Zhu would help him. The door was opened by the wise Zhu, "Ni hao, hello," Li Dang said to the Zhu. "Huanying, welcome to my house, what can I help you with?" inquired the old Panda. Li Dang then went on to recount to the Zhu what had happened. Then the Zhu's eyes, after a few minutes reflection, lit up and an idea came to his head. He asked Li Dang, "What is the one thing you most want in your life?" Li Dang answered simply and truthfully, "To continue to live in the rock forest where I can be happy with all the food, sights, and friends. Although, the mean dog, Mo Ling is trying to take it away from me because his masters told him to." "Well then," the Zhu continued, "I have a strategy. First of all, you will need to eat like crazy for the rest of the day and all the night for you will not be allowed to do so for the next thirty days. Second, once you are at the bottom of the teeth of the dragon you will need to think about your life as it is, how wonderful it is, what would it be like if you didn't have it any more? Think like a dragon, a powerful dragon who can get through any challenge." Li Dang thought about it and decided that this strategy might just work and that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to live through it if he was able to keep thinking like a dragon. So in no time at all, Li Dang was in the bamboo patch, eating like crazy. One hour before sunrise, Li Dang started making his way through the dark path to the teeth of the dragon formation. Nothing filled his ears but the soft sound of his soft paws contacting the ground. Drawing closer to the formation, he felt confident because all the food he had just eaten had filled him up so much that he doubted he would feel hungry for a while now. Getting to the top of the hill, Li Dang could see the ends of the tall sharp rocks, poking the sky that was now turning a light shade of orange. Moving even closer, he noticed Mo Ling sitting atop one of the flat topped rocks, his stout silhouette distinguishable in front of the ever increasingly orange sky. Finally, Li Dang reached the bottom of the teeth of the dragon and the first ray of sun shone through the cracks in the rocks and the month without food began. Crushed bamboo filled his stomach and Li Dang felt incredibly full, as though he needed to thro up, but he didn't.. However, he was a happy Panda, same as always, but this time because of the thought of living in a luxurious place in peace. The thought continued to make him feel strong and despite not eating, he grew less and less hungry. Even though time was passing and there was no more food to be eaten, the feeling of fullness filled his body. The days went by, sunshine filling the land, followed by darkness when he felt alone with the stars, and it all repeating over and over again. By the 25th day, though, things were not all good. Li Dang had grown incredibly hungry as a result of not being able to control his thoughts because, he had noticed, when he got very hungry, he couldn't think properly and reasonably, so he couldn't think about what the Zhu had told him to do, which was thinking about keeping all of the things he had. Although, every time he

tried to draw his attention to that thought, he got distracted by either his hunger or some other thing, like a butterfly flying above him. He may have never made it, the lack of food stopping his thoughts when they were the only things keeping him alive, however, just when he was most needed, the wise Zhu emerged from out of the bushes to the left of Li Dang showing him a hand drawn picture of the Shilin stone forest. Its water bodies next to the large expanses of formations of rocks, some with trees between them. In the picture, the sun shone bright onto the bamboo patch, which should have made the panda even more hungry, though it only made him feel stronger because of the landscape, which was cleverly made as a dragon's body with its head being the last structure on the far right, which Li Dang made out to be his mud brick house. It made confidence surge through Li Dang's body, and he had new hope. The next four days went by, but then the hunger overcame him, and his stomach made a noise that out did even the cry of an elephant. It was too much, and almost all his body fat was gone. Finally, one sunny day when Li Dang was asleep from exhaustion, the 30 days passed, and he was free to go. He was notified immediately by Mo Ling at his side barking. Mo Ling had been watching over the panda through every minute of the month, although he had food with him, in disbelief of what he saw, well almost every minute. Mo Ling had not been around for one minute of the month, when he had thought he heard the squishing sound of another panda's footsteps. In that time, Zhu had come out of the bush and shown the picture to Li Dang. The Shar Pei, who was greatly impressed with the performance of the now skinny panda, asked him how he could have possibly pulled it off. The Panda, not being able to keep his mind straight answered truthfully, "I had an incentive, and I tried to think like a dragon would. I imagined having everything I had back, all my yummy food, all my friends, and the Shilin to explore, the multi toned grey stones reaching the tops of the sky that I love to see and all the other sights there are to see in the Shilin." The dog looked puzzled for a second, trying to find something wrong with the strategy of Li Dang. He then said in a harsh voice losing all pity he had for the panda, "You violated the rules, I said that you could not have food or anything else with you. You had an incentive which comes under the category of "anything else." The kind, gentle Li Dang felt cheated, although being extremely hungry did not want to make himself get angry at the dog. He decided to try and compromise. "Mo Ling, I beg you, don't send me in! There must be some way to prove to you that what I did was not cheating!" exclaimed Li Dang. "We could always go to the judge Ox," suggested the dog knowing that the judge would do anything he wanted. The panda, seeing no other option, agreed as it looked like his only option of staying on in the forest, after, of course, he had some fresh bamboo. As they walked through the path to the house of the Ox, Li Dang noticed all the tall rocks, towering over everything, causing a shadow to fall half over Mo Ling as they inched along the path, Li Dang unsure of how it was going to go. When they finally got to the door, Li Dang got really nervous. There was something, however, that made Li Dang slightly hopeful because he thought that he had not cheated, so the judge must side with him because he had not done anything wrong. The ox who opened the door was the judge, a large ox with big horns and a sleek brown coat.

"What do you want?" inquired the Ox. From then until the next thirty minutes, the dog and the panda explained the problem to the Ox. The Ox paid little heed to them. He had no choice but to go along with what the dog wanted, for the dog was powerful. When they were finished explaining, the Ox came to a verdict, "The panda was cheating, for he had something with him, an incentive," concluded the Ox. With that, the panda's hopes were crushed and he felt shattered. Everything he had worked for, suffering the long month without food, agreeing to the harsh test of the dog. The panda then tried to think if there was anything he could do to reverse the decision of the Ox. Mo ling told Li Dang that they would be leaving to the fake animal enclosure in two days and so Li Dang should pack anything he wanted to take. Now that Li Dang had been presented with some time to come up with an idea, he felt slightly better about the whole situation. So he headed to the wise Zhu's house for advice. Upon entering the house of the Zhu, Li Dang felt slightly more confident. After all, the Zhu was a pretty wise guy. "Qing, please, wise Zhu, help me get out of this mess!" pleaded Li Dang. "Shi, yes, I will help you," replied the Zhu. Then after a little while, the Zhu asked Li Dang a question, "What is your strongest trait?" asked the Zhu. "Why, I do try to be very kind to people I meet," answered Li Dang. "Then I have a plan for you, you must go to every animal in the land and ask them to help you convince the judge to change his decision, you must do it fast too, as your time here is limited," suggested the Zhu. Setting out to ask his friends to convince the judge, Li Dang wondered if his friends would help him, at least, he hoped they would. Approaching the house of the Chinese Hare Li Dang got jittery of wanting to find out how it would go. When the Chinese Hare opened the door, he rejoiced to see Li Dang, "Li Dang! It has been so long I have missed you my friend!" exclaimed the Chinese Hare. Then the two friends to proceeded to hug each other and tell stories, then Li Dang remembered he had little time and told the Chinese Hare of his problem. Once he was finished telling the hare of his problem, he looked up at the hare who was in complete shock, "I will definitely talk to the judge. He was obviously not thinking straight," concluded the hare, who was also a friend with the ox. Li Dang was ecstatic on finding out that one of his friends was willing to do that for him and felt that he might actually have a chance to convince the judge to reverse the decision if he was able to find more friends to vouch for him. So, he then continued to three more friends, the cat, the grass snake, and the crane, all of whom said they would talk to the judge as well. Li Dang was feeling better about himself and the disappointment and worries he had when the Ox had ruled for the Dog were starting to fade with the thought of having so many people vouch him on. He went on to several more friend's to ask for help, all of them agreed. Once 103 friends had gone to talk to the Ox and asked him to reverse the decision because there was no way that Li Dang, a gracious and kind creature, had cheated, there was no way the Ox could ignore all of them and keep his old decision anymore. So in the end, the Ox decided to change his decision, although he had not told anyone this, so he organized for the Dog, Mo Ling and the Panda, Li Dang to meet with him at his house the next day. Once both animals were in his house, the Ox started the meeting, "I have called you both here today to talk about what should happen next," started the Ox

Smirking, the dog thought he was going to talk about Li Dang's move to Beijing, "We know what will happen," answered the dog, "The panda will go with my masters and I to the fake animal habitat in Beijing." "No," declared the Ox, "I have called you today because I feel that I made a wrong decision, at least 103 people do too." Li Dang's mind exploded, all his friends had been there for him which gave him a great sense of fullness. Then Li Dang glanced over at the dog, who's mouth was hanging wide open with his purple tongue hanging loose in shock. "But what about your old decision?" asked Mo Ling, "Why did you change it?" The Ox, too embarrassed to tell the dog that he had fell under pressure to the friends of Li Dang simply explained, "Because I saw how many people thought the original decision wasn't right, so I had to change it because 103 animals can't be wrong," he tried to say in a convincing voice. After a lot of arguing, the dog finally accepted that he had lost the test and told Li Dang he and the wise Zhu were both free to go. The wise Zhu was free to go simply because he was too good at hiding to be found. So the Dog explained the way to get to the magical bamboo patch under the ground and also explained that he would be leaving the Shilin, telling his masters that both the pandas were dead, so they would be free to do anything they wanted, as long as they stayed out of the emperor's way when he came to visit. Agreeing happily, Li Dang thanked the dog for telling him where the magical underground bamboo patch was and left for the house of the wise Zhu. Once both of them had packed all their belongings, they set off for the new land with high spirits and good and bad memories. The new land that would be completely safe and hopefully, accident free.

THE END

Glossary

Ni Hao - Hello Qing - Please Hao - Okay Shi - Yes Huanying - welcome

Map of China

MLA Citation: "mountainstamp.com Shilin stamp stamps." www. mountainstamp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.mountainstamp.com/China%20page

About the Author

Ishan Hasan is Indian and Hawaiian and currently lives in New Delhi, India. He goes to school at the American Embassy School but has also lived in the Philippines where he went to school at the International School Manilla. Before writing this folktale, Ishan Hasan had taken part in Nanowrimo and turned his book, Hero of Heaven, into the organization. He has also written other stories this year itself including an adventure scene, a suspense scene, and two other folktales in the independent writing portion of his humanities class; The Ant and his Incentive and the second one not having a name as of yet. His inspiration for writing this piece was mainly because pandas are his favorite animal and he found the setting of this story truly amazing.

Reviews

A great story of the troubles that Li Dang must overcome to keep his home

- The Potato

A terrific tale of the challenge Li Dang faces and how he deals with it

- The Banana

A tale of the trials and tribulations of life and the triumph of friends

- Gayatri Hasan