Usborne First Reading: The Dragon and the Phoenix

This is the story of Dragon Mountain, Phoenix Mountain and a shining lake. it begins thousands of years ago, in China... Long, long ago, a dragon lived beside a magic river. A dark forest grew on the other side of the river. Deep inside the forest lived a Phoenix. Everyday, the dragon swam in the river. Every day, the Phoenix flew in the sky above. One day, they met on an island in the river. A shiny pebble lay on the sand. The dragon washed it in the river. The Phoenix polished it with a feather. And the pebble became a pearl. The dragon and the Phoenix stayed on the island watching the pearl. The pearl shone brighter than stars...brighter than the sun. It was so bright, the Queen of Heaven saw it shine. "I want that pearl!" she said. That night, she sent a guard to steal it. In the morning, the pearl was gone. The dragon looked in the magic river. The Phoenix looked in the dark forest. No pearl there... Then they saw it shining in the sky. They flew up to Heaven and saw the Queen. "That pearl is ours!" "No, it's mine!" The pearl fell from the sky. It landed on the ground and became a shining lake. The dragon and the Phoenix lay beside it. They are still there today.