Winner
A Desert Meeting
Dulwich College Beijing, Jimmy Bowan, Fiction: Group 1
F
rom my carpet I can see beautiful rivers, the most astonishing valleys and far beyond,
the gigantic mountains leading to China. To the west I can see endless rocks, no people,
no villages or mountains and no rivers or valleys.
My name is Jimmy Bowan and I have been flying for many weeks on my carpet.
Suddenly, far below, I see a tiny speck. I soar down like an eagle catching its prey to find a person
with bright red skin, burnt from the sun. I carry him, asleep in my arms, to my cave.
After a few days the man wakes up and shouts, “Dragon’s lair, dragon’s lair!” I fly in again
and say, “This is not a dragon’s lair. It is my home.”
“Wow! So much gold, platinum and jade. So many diamonds, sapphires and jewels of all sorts.
You must be rich, like a genie,” the man says, amazed.
“Yes. I am a genie”, I reply, “You are in my cave and you can have three wishes.”
The man asks, “First, may I have a drink bottle of ever-lasting water?”
“One drink bottle of ever lasting water coming up.” I shout.
It appears in my hand out of nowhere. The man is shocked but he grabs the bottle and starts
drinking, with drops of water dripping down his chin. The man starts to look stronger and taller
as he drinks. His shoulders fall back and his skin becomes light brown.
I think to myself; I never knew my water had such magic! The man looks strong now. He has
black hair and a long wispy beard. He wears a thick fur coat on his arms and his legs are strong
and sturdy.
“What is your second wish?” I inquire.
“I need food”, he demands.
From out of nowhere, a huge goat on a stick appears cooking and sizzling over a fire. The man
tears at it, eating like a pig, ripping at the leg and chewing chomp chomp chomp. He takes bite
after bite, and says, “Gosh this stuff is great.”
With meat spilling out of his mouth he commands, “and for my third wish I need an army!”
In an instant, fifty thousand warriors on horses appear. They have thick, golden armour and
sharp naked blades. They have bows behind their back with arrows stabbing out their armour,
with two curved knives for each soldier. Their helmets and armour is stuck on so tight they need
slaves to help take them off. The soldiers are on the most colossal, fastest horses you could ever
see wearing matching armour. They all shout and cheer.
The man says, “Good, now I want the same armour and horse as my army, but 15 times
better.”
I am surprised a man in an empty desert would want an army. As my carpet lifts me away up
to the sky, I shout at the man, “What is your name?”
“Ghengis Khan,” he yells back. “King of the Mongols!”
