When he woke, he found himself lying on a bed woven with herbs, in a cave high across the
mountain. Bao felt calm as if the angry fire in his heart had been put out. He was not hungry for
revenge anymore, but didn’t want to go back to face his past…so he decided to wander across the
Gobi Desert in search of what he called ‘Home’.
A few days later, Bao decided to start his voyage.
He trekked along the mountain’s edge for a few days, enjoying the icy winds. While going
down the mountain, Bao heard a small cry and decided to check it out.
It was a baby snow leopard and she had lost her mother. It looked at him curiously and
immediately smiled, but Bao knew they were now in grave danger, so he swiftly picked her up in
his arms and put his muscles into motion. The baby thought it was a game and squealed in delight.
Soon they reached a sandy dune and the baby leaped out of Bao’s arms and started taking a
nap. “You are a very unique little creature aren’t you? Your kind is so different but, endangered
just like…me?! Oh well.” Bao muttered to himself. Thinking of sleep, he briskly yawned to verify
that thought.
Day was dawning, Bao woke and found the baby gone…its mother must have come and
brought it back home. There were foot-prints to prove it.
Not wanting to dawdle, he set off yet again, for paradise.
Awhile later, Bao had a new goal; it was to travel round the whole Gobi Desert, literally every
nook and cranny. He padded through the mountain terrain, munching on roots of nutritious
plantation. He bathed in the pools of the icy oasis water, eating grasshopper rolls. He rabbled
through the slopes, up and down, up and down. Sometimes he would sleep in a hole, freshly dug
in the earth; occasionally crevices, lined with moss, and bedded with ferns and at times just under
the shade of a lofty tree.
Even after his death, Bao wandered the Gobi Desert relishing each day as if he was still alive.
Just as calm as his parents were when they left.
If you ever happen to stroll across the Gobi Desert, keep your eyes peeled to see if you can
find Bao. He could be anywhere!
