the pool of liquid was becoming further and further out of his reach. Wong Ying kept running,
however, until his legs buckled beneath him. As he lay on the sand, only one word came out of his
mouth…”mirage”….
Wong Ying awoke on the fourth day with tears in his eyes. He prayed for many things that
day. He prayed his mother would become well again. He prayed his father would find a good job.
He prayed his school would have enough money to accept more students. He prayed his village
would have a good harvest. He prayed for everyone he knew. He prayed for everything he could
think of, except for himself. And as he closed his eyes, accepting the fate that was to surely come,
he saw something in the corner of his eyes. It was shiny and glamorous , its perfectly round
surface seemed to be glittering with silver dust. Wong Ying tried to ignore it, thinking it was yet
another mirage. But this time, something was different. The shiny-looking round object seemed to
be coming closer to him. He felt a surge of braveness in him. He got up on both legs with all the
strength and energy he could muster and started toward the object. He reached out his thin bare
hands to touch the object but it seemed to vanish out of sight. But right in front of him, high on a
cliff, he saw IT. Wait! It was the silver apple tree! “Hooray!” he exclaimed thankfully and jumped
up and down. He could pick the apples and cure his mother’s illness! He could also cure people in
his village and all over the world. He could become the doctor he always dreamt to be! The only
thing was, the apple tree was on a very high cliff that seemed to reach up to the sun, which was
impossible to reach.
Despite the height of the cliff, Wong Ying didn’t give up on the apples; he had to have them,
so that his life would become wonderful and joyful, and not the dull and devastating one he had
now. He eyed an apple dangling from a branch of the tree. If he could only shoot it down. An idea
suddenly popped in his weary brain. He remembered he had the stick and the stone….
Wong Ying rubbed the stone on the stick with all his might, his hands bleeding. A little spark
appeared and he started to rub even harder, until the entire stick was on fire. His plan was to
toss the stick up high and burn the branch of the apple so he could pick the apple once it became
detached from the branch. It was insane to toss a stick up to such a high distance and expect
it to burn down a branch, but he had the striking feeling that he would succeed – a tiny voice
encouraging him to do it, telling him this would change his destiny.
Wong Ying jumped and threw the stick. When it looked as if it was going to fall without
hitting the branch, a miracle happened – a silver-haired and silver-eyed girl caught the stick, flew
up high and threw the stick at the branch where the apple dangled from. The girl had delicate and
luminous wings, wore a pure white dress and smiled sweetly at him. It was the spirit of the girl
from the legend, who was touched by Wong Ying’s bravery and selflessness, and so she decided to
help him. The apple fell off the branch, and Wong Ying caught it and picked it from its stem. He
felt an overwhelming sense of pride – he was the first person ever to pick a silver apple!
Many years later, Wong Ying grew up and became a doctor who travelled around the world
saving people’s lives. He loved his work and the people he met. He also had a very strong belief
--- there is always a glimpse of hope in the worst situations, and you will succeed if you dare to!
