New Tales of the Gobi Desert
Ying Wa College, Ka Nam Ryan Leung, Fiction: Group 3
D
o you ever wonder where camels came from? They were marvelous animals, with
humps that could store water and food for several days so they didn’t need to eat or
drink often. And here’s a little tale about how camels were made.
Once upon a time, there was a king whose kingdom laid within the sand dunes of
the vast Gobi desert. He ruled a marvelous city with sparkling golden walls and an army with the
most advanced weapons. He and the citizens were very proud of the city because the city was the
main economic center of The Silk Road, and they traded with other countries for their goods and
exchanged cultures. But then, the citizens in the city became too arrogant and they started not to
trade with other countries thinking that they were poorer and less developed than them. The king
was very sad. But soon the clever king thought of a plan!
The king disguised as a local merchant, and rode a donkey out of the city. He went for 159
miles to find an old wizard whose name was Murdock the Great. Murdock’s home was very deep
into the desert, and the king had used a lot of time to find him. By the time the king found him, it
had already been 3 days since the king left the city. The king asked Murdock the Great if he could
make a potion that could be put into the city’s waters and change the people into becoming more
humble. The wizard agreed and he made a special potion for the king to take back to the city.
After a couple of days, the king noticed a change. The citizens had really changed as the
wizard had promised--- humble and kind-hearted, but now they were too humble and too kind-
hearted! The local merchants couldn’t negotiate with other foreign countries as they always
agreed to what the other merchants said. The local merchants were often cheated for their
foolishness. The city was starting to lose its grip as the main economic center of The Silk Road!
None of the citizens were drinking at the bar. None of them were even smoking! There were no
contests in the whole city. Nobody had the will to win! Now the king was furious. He was angry
that Murdock the Great changed his people into people who were too humble, and making the
city from a city of legacy into a little poor town. He disguised once again and went to the wizard.
The king requested the wizard at once to make him a potion to turn his people into citizens who
were humble but could also stand firm when they were doing business. But Murdock said no. The
wizard said that his potion was made to last permanently, and could not be changed unless the
king gave him something that he and the whole city treasured it.
Now the king needed to make a very important decision. He needed to give the wizard a
very treasured object. But what? He couldn’t give up his crown, neither the marvelous city nor
the legendary army legion. So he decided to give something cheap and not that treasured to the
wizard. He took off one of the huge diamond rings on his hand and gave it to the wizard. But
one look into the king’s eyes, and the wizard knew that this ring wasn’t the most treasured thing
in their city. So Murdock the Great decided to punish them. He used magic to turn the whole
city of people and the king into camels. The camels would be much stronger than donkeys, and
they could store water and food for a few days. As Murdock the Great like to travel, the camels
would take him to whatever country that he wanted to go. The kingdom with once sparkling
walls and mighty army was long gone. What was left were the remains of the city waiting for the
archeologists to discover.
And that’s a little tale on how camels were born.
