Fiction: Group 3
New Tales of the Pearl River Delta
International College Hong Kong (ICHK), Yue, Prisca - 11, Fiction: Group 3
long time ago, a two-year-old boy was abandoned by his parents in the forest. He was placed in a
paper box, and no one ever attempted to rescue or save him because of his hidden location. He
lived in the forest with a bear that fed him milk and protected him from danger. In his 10th year,
the boy had to hunt for his own food, make his own bed, and become accustomed to living alone after the
bear left him. While relaxing on the top of a tree, he saw a wild pig wandering around the area and decided
to chase the animal. Although the chase lasted for half an hour, the wild pig managed to escape. Tired from
the chase, the boy decided to go back to his shelter before sundown. However, he went far away from his
shelter during the chase and could no longer find his way back. Lost in the deep, dark woods, the boy had
to make an emergency shelter. He constructed a bed from the bark of a tree, and although he rested
uncomfortably, the boy thought that surviving is much more important than relaxing.
The boy was very lucky as he managed to survive the night. As he climbed a tree in search for food, the boy
found a beehive from which honey dripped to the ground. The scent of honey attracted a bear to the
bottom of the tree. The boy stared at the bear for a short time and suddenly recognized the animal as a cub
that he used to play with when he was young. They shared the “same mother” and went through sweet,
funny moments together. The boy also remembered how they used to fight while the mother bear was
feeding them with milk. The boy recognized the bear after seeing the patch of white fur on her back. The
boy did not attack the bear and patted her back gently instead. The bear lowered her body and the boy
climbed on her back.
The bear brought the boy to the Pearl River, which the animal thought was a suitable home for the child.
The boy excitedly dismounted from the bear and played in the water until sunset as the bear waited for him.
During their stay, the boy learned that his adoptive bear mother had died and that his friend bear was now
the mother of two cubs. The bear then left the boy to return to her family, and the boy sat by the water and
cried. However, the bear returned to the river after three hours together with her cubs and a big piece of
meat. The boy was so happy to be reunited with the bear. The bear began to feed her cubs and gave the boy
some food. It was the first time that the boy felt his stomach full. The bear then slept with her body
wrapped around her cubs and the boy, just like a happy family.
The boy woke up the next day and found that the bear family had left him. He became very upset, but then
found another big piece of meat next to him. The boy decided to save the food as he knew that his friend
would not come back in a while. It was because her cubs did not like staying near the sand as the crabs
pinched them. After eating his “breakfast,” the boy decided to play in the river to cool him. The boy dove
into the river and relaxed in the water. Suddenly, he found a big seashell near the corals. He then brought it
back to the shore, and opened the shell to find a big, shiny pearl. Thinking that more pearls could be found
in the river, he left the big pearl on the shore and dove into the water again. He found more pearls that
were not as big as the first one. On his way back to the shore to count his pearls, the boy heard a loud noise
and saw a drowning white Chinese dolphin that was trying to swim up to catch its breath. The boy found
out that the tail of the dolphin was caught in a broken fishnet with some hanging garbage because the Pearl
River was polluted. The boy unhooked the tail from the fishnet and set the dolphin free. To show its
gratitude, the dolphin turned back to the boy and gave him a “joy ride” on its back. Afterwards, the dolphin
gestured goodbye to the boy and swam away. Unwillingly to say goodbye to the dolphin, the boy hoped
that he could see it again.
The boy went back to the shore and prepared to sleep as the sun went down. His day had been a very
adventurous one. As he slept peacefully on his makeshift bed, the boy woke up to a loud howl. He went
into the forest and found that his friend bear was stuck in a puddle of mud. The boy carried his friend back
to the river and saw a girl trying to take away the largest pearl that he had found in the coral reef. As he
tried to save his pearl, the girl realized that something was wrong with the boy because he did not know
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