Photo credit: Carrie Kellenberger I globetrotterI on Visualhunt / CC BY

Stories of Gonggong and the Great Floods were Yu’s first memories. By the time he was four, he could recite the tale. Gonggong was a powerful giant red dragon and the god of water. Zhurong the god of fire desired to be king of the gods. Zhurong challenged Gonggong to a battle. The two fought, destroying towns and villages, devastating the land in their wake. Zhurong won. Gonggong was ashamed of his failure. His shame turned to an uncontrollable rage, and he smashed a mountain releasing the great floods.

For years Yu watched his family and neighbors battle the water god. Whenever they appeared to be winning Gonggong laughed and sent floodwaters to destroy their crops and the homes and villages they had rebuilt.

Determined to save his people, Yu vowed to stop the Great Floods. On his quest, he met a yellow dragon and Yu convinced him to help. Together they devised a plan, but they needed the black turtle for the plan to work.  Yu and the yellow dragon searched for the black turtle until they found him. Yu told the story of his people and their suffering, and the black turtle agreed to help them in their mission. The plan worked, and they stopped the floods. Yu’s family and neighbors returned to their homes and a grateful people proclaimed Yu as their king

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer