THE PEARL OF THE WEST LAKE

Once upon a time, long long ago, in the eastern caves of the Milky Way, there lived a shiny, snow-white Jade Dragon. Across the river, on the western side, in a dense forest, there resided a vibrantly colorful Golden Phoenix.

The Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix were neighbors. Every morning, one would emerge from the cave, and the other would flutter out of the forest, always crossing paths before they went about their day.

One day, as the two friends were enjoying their usual routines—the Jade Dragon swimming in the river and the Golden Phoenix soaring high in the sky—they found themselves upon a magical island. On this island, they discovered a brilliantly glowing stone. The Golden Phoenix, mesmerized by its beauty, said to the Jade Dragon, “Jade Dragon, Jade Dragon, isn’t this stone beautiful?” The Jade Dragon agreed and suggested, “Golden Phoenix, Golden Phoenix, let’s shape it into a pearl!”

With a nod of agreement from the Golden Phoenix, they began their task. The Jade Dragon scraped with his claws, and the Golden Phoenix pecked with its beak. Day by day, year by year, they labored, and indeed they sculpted the glistening stone into a round, shiny pearl. The Golden Phoenix, filled with joy, flew to the enchanted mountain to collect dewdrops, which it gently and skillfully sprinkled onto the pearl. The Jade Dragon, elated, swam into the river and drew in water, which it sprayed onto the pearl. Drip, drip, spray, spray... Little by little, the pearl began to shine brilliantly.

From that day forth, the Jade Dragon loved the Golden Phoenix, and the Golden Phoenix loved the Jade Dragon. They both cherished their shiny pearl. Neither the Jade Dragon wanted to return to its cave in the east, nor did the Golden Phoenix want to return to its forest in the west. They decided to reside on the magical island in the middle of the Milky Way, guarding their beloved pearl day and night.

The pearl was truly a treasure! Its light made the trees evergreen, flowers graceful, landscapes beautiful, and crops plentiful.

One day, as the Queen Mother of the West stepped out of her palace, she noticed the radiance of this precious pearl. She was immediately enamored. At midnight, she dispatched a heavenly soldier to quietly steal the pearl while the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix were asleep.

Upon obtaining the pearl, the Queen Mother was filled with joy. She hid the pearl in her palace, closing behind it nine gates and securing them with nine locks.

When the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix awoke and found the pearl missing, they were deeply distressed and agitated. They searched high and low, east and west; the Jade Dragon checked every cave under the river, and the Golden Phoenix looked in every corner of the enchanted mountain, but their precious pearl was nowhere to be found. Despite their heartache, they continued their search day and night, longing to retrieve their beloved pearl.

On the Queen Mother’s birthday, celestial adepts from all directions came to her palace to wish her well. She held a grand banquet, the Peach Banquet, to entertain them all. As the celestial adepts feasted on peaches and drank fine wine, they congratulated the Queen Mother with heartfelt blessings.

The Queen Mother, delighted, invited everyone to behold a precious pearl, a treasure she claimed to be a rarity in both heaven and earth.

As she spoke, she untied nine keys from her belt, unlocked nine locks, and walked through nine heavy doors, entering the celestial palace. Inside, she retrieved a shining pearl and placed it on a golden tray, holding it in the middle of the hall. This radiant pearl shone forth gorgeously stunning light. When the celestial adepts beheld the pearl, they all exclaimed with admiration, saying, “Oh, how marvelous!”

At that moment, the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix were in the midst of their relentless search for their missing pearl. Suddenly, the Golden Phoenix glimpsed the faint glow of their pearl, and urgently called the Jade Dragon, “Jade Dragon, Jade Dragon, quickly look! Isn’t that the glow from our pearl?”

The Jade Dragon, raising his head from the river, agreed, “Yes, that’s definitely our pearl! Quick, let’s get it back!”

They hurried towards the light of the pearl, which led them to the Queen Mother’s palace. The adepts were still admiring and praising the pearl. The Jade Dragon stepped forward and said, “That pearl is ours!” The Golden Phoenix followed suit, asserting, “That pearl is ours!”

The Queen Mother heard the accusations, confronting the uninvited guests the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix, she scolded them angrily,“Nonsense! I am the mother of the Jade Emperor, and all the treasures in the heavens should belong to me!”

The Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix were also enraged upon hearing this. They both spoke up, “This pearl was not born in the heavens, nor did it grow from the earth. It was meticulously crafted by two of us through hard work and dedication, day after day, year after year!”

Hearing this, the Queen Mother felt both ashamed and annoyed. She protected the golden tray holding the pearl and loudly ordered the heavenly soldiers to drive the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix away.

However, the Golden Phoenix, seeing the Queen Mother’s unreasonable behavior, lunged forward to snatch the pearl. At the same time, the Jade Dragon also rushed to grab it.

Three pairs of hands tightly held the golden tray, and no one was willing to let go.Pulling and tugging, pulling and tugging, the golden tray shook and the pearl rolled off with a “gulu-gulu” sound. It tumbled down the steps and fell from the heavens to the earth below.

Afraid that the pearl might shatter upon impact, the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix swiftly dove down to protect it. Dancing through the air, they shielded the pearl with their bodies, gently guiding it down from the sky to the earth below.

Upon landing, the pearl transformed into the shimmering West Lake.

Unwilling to part from their pearl, the Jade Dragon turned into a majestic Jade Dragon Mountain, and the Golden Phoenix transformed into a emerald Phoenix Mountain, both standing guard over the lake.

From then on, Phoenix Mountain and Jade Dragon Mountain quietly sat beside West Lake. Even today, there’s an old song sung in Hangzhou:

The Pearl of the West Lake fell from the sky,

With the Dragon flying and the Phoenix dancing, they waltzed and settled by a river called Qiantang.