Rock chat

Once upon a time there was a rock that wanted to be friendly but everyone who came near the rock ran away. The rock thought it must be because it was so ugly.

One day Grandpa John was visiting the park near West Lake in Hangzhou. He saw some tears rolling down the cheeks of the rock. 'What is the matter, Rock?'

'Nobody loves me. They all think I'm ugly.'

'Excuse me,' said Grandpa. 'Is this Yushui Pavillion?'

'Yes it is,' said the rock.

'I've heard about you,' said Grandpa John.

'You have?'

'Yes, the dragons told me about you.'

'Dragons? What dragons?'

'Oh, there are many dragons in this park. The dragons told me that children come here to play and it is dangerous because they could fall in the lagoon and the water is deep. Many Chinese children cannot swim.'

'Yes, I know,' said the rock. 'I yell at them "Be careful." But they always run away.'

'The dragons told me that you yell very loudly and frighten the children.'

'Do I? I don't mean to yell loudly. I want them to hear me so they don't drown.'

'Maybe I can teach you to whisper loudly. That wouldn't frighten them so much.'

So Grandpa taught the rock how to say 'Be careful children, it's dangerous to play here,' just loudly enough so that the children could hear but not be frightened. Now the children hear the rock and they play carefully so that they don't fall in the water. They are not frightened of the rock anymore. Some of them even give it a hug. If you ever go to China and visit Hangzhou go and visit the rock in Yushui Pavillion in the park next to the lake. Have a little whisper chat with the rock and tell it that Grandpa John sent you.

The end