Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park Read Free Book Online Page A

wry grin.
    But Jade was too anxious to respond to his gentle teasing. "Please, Brother, go on."
    Tiger grew sober again. "At last our father took his turn. He spoke for only a few minutes. And yet, what he said..." Tiger paused, deep in thought. "Perhaps it is only because he is my father, but I do not think so. His words had great power; you could see it in the faces of all who were there.
    "He began by speaking of the men. They were not a great army—just a few sailors. If they truly wanted to topple the King, would they have come here in such small numbers?
    "Then he spoke of the harm that grows from ignorance. We know very little about these men and their ways, he said. Supposing they are friends, it would be a terrible injustice to execute them. And if they are not, it is always best to know as much as possible about one's enemies. It would serve the King well to let these men live so that more could be learned from them.
    "Our father told the King that, as it now stands, we do not know enough. He finished by saying that the path to wisdom lies not in certainty, but in trying to understand."
    Tiger's voice had grown in strength as he spoke of his father's words. Jade had a sudden inkling of the future. One day, she realized, it would be Tiger who spoke before the King.
    Tiger continued, "After all had spoken, the King withdrew to his chambers, to consult with his Council. Our father, as you know, is a member of the Council. It took a long time, but they finally reached a decision.
    "The men are not to be beheaded, nor will they be allowed to return to their homes. They must remain here in Korea and swear allegiance to the King. If they will do so, they will be given positions in the army and may live here freely.
    "Our father's desire was that these men be allowed to come nn and go as they please, between our country and theirs. He believes it is time for us to know more of the world. The King did not agree, but neither did he heed those who were calling for the men to be killed. His decision, Father says, walks in the middle of the path."
    Tiger Heart seemed to feel there had been enough serious talk. He finished by saying that the prisoners had been brought in to hear of the King's decision. "I know they are men, Jade, but from all the hair on their faces, you might think they were a kind of man-bear!"
    Jade smiled gratefully at him. For once she did not have to imagine something she had never seen.

Chapter Fourteen
    A Mountain of Stitches
    Jade's mother inspected the small scrap of fabric carefully. On it Jade had stitched a many-petaled yellow-and-white chrysanthemum. It was the work of many painstaking days. Jade held her breath as her mother turned the scrap over. No knots or loose threads showed. The back and front were mirror-perfect.
    Jade's mother did not smile, but her eyes twinkled.
    "Yes, Jade. You are ready. You may begin your first panel."
    Jade let out her breath. An embroidered screen of many panels was one of the things a well-bred girl made for her wedding dowry. Only a few months ago it had seemed to Jade that her own wedding day was still far away. But Willow's marriage had changed all that. Jade tried not to think about the day that she would leave her home. She concentrated instead on the knowledge that being allowed to begin her screen was a sign that her embroidery skills had reached a high level indeed.
    Jade began to plan her first panel. Once—it seemed long since—she had thought of embroidering the cranes she had seen flying over the house, but all memory of them had vanished in the face of her first glimpse of the mountains that day on the road. It was the mountains she would depict on her panel.
    Jade knew what they should look like. They would be a misty blue-gray color, with white on top. There would be bright green rice fields at the bottom. She chose her colors carefully.
    Somehow the mountains had gotten tangled up in her mind with the strangers, with Willow's refusal to see her,