Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin Read Free Book Online Page A

said. “Whenever you are ready, Rendi.”
    Rendi flushed at the truth of Peiyi’s words. Madame Chang’s kindness made him feel ashamed, but, suddenly, as if by magic, “I have a story to tell,” Rendi said.
    “Really?” Peiyi said in disbelief.
    “Yes,” Rendi said, and began.
T HE S TORY OF THE D ANCING F ISH
    O nce there was a powerful magistrate. Even though his son and daughter were not supposed to have heard, they knew that everyone called their father Magistrate Tiger. It was a fitting name, for the magistrate always seemed to be roaring—at his servants, his wife, and even his children. And whenever he roared, all jumped to do his bidding.
    “The blood of the greatest ruler and hero pumps in us!” Magistrate Tiger would thunder to his young children, the green silk of his sleeves flapping. “We must make the world bow to us again!”
    Of course, Magistrate Tiger’s children did not know what their father meant, and they were, in fact, too frightened to ask. But they knew that their father was always working to become more powerful and that he even hoped the emperor himself would acknowledge him. Often, Magistrate Tiger made trips out of hisdistrict, trying to get closer and closer to being accepted by the imperial family. His children never knew if he was successful, but they did enjoy his frequent absences—the sight of a waiting carriage made his son feel like a bird about to take flight.
    The only people Magistrate Tiger did not roar at were his superiors. To kings and dukes and princes, his voice was silky and smooth. But perhaps they still would have called him Magistrate Tiger—to them, he purred like a cat.
    And he did more than purr, his son found out. One day, Magistrate Tiger arrived home with an expensive qin. Magistrate Tiger had never shown interest in music before, so the entire household was surprised to see the stringed instrument in his hands—and they were even more shocked when Magistrate Tiger began to teach himself how to play.
    After mastering a few simple songs, Magistrate Tiger called his children to him. Wearing a robe of brilliant green, he gave each of them a bowl of rice and, carrying the qin, had them follow him into the garden.
    They stopped in front of the pond, where dozens ofbright orange carp waved in the water. Magistrate Tiger stationed his children on either side of him and, as he began to play the qin, instructed them to throw rice out into the water. The fish, seeing the food, began to jump up to eat the rice.
    Every day they did this. As Magistrate Tiger played the qin, the children threw rice and the fish rushed for the food. Magistrate Tiger urged the children to throw the rice higher and higher, and the fish began to leap from the water to catch the grains. The children laughed and it was, the son thought, the most enjoyable time he had ever spent with his father.
    But one day, when the son was playing up in a tree next to the pavilion of the fishpond, he saw his father, wearing his customary green silk robe, walking with his qin and a strange man. The man walked as if his neck could not bend toward the earth, and, judging from the fineness of his clothes, he could only be a grand official or some sort of royalty. The son, who was not supposed to climb trees in the garden, quickly found a branch that hid him from view.
    “Ah, Duke Zhe,” Magistrate Tiger was saying in hissmoothest voice, “I am so honored that you have finally accepted my invitation to visit.”
    “When I heard you are a connoisseur of music, I felt obliged to come,” the duke said.
    “Did you?” Magistrate Tiger said in surprise.
    “Yes,” Duke Zhe said. “Music reveals much about a person’s character, does it not? Emotions and thoughts are communicated by it.”
    “Oh, yes,” Magistrate Tiger said, nodding. “I’ve heard you follow the ancient philosophy of music.”
    “I suppose I do.” Duke Zhe smiled. “And not just music but sound itself. If a listener truly