Highly Commended Story - The Dragon’s Daughter

“The Dragon’s Daughter” by Cho Than Lwin Ko, The Conqueror Academy of Education Privte High School (Nay Pyi Taw), Myanmar, is the Highly Commended story in the junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2018.

Cho Than Lwin Ko, an eleven years old student studying in Conqueror Academy of Education Private High School (Nay Pyi Taw). She is studying in the fifth standard. She is from Myanmar. She likes to read books during her free time. She loves to read all kinds of books so she gets a lot of knowledge from them. She likes to do activities that allow her to use her creativity such as drawing. She also likes to play badminton. She wants to be a doctor, singer and model when she grows up.

The Dragon’s Daughter

Once upon a time under the sea, there was a dragon couple. As the female dragon was about to give birth, she could not find food by herself. So, the male dragon brought her to a small river where foods were plenty, and they lived in a place where no human could see them. This place was full of food for them and they lived in it happily. Soon the female dragon laid an egg. Then, they both went out to find food. Soon a fisherman went by the place where the female dragon laid her egg and found it. So, he picked the egg up and put it into the boat and rowed back to his house. As soon as the fisherman had reached home, there blew a strong wind and the heavy rain poured. The frightened fisherman put the dragon egg in the basket and rowed away from the harbour, when he went away from the harbour, the rain ceased. Then, he went to place where there was no water, shouldering the basket with a dragon egg and came near a village. The fisherman did not enter into the village and searched a suitable place to live. At last the fisherman found a big cave and decided to live in it. He searched vegetable, root and tuber and thought to do for his living. His plan was to cut the dry branches and sell them as firewood in the village.

Later, the dragon egg in the basket hatched and a lovely child was born. The fisherman was surprised and loved the child. He brought milks from the cow and the goat and fed the child. The child was a girl and when she grew up gradually, the scales appeared on her body. Whole of her body was covered with thick scales and her legs and hands were different from those of humans. Her hands and legs were flat as she was not real human and she descended from dragons. The fisherman realized that as she was born from an egg, she might be some kind of animal.

So, not to be seen by other people, he threatened the others to go away. His daughter also went nowhere. She lived in the cage eating only vegetables, fruits, fish and meat which were brought by the fisherman. Moreover the fishy smell permeated from her body. However she took a bath, the smell still permeated. The daughter wheedled her father that she wanted to take a bath in the river very often. As for the dragon couple, as their egg was lost, they searched frantically along the river bank.

But they didn’t find it. The female dragon was so sad that she wept for her lost egg every day. However the male dragon persuaded her to return to the dragon kingdom. She refused and she continued her search. Coincidently, the fisherman as his daughter asked several times, he brought her to the riverbank. Although the riverbank was far away from their cave, the daughter was pleased to be there and was frolicking along the way. The fisherman followed her slowly and steadily. But his daughter was within his vision. When his daughter saw the river she was so happy that she ran towards the river without stopping any moment. As soon as she reached the river, she plunged into the water. The fisherman saw it and rushed towards her and called repeatedly. But he could not catch his daughter. His daughter was swimming happily. Her genetic mother sensed the smell of her daughter and approached her. When the daughter saw the male dragon and the female dragon, she approached fearlessly towards them. At that time the mother dragon wrapped her daughter and brought her to their underwater denizen. The fisherman who had been at the riverbank saw all this happening. He now realized that his daughter was a descendant of the dragons. So he wept with grief. The fisherman could not see his daughter again forever.