A long, long time ago, there existed a village far from any civilization. It was a peaceful village; the townsfolk were mainly farmers and often produced a bountiful harvest. The children played in the sun and all was well. Every year, the townsfolk would have a festival where they celebrated their bountiful harvest. Houses would be decorated in red and the people would light little poppers that would crack and sparkle all night long. That all changed one day. The sky thundered and the ground began to shake. Cracks formed as they parted the Earth and mountains. From deep beneath the crust of the Earth bellowed a tremendous roar and a great beast emerged. It raged as it spat fire in all directions. It’s great golden scales glistened as the serpent-like creature coiled itself into the sky.
“I am Nian, a great dragon sealed since ancient times,” the beast declared as its yellow slitted eyes narrowed, looking down on all the cowering people of the village. “You peasants are now my servants and you shall do as I say!”
“Or what?” A man mustered all his strength despite his fear evident–his legs and voice quivered. Without a second thought, the dragon swooped down baring its fangs as it ate the farmer whole.
“If you do not…then all of you shall become my nourishment,” Nian declared. The village people were stunned with fear. Never had anything like this appeared before. Never had they expected something like this. “Every year, on this day, you shall offer me the finest of your livestock, harvest, and a human sacrifice. There shall be no presence of red, nor will there be any noise. If I sense any of that I shall eat you all.” With no courage to even plead, the villagers grovelled as they obeyed the demand. Satisfied and with nothing left to say, the golden dragon flew off as it found a resting place in the cracks and hollows of the mountains.
Many years passed in this manner. Every year, Nian would swoop down from his den and observe his offerings. If they were satisfactory, he would consume them and the human sacrifice then leave. If not, he would break into a fit of rage and decimate the village and consume up to ten other villagers.
“Jie, why do we let that scary dragon bully us?” A young red haired boy asked his sister one day. His bright scarlet eyes looked at her earnestly.
“Because, Chun, we can’t do anything about it. We can’t fight Nian in any way, and if we don’t listen then he will eat all of us,” said the aging woman. She looked into Chun’s crimson eyes with faded sadness.
“Then…what if I get rid of him? Will that make you happy?”
“If you could do that Chun…I would be the happiest girl in the world.”
The town lay silent as all the villagers prepared their offerings for Nian. The townspeople, men and women, elderly and child, were dressed in black robes with mournful faces. This year’s human sacrifice would be Jie–Chun’s older sister. She was a gentle and helpful young girl whom all of the village loved, but they had no choice but to comply. With a mournful smile on her face, Jie accepted her fate.
As the moon rose, the townspeople got on their knees as they prepared for Nian’s arrival. With a whoosh and a thump, the long coiling dragon landed in front of the villager and in front of their sacrifice.
“Ho ho ho,” Nian licked his scaly lips as he observed his offerings, “this year was quite a bountiful one.” As the long golden dragon opened its maw, there was an explosion as its face was knocked back.
“Hey! You overgrown newt, aren’t you getting fat from all our crops and people? Was my mother not enough?” A certain red-eyed boy, now a teen, taunted as he threw another firecracker at the dragon. In contrast to the people, the boy was dressed in bright red robes as he stood on the rooftops with scarlet red cloth billowing in the wind. Along his waist were all sorts of explosives and bells from the festival supply shed– all the things Nian despised.
“How dare you?” The dragon fumed. With a jerk, the fierce monster shot at Chun. As nimble and agile as the wind, the young boy leapt from rooftop to rooftop each time the beast struck. When he had reached the outskirts of the village the boy stopped with nothing to leap to next. “You’re cornered now, little mouse.”
“Don’t you know even a mouse will bite when it’s cornered?” The boy stuck his tongue out. Enraged, the dragon charged forward, spitting fire from its fang-filled mouth, just as the boy had wanted as he threw a large sack of all the stockpiled explosives he had retrieved from the shed. With a snap, crackle, pop the monster’s stomach began to bloat and grow in size with each additional explosion. Boom! With one final explosion, the great dragon Nian exploded into a million pieces, showering the town in his innards and crimson red rain.
From that day on, the people of the village resumed their traditional festival. This time however, rather than the celebration of their bountiful harvest, they celebrated the victory of their hero who had purged them of the terror known as Nian, the great golden dragon.
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