The Magic Paintbrush

Long ago in China, there lived a poor orphan boy named Ma Liang. Ma Liang loved to draw. He drew everywhere—he drew birds in the sand with a stick, he drew fish on the rocks with a wet finger. But he was so poor that he could not afford a single paintbrush. One night, while he was sleeping, an old man with a long white beard appeared in his dream. The old man held out a paintbrush that sparkled with golden light. “Ma Liang,” said the old man, “this is a magic paintbrush. Whatever you paint with it will become real. But remember, you must use it only to help poor people. Never use it for greed.” When Ma Liang woke up, he found the golden paintbrush in his hand! He was amazed.

He decided to test it. He painted a colorful rooster on the wall. Crow! The rooster shook its feathers, jumped off the wall, and crowed loudly. It was alive! Ma Liang was overjoyed. He ran to the village to help his neighbors. He saw an old farmer struggling to plow his field. Ma Liang painted a strong ox. Moo! The ox appeared and helped the farmer finish his work. He saw a little girl crying because she had no toys. Ma Liang painted a beautiful kite. Whoosh! The kite flew into the sky, and the girl laughed with joy. Ma Liang painted food for the hungry, clothes for the cold, and tools for the workers. Everyone loved him.

However, a greedy Emperor heard about the magic paintbrush. He sent his soldiers to capture Ma Liang. “Paint me a mountain of gold!” demanded the Emperor, his eyes shining with greed. “I will not,” said Ma Liang bravely. “I promised to use the brush only for good.” The Emperor was furious. He locked Ma Liang in a cold prison. But that night, Ma Liang painted a door on the wall, opened it, and escaped!

The Emperor’s soldiers eventually caught him again. This time, the Emperor held the brush himself. He tried to paint gold, but it only turned into a pile of rocks. He realized only Ma Liang could use the magic. “Fine!” said the Emperor. “Paint me what I want, and I will set you free. Paint me a golden mountain across the sea.” Ma Liang had a plan. He took the brush and painted a wide, blue ocean. “Where is the mountain?” shouted the Emperor. Ma Liang then painted a huge mountain of gold in the distance. “Beautiful!” cried the Emperor. “Now paint a ship so I can go there.”

Ma Liang painted a big wooden ship. The Emperor and his greedy ministers climbed aboard. “Make the wind blow!” ordered the Emperor. Ma Liang painted a gentle breeze. The ship started to move. “Faster! Faster!” yelled the Emperor, impatient to get the gold. Ma Liang smiled. He painted a strong gale. Whoooo! The wind howled. “Too much wind!” screamed the Emperor. Ma Liang painted huge waves. The ocean became wild. The ship tossed and turned. The waves grew bigger and bigger until they carried the ship far, far away, to a distant island in the middle of nowhere.

The greedy Emperor and his ministers were stuck on the island forever, where their gold was useless. Ma Liang returned to his village. He lived happily, using his magic paintbrush to bring joy and color to the world, just as the old man had asked.

Moral of the Story: Use your talents to help others. Greed leads to losing everything.