Hou Yi

This is a story about a great hero named Hou Yi. He had strong arms and a very big bow. A long, long time ago, the world was too hot. It was so, so hot! The little flowers were sleepy and droopy. The rivers were getting small and quiet. Why was it so hot? Because there were ten suns in the sky! The ten suns were brothers, and they all came out to play at the same time. Their bright, yellow light made the Earth too warm for everyone. This is the story of Hou Yi Shoots the Suns.

The people needed help, so they asked the hero, Hou Yi. Hou Yi grabbed his big red bow and a bag full of special arrows. He climbed up, up, up to the top of the tallest mountain. He wanted to get close to the ten suns. "Suns, oh suns, please go home!" he called out. "It is too hot for the world!" But the suns were busy playing and did not listen. Hou Yi knew he had a big job to do. He took one special arrow, put it on his bow, and pulled the string way back. Twang! The arrow flew into the bright sky.

The arrow zipped through the air and touched one sun. Poof! The sun turned into a big, black bird and flew far away. The world felt a little bit cooler. Hou Yi shot another arrow. Twang! Another sun turned into a bird and flew away. He did it again and again. Twang, twang, twang! Soon, there was only one sun left in the sky. One sun was just right! The world was warm and happy. The flowers stood up tall, and the rivers began to sing and flow again. Hou Yi was a hero for helping everyone.