Koi Fish and the Dragon Gate - Chinese

My scales shimmered like a thousand tiny suns in the murky, yellow water, but my heart was set on something brighter. My name is Jin, and I was one of countless golden koi swimming in the mighty Yellow River, where the currents tugged at us like impatient hands. We all heard the whispers carried on the water, a legend as old as the river itself: the story of the Koi Fish and the Dragon Gate. The tale spoke of a great waterfall at the river's source, so high it touched the clouds, and any fish with enough courage and strength to leap over it would be transformed into a magnificent dragon. Most of my companions thought it was just a nice story, something to dream about, but for me, it was a promise. A fire burned in my fins, a deep knowing that my destiny was not to simply drift with the current, but to fight against it. I knew I had to try to reach for the sky, no matter what it took.

So the journey began. Thousands of us turned against the powerful flow of the river, our bodies a shimmering, determined wave of gold and orange. The river, however, did not make it easy. It was a relentless adversary, pushing us back, slamming us against smooth, slippery rocks, and trying to exhaust us with its unending force. Days blurred into nights. My muscles ached, and my fins grew tattered and sore. I saw many of my friends give up. Some were simply swept away by the current, deciding the fight was too hard. Others found comfortable eddies behind large stones and chose to rest there forever. Cruel spirits of the river, looking like shadowy herons, would laugh from the banks, their voices like cracking twigs. 'Go back, you foolish fish!' they'd cackle. 'The Dragon Gate is not for you!' But with every fish that turned back, my own determination grew hotter, like a coal glowing in the dark. I pictured the dragon's powerful wings and wise, ancient eyes, and I pushed onward, one powerful tail-swish at a time.

After what felt like a lifetime of swimming, I heard it. A low rumble that grew into a deafening roar, shaking the very water around me. I rounded a bend and my heart leaped. There it was: the Dragon Gate. It was a colossal wall of crashing, white water, throwing a misty spray so high it seemed to kiss the heavens. It was more terrifying and more beautiful than I had ever imagined. Only a handful of us remained. We stared up at the impossible height, our hearts pounding with a mix of fear and awe. This was the final, monumental test. I watched as one koi after another launched themselves into the air, only to be thrown back by the crushing weight of the falls. Was it really impossible? For a moment, a cold cloud of doubt washed over me. But then I remembered my dream, the fire in my fins. I took a deep gulp of water, swam back to get a running start, and gathered every last ounce of strength I had left in my weary body.

I shot out of the water like a golden arrow. The world was a blur of green riverbank and blue sky, and the roar of the waterfall filled my entire being. For one incredible second, I hung in the air, suspended between the water and the sky, right at the very top of the cascade. Can you imagine that feeling? With one last, mighty flip of my tail, I was over. I landed in the calm, serene waters above the falls, and a brilliant, warm light enveloped me. I felt a strange and wonderful power surge through me. My body grew long and strong, my fins became powerful claws, and majestic horns sprouted from my head. I was no longer Jin, the koi fish. I was a dragon. I soared into the sky, my new body rippling with celestial energy. Looking down, I saw the long, winding path of the Yellow River I had traveled. My story became the legend you hear today, a tale told for thousands of years to remind everyone that great things are possible with perseverance. When a student studies hard for a test, or an artist works tirelessly on a painting, they are swimming against their own current, trying to leap their own Dragon Gate. The myth shows us that with enough determination and courage, anyone can overcome their obstacles and transform into something magnificent, because there is a little bit of the dragon's spirit inside all of us.