Hua's Courageous Quest

The sun had set and the moon had not yet risen. In the vast darkness of the desert, the tiny, glowing lights that marked a small village in the distance were the only things that could be seen for miles. Hua squinted her eyes, straining to see better.

“There it is!” she said excitedly as she pointed at the village. “That’s where my new house is!” She started running towards it, her small feet kicking up sand and dust behind her. Suddenly, she tripped over something in front of her and tumbled to the ground. When she stood up and brushed herself off, she looked down at what she tripped on and saw a large snake stretched out across her path.

The snake suddenly opened its eyes and stared at her. It spoke in a deep, raspy voice, “What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?”

Hua was startled by the unexpected sound of a reptile speaking to her. Her heart raced as she tried to answer him, but no words would come out of her mouth. She just shook her head from side to side.

The snake sighed with frustration. “Well then, what are you going there for? You’re pointing at that village. Are you one of those humans who want to make our lives miserable? Do you want to hunt us down like animals?”

Hua took a deep breath and said in a soft voice, “No… I don’t want to hunt you down like an animal… My family just moved here. We have just moved into this village because my father got a new job here - he’s going to work as a merchant here at this village! I was worried that I might get lost on my way home so I wanted to go check it out before I go home… But I didn’t expect there would be snakes blocking my path! And then you woke up and started talking to me! You scared me!” She paused for a moment and added sheepishly, “But I don’t think I can go home now… It looks like there is still some distance until we arrive at the village… What am I going to do? What are you going to do? Can you help me find my way back home?”

After hearing Hua's explanation, the snake grinned slyly and spoke again: “I guess that makes sense… Well then young lady, I will help you out this once! Of course it will cost... mmm… let me think about how much it will cost me if I help you out... hmmmm... Let's see... First off, let me tell you something: There's no 'village' ahead of us!"

Hua was surprised again when she heard his response. “But the lights are right there! The villagers made them so we can see their houses at night! You can even see them from very far away… But why are you saying that there is no village? Did someone move all of them? How could they do such a thing without telling anybody else?! Or did they all die somehow?! Don't say such scary things!! That's not funny!!!”

Hua was so upset that tears began streaming from her eyes as she shouted angrily at the snake. She wiped off her tears with her sleeves and waited for him to explain himself further.

The snake continued, unfazed by Hua's outburst: “That 'village' is just an illusion created by those humans so they can lure stupid snakes like myself into their traps." He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially into Hua's ear: "They call it a 'desert villa'..."