2. Yong yawned and stretched his arms
Yong yawned and stretched his arms. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed. It was a beautiful morning. He remembered he was to go to Grandmother’s house today. He smiled at being big enough to go on his own.
He jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. He looked out the window to see if Bao was in the yard, but he couldn’t see her. Hearing his mother in the kitchen, he went downstairs. It was time for breakfast.

3. “Good morning. ” said Yong’s mother as she put out a bowl of cereal
“Good morning!” said Yong’s mother as she put out a bowl of cereal. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, Mother. I dreamed I was flying over the big wall that Father is building.”
Yong’s mother smiled. “Your father is working hard on Emperor Qin’s Great Wall to protect the country. Well, my son, what will you do today?”
“You said I could go to Grandmother’s house to get some flour for you. I’ll take the cart and I’ll teach Bao how to pull it.”
“Little one, you can’t teach Bao to do that. Is that what she was born to do?”
A loud noise came through the opened door. Suddenly, a large goose flapped its way into the kitchen.

4. “Bao, shoo. Out of the kitchen. ” Yong’s mother scolded
“Bao, shoo! Out of the kitchen!” Yong’s mother scolded. “Oh, that goose has a mind of her own.”
“C’mon, Bao,” said Yong as he picked up the goose and went outside.  “Stay here until I finish breakfast,” he ordered as he put the goose on the ground.

5. After breakfast, Yong went outside where Bao was waiting
After breakfast, Yong went outside where Bao was waiting. Yong pulled the cart from the side of the house and placed it behind Bao.
“Bao, I’m going to put this rope around your middle. Then we can go to Grandmother’s house and carry home flour in the cart,” said Yong.
Yong grabbed the rope from the front of the cart and started wrapping it around Bao. But Bao didn’t want to pull the cart. She flapped her wings and half flew, half ran, down the lane.
“Wait, Bao! Come back!”

6. Yong ran after the goose
Yong ran after the goose. As they came to the lake near their house, Yong saw Bao suddenly fly up and away.
Yong felt angry that Bao had not listened to him, but then felt sad because Bao had run away from him. He remembered his father’s words to him about forcing Bao to be something she wasn’t.
“You can’t treat Bao as you would a dog, my little one,” Yong’s father would say. “Bao is a goose. Appreciate her for what she is, not what you wish her to be.”

7. Yong tried to see where Bao had gone. He looked back at his house
Yong tried to see where Bao had gone. He looked back at his house. His mother wouldn’t want him to run off, but he had to find Bao and apologize. He started running along the lake, calling out, “Bao, Bao, come back! I’m sorry!”
After a while, Yong grew tired. He sat down by the lake. A single tear rolled down his cheek. What would he do if he couldn’t find Bao?

8. Yong felt so sad. He began to cry, and soon just lay on the ground
Yong felt so sad. He began to cry, and soon just lay on the ground. After a while, he felt himself getting sleepy. Soon he started to dream. One minute, he was lying on a fluffy white cloud, and the next, he was flying through the air on Bao’s back!

9. Yong and Bao flew farther and farther over lakes and fields and forests. Soon they came to a very long wall. Workers were laying bricks, pushing wheelbarrows and making a great noise. Suddenly, Yong saw someone he knew. “Father,” he called. “Father!”
“Bao,” he cried, “Bao, I thought I had lost you!”
Yong held on to Bao as the goose flew in big circles in the air.
“Bao, I never knew you could fly like this!” Yong cried, holding tightly to Bao’s long neck.

10. “Go down, Bao!” Yong said. Once on the ground, he ran to his father and hugged him hard. “Father, I found you. Please come home. Please….”
His father smiled at him, but his eyes were sad.
“Yong, I told you I must help build this wall for Emperor Qin. He doesn’t want me to be a teacher anymore. He thinks it’s more important to finish the wall. I can’t help you find Bao. I’m sorry.”

12. Yong was going to say something to his father, but a fog came over everything. The next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground next to the lake. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was only a dream. Bao was still lost. And his father was still working on the wall.
Yong walked across the meadow to the woods. He didn’t know where he was going. He stopped as he saw some soldiers through the trees. Strange that he didn’t hear them. Or that they weren’t moving. What kind of soldiers were these?
Yong crept closer. He was stepping over some tree roots when his foot caught and he started to fall.

13. Yong fell at the foot of a soldier
Yong fell at the foot of a soldier. He kept staring at the soldier’s boot, afraid to look up. Finally, very, very slowly, Yong lifted his head.

14. The soldier looked straight ahead. That was odd
The soldier looked straight ahead. That was odd. Yong lifted his hand and touched the soldier’s boot. It was hard like stone. Yong got to his feet, and was amazed at what he saw.
As far as he could see were soldiers. A sea of soldiers, but no one moved.

15. “Who are you, boy?” A voice surprised Yong as a hand grabbed his shoulder.
Yong turned toward the voice. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. My name is Yong. I’m looking for my goose.”
The man in front of Yong was old, and his clothes had spots of paint. He held a paintbrush, which he was now pointing at Yong. “Your goose? What would your goose be doing here?”
  Yong tried to explain what had happened. How Bao didn’t want to be a dog. How Yong had to find her to say he was sorry. How he was just curious about the soldiers. Suddenly, the old man started to laugh.
“Well, my boy, I don’t know where your goose is, but since you’re so curious, would you like to know who these soldiers are?”
Yong nodded.

16. “These soldiers will guard Emperor Qin in the afterlife,” the old man explained. “There will be thousands of statues made of soldiers, generals, horses, chariots…even acrobats and musicians and animals, such as geese. I’m one of the painters. Notice how the face of each statue is different, just like in real life. I’ll give you a tour.”
The painter was very proud to show his work to Yong. They walked through rows and rows of statues.
“I’ve never seen so many statues before!” said Yong. The old man smiled.
They stopped at the door of a large brick building. “Here’s the oven, called a kiln, where the clay figures are fired and become hard,” said the old man. After that is when I and the other painters put the color on.”
Yong saw the worker making the figure of a soldier. How hot it is, he thought.

17. The old man said, “The Emperor is spending a lot of money and using thousands of people to make these statues. The Emperor gets whatever he wants, you know.”
Yong was about to tell the painter
how his father use to be a teacher
but now worked on the Emperor’s
Great Wall when he heard a sound he knew
well.
“I know that sound! It’s Bao!” cried Yong.
Suddenly, there was Bao on top of one of
the clay horses.

18. “Bao, you’ve come back. I’m so sorry. Never run away again
“Bao, you’ve come back! I’m so sorry! Never run away again!”  Yong dropped to his knees and threw his arms around the goose.
“Well, young man, I see you’ve found Bao,” said the old man. “I guess this has been quite a journey for you both.”
Yong heard the old man’s words and thought about what he had
seen that day. How people could make thousands of soldiers of stone. And he also thought about how an Emperor could make people do whatever he
wanted. How his father just wanted to come home
and be a teacher.
“I think I will treat Bao like a goose now. She should be who
she was created to be.”
The old man smiled. “You are a wise
child, Yong.”

19. Yong and Bao returned home that day
Yong and Bao returned home that day.  Yong apologized over and over to his mother, who was very angry, and promised to never leave home again like that. Yong felt happy to have Bao with him again.   
True to his word, from that time forward, Yong let Bao be who she was—a goose who knew she would never be a dog.