by
Ryan
here once was a boy named Sazaka who lived in a Japanese village with his grandfather. They lived together in a small hut because they were very poor. Sazaka had to take care of his grandfather because he was very ill. His grandfather would spend many hours telling him stories of ancient legends. The legends taught people the importance of being honest and good to other people. Sazaka would listen for hours as his grandfather would tell about great adventures and beautiful treasures that had been lost or some that had been found. These stories were of great interest to Sazaka because he has always wanted to be a treasure hunter.
One day Sazaka went fishing for food at the lake. Sazaka loved to go to the lake because after he had caught all the fish they needed for the week, he could go exploring in all the interesting places that surrounded the lake. Surely, his hidden treasure was buried somewhere in this area for this is the same lake in his grandfather's stories about all the exciting adventures in the legends. Sazaka packed up his fishing basket, hung his fish on his stick and set out for his treasure hunt.
Soon thereafter, the daylight was quickly fading and Sazaka knew it would be dark soon. He decided to head back towards the village to his home before it got too dark. Sazaka soon spotted a trail that appeared to be a shortcut to the village. "This will save me a lot of time if I go this way", Sazaka thought to himself, so he started his walk along the new found trail. It was not long after his detour that he saw a small opening that looked like the opening to a cave. "Oh, I just have to see what's in there!" Sazaka said, "Maybe there's a treasure in that cave!"
Sazaka entered the cave very slowly for he didn't know what to expect inside. ''Wow!'' Sazaka said, "This is amazing!" As Sazaka continued to walk slowly through the cave he was fascinated by all the drawings he saw on the walls. One drawing caught his eye. The drawing was of a huge dragon that resembled a dragon his grandfather had told him about in one of his stories. Sazaka wondered what all the drawings meant and who must have drawn them.
As Sazaka neared the end of the cave he found a staircase that was hidden behind a pile of wood. Sazaka quickly moved the pieces of wood to see if he could tell where the staircase led. It was so dark that his lantern could not shine that far so he decided to climb the stairs to see what was at the top.
When Sazaka reached the top of the stairs he found a dragon that looks just like the one in the picture on the wall. The dragon blew fire out of his nostrils and yelled, "You must leave the cave at once!"
Sazaka was very scared and couldn't even move. Sazaka just stood and stared at the dragon wondering if he should run away. Then somehow Sazaka got the courage to say, "Why do I have to leave? Do you live here?" The dragon replied, "I am the keeper of the cave and cannot leave until the golden ball has been returned to me and carried away to a safe place." Sazaka asked, "What is the golden ball?". The dragon blew more fire out of his nostrils as he turned from Sazaka. It appeared the dragon was going to walk away but then he stopped and said, "The Golden Ball is a treasure like no other. It has the power to grant 3 wishes to whoever holds the ball within his hands." "Now leave at once!!!", the dragon yelled. Sazaka turned and ran back down the stairs and out of the cave as fast as he could.
The next day Sazaka went exploring again and this time he went through a second forest and found a secret sand pit. Sazaka was tired and thought he'd take a break. So Sazaka sat down and landed on something hard, he said "ouch, that hurt ,what happened?" So Sazaka started to dig in the sand pit, and after a while Sazaka found something and he was curious to what it was, so he dug deeper until he saw a golden ball. Sazaka said "I've found it I've found the golden ball that the dragon was telling me about." Sazaka was so happy that he found the ball that he rushed off to the cave where the dragon was and handed it to him. The dragon took the ball and said "I have it I have the ball ha ha ha." When Sazaka finally realized that the dragon was an imposter, he was gone before Sazaka could stop him. Sazaka was so disappointed that he lost the ball, that when he returned home, his grandfather asked him what was the matter, Sazaka told him what was the matter, then his grandfa! ther told Sazaka the story of the great dragon and the golden ball. He tells him that the only person who can open the ball is one who has a pure and good heart. The next day Sazaka returned to the cave to do some more exploring, then something caught his eye, it was the imposter! The imposter looked very disappointed because he could not figure out how to open the ball. The man thought that Sazaka did something to the ball to trick him. Sazaka tells the man the story, but he didn't believe Sazaka. Finally the man throws the ball on the ground because he doesnít believe in the ballí special powers anymore. Sazaka picks up the ball, and then suddenly it opened. Sazaka was so amazed, then he remembered the legend about the legend about being able to grant three wishes. First Sazaka wished that his grandfather was healthy, then he wished that they had a good home and plenty to eat, then he wished that everyone in the world would be truthful and honest. So the dragon granted Sazaka's wishes and then returned the ball, then all of a sudden the ball started to float, and then flew away, and the boy was so amazed at what he had just seen, that the boy headed for home as fast as he could go. When Sazaka returned home he was so amazed and marveled at the site of his grandfather healthy once again. Sazaka was so happy that his grandfather was well, he ran into the arms of his grandfather and cried tears of joy. Then latter on when they both stopped crying Sazaka told his grandfather what had happened, then after he had finished telling his grandfather the story, his grandfather said "Oh Sazaka, I'm so proud of you", and they lived together happily ever after.
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