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There is a tale in Chinese mythology of a village boy who finds a large and brilliant pearl one day while he is out foraging. He brought the precious thing back home, and to keep it hidden from the neighbors so they would not be jealous, his mother tucked the pearl into the jar of rice. To their surprise when they opened the jar several days later, they found it full to the brim when it had previously been near empty!

Curious now, the mother placed the pearl into another empty jar. The next day that jar too was full!!! Pleased with their prize, the mother and boy decided to share their newfound wealth with the neighbors, and though they told no one the secret of the pearl, word soon got out. The villagers became jealous, and plotted how they could steal this miraculous pearl. They planned a raid.

The night of the raid, in the confusion and wild chasing, the boy somehow swallowed the pearl, and as its magic raged through his body, he was changed into a huge dragon who thereafter lived in the river by the village. You will often see Chinese dragons depicted with a flaming pearl hovering before them.

The dragon was once this boy, and it is that precious and miraculous pearl that he protects...
 

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