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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: average joe who wrote (231504)	5/16/2007 4:14:33 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Long time ago in a town tucked away in the mountains lived a little boy name AJ. His family were miners. Mining was hard to do on a mountainside. There wasn't much success for his family, nor for the rest of the town. Being poor didn't bother AJ because he loved to paint. In the fields, AJ drew animal shapes in the dirt. By the river, AJ drew fish and plants on rocks with his wet finger. There was no stopping AJ's creativity for canvas and paint. When he was old enough, he went to the monastery to speak with the head monk. He knew the head monk was a famous painter and AJ wanted to learn from him. The old monk told AJ he was too young and that he should stay with his family to mine. AJ was devastated and walked home slowly, crying silently all the way. That night, a white owl appeared at AJ's window. "Whooo," the owl cried as it flew into AJ's bedroom. In a flash, the owl changed into an old man. AJ hid behind his bed, trembling. The old man laughed and said, "I've been watching you, AJ. You're a very talented artist. I've brought a gift from the gods. It's a magic paintbrush. Use it, and it'll make many people happy." Then the old man turned back into the white owl, flying out the window and into the night. AJ blinked his eyes, and blinked them again. The brush was on the table, waiting for the boy to pick it up. AJ picked up the brush and a tingle ran up his arm. He had to try out his gift. He unrolled a torn piece of cloth, mixed some ash with water to make ink, then drew a bird. Nothing happened for a moment but then AJ couldn't believe his eyes. The bird blinked, then ruffled its feathers. With a stretch of its wings, the bird came to life and flew off the paper. AJ fell to the ground! He tried again, but this time with a turtle. The turtle came to life with a hard shell and a head that popped in and out of that shell. All night, AJ drew little animals that came to life. When morning arrived, AJ ran to the mine to greet his father. He had to show him his new paintbrush. AJ walked towards the broken cart. It hasn't been used in years because it was missing a wheel. AJ waved his magical paintbrush in the air and drew a wheel for the cart. POOF, a wheel appeared on the cart. AJ continued to draw things for his father to use on the mine. They were both very happy. A week went by and news of AJ's paintbrush spread through the town. Neighbors visited AJ to have him draw new mining equipment. He was happy to help them all. One neighbor who heard about AJ was Mustache Sam, the mean rancher who lived at the end of the town. No one liked him. He abused his animals and stole from the town. Mustache Sam had a plan. He told his henchmen to kidnap AJ and steal his paintbrush. Wednesday night, Mustache Sam's men grabbed AJ when he was walking home from the mine. AJ was thrown into an abandoned shed and two guys stood guard at the door while another ran for Mustache Sam. When Mustache Sam arrived, he smelled something burning from inside the shed. He opened the door and found a cooked meal and a blanket, both of which were drawn by AJ for comfort. Mustache Sam discovered something else: a ladder perched against the back window of the shed. AJ had drawn a ladder to escape his capture. With all of his might, Mustache Sam yelled and knocked over the fire, burning the shed to the ground. AJ watched the chaos from behind a big rock and was not found. He ran home and hid for the next month. During this month, stories of AJ's magical paintbrush travel all over Canada. People described animals coming to life and how one town poverty turned around with the aid of new mining equipment; all of this because of one little boy's big heart and his paintbrush. The news reached even to the ears of the Emperor. The Emperor was a greedy man. He hoarded gold and gems from far away lands. He counted his money daily. He even had servants killed if they were eating too much food. The Emperor wanted AJ's magical paintbrush. He set out a million-dollar reward for the capture of AJ and his paintbrush. AJ was captured by the Emperor's soldiers and brought before the emperor. AJ was separated with his brush and then thrown into jail. The Emperor wondered what was to be his first drawing with the magical paintbrush. He drew what he thought was a golden phoenix. A golden phoenix to lay him golden eggs. The bird flapped its wings and came to life as a common chicken. "Bock," it cried and ran around the royal throne room. The emperor tried to draw a bar of gold. Since he was a greedy man, he drew a long bar of gold. The gold bar wiggled off the paper in the shape of a snake. The huge snake crept towards the emperor and wrapped itself around him. The emperor yelled for his men of court to free him. At the same time, the chicken ran and jumped up on the head of emperor, and laid a big yellow egg. AJ was ordered out of jail to the emperor's throne room. The emperor was furious and frustrated, unable to paint gold and riches. He ordered AJ to draw for him a sailing vessel, large enough for the royal family and all of its servants. AJ drew the most beautiful boat, carved from rare woods and gilded with gold and gemstone sparkles. Next he was ordered to draw a river to where to dock the boat. AJ drew a river. When it came to life, it picked up speed and enough strength to give birth to a tidal wave. Water crashed and destroyed the royal palace. The rough tides towed the boat far out to sea. The evil emperor was stuck on the royal boat never to return to Canada. With all of the confusion, no one saw AJ sneak away, draw himself a horse and ride away. Where did he go? Some say that AJ went home to continue to help the poor. Some others say he created animal refuge in the middle of Canada's mountain range and drew animals until the day he died. Roughly recollected from a chinese tea tale. Rough_cut