The Young Lizard and His Foolishness
Many years ago, deep within the Sichuan province, there lived an eager young lizard. He was brought up to be caring and trusting, but had received little education, and was very gullible. It was the Lizard's belief that it would be in no one's interest to hurt him, because he was merely a simple lizard, someone without consequence. This philosophy to trust in others had so far done him well as he explored the land around him, receiving help from those kind enough to offer it.
One day, as he ventured around the forest, he met a great dragon. The dragon greeted him warmly and offered to let him stay in his palace for the night. Being very excited and never having met a dragon before, the Lizard responded with a resounding yes. Upon arriving at the dragon's home, the Lizard saw many young lizards, like himself, working to cultivate the dragon's land. As the dragon showed the Lizard the inside of his home, there were others, cleaning the palace and working in the kitchen. Becoming curious about the dragon's house staff, the Lizard asked the dragon, “Why is it that you have so many lizards working on your estate?”. The dragon replied, “With much hard work, young lizards like yourself can become mighty dragons, like me!”.
Never having heard this before, the young Lizard jumped with joy at the thought, for it had been his life's goal to be a strong and mighty dragon. “How can I become a mighty dragon?”. “It is simple” the dragon replied, “you just sign a paper, stating your desire to become a dragon and work on my estate for a few months”. The Lizard again jumped in excitement, as the dragon drew up the papers. “All I have to do is sign? Should I read the part above my signature?” the Lizard asked. “No, no. That is not important.” stated the dragon dismissively.
With that, the Lizard signed and sealed his fate. The effects were immediately noticeable. The Lizard was no longer able to jump, bound to the floor by magic. “What happened? You didn't tell me I could no longer jump!” “You didn't ask” the dragon sneered. What the young Lizard did not know was that he signed his life away, promising to work away on the dragon's estate until his death. The foolish trust the Lizard placed in the dragon cost him his freedom, and instead of exploring the country, like he had set out to do, the Lizard worked all day, eagerly anticipating the day he would become mighty.
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