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by Staff Writer
Deep within the monsoon rainforest of China, lives a
young boy named Shiao Hu, meaning little tiger, and
his parents in the midst of dense and lush trees and
vegetation entangled with webs of vines climbing up
and hanging off every branch and limb. The sweet
fragrance of exotic flowers permeate through the air,
as their aroma is released by the sweltering heat of
humidity. The sun’s powerful rays are barely able to
penetrate the thick foliage of the rainforest, making
it dark and mysterious as sounds of wild animals echo
from every direction.
Shiao Hu hears the cries of prey being captured. His
heart begins beating faster and harder against his
chest, almost dropping the wood he had gathered for
fire. When suddenly he hears a rustling from behind.
His head slowly turns in fear of it being a hungry
tiger, as his frail body paralyzes with terror.
Then from behind a tree, a small kitten leaps out in
front of Shiao Hu, who took a deep breath of relief as
the kitten greets him with a tiny “meow”. The kitten
was white with orange stripes and had white paws with
tiny pink pads under each toe. She was wet, cold,
shaking, scared, and hungry. Shiao Hu named her Mimi
and took her home with him even though his parents
would be against it because they barely had enough
food to feed themselves, let alone a cat. Sure
enough, his parents firmly deny him the permission to
keep the cat. But eventually, they give in to Shiao
Hu’s persistent persuasion of having a cat to catch
the mice that infested the little amount of food they
had.
Shiao Hu took Mimi everywhere he went and nurtured
her with care, as they grew closer to each other as
friends. One day, Shiao Hu decides to buy a simple
painting brush and a small bottle of ink because he
has always wanted to try to paint, but could never
afford the supplies until he was finally able to save
up enough money. He eagerly lays out the paper and
soaks the brush in water to soften the bristles before
gently dipping the brush into the black ink.
He paints a few strokes, but to his disappointment
they turn out nothing like the beautiful bamboo leaves
he envisioned in his mind. Mimi looks on while
sitting on the table. She gently nudges Shiao Hu with
her soft forehead on his cheek to reassure and
encourage him. Then, she walks towards the bottle of
ink and dips her tail with just enough ink. Shiao Hu
is confused but observes with curiosity and amazement,
as Mimi begins to paint with smooth and steady
strokes. Mimi finishes with the last drop of ink to
complete the painting of the fish.
Then to his surprise, the fish begins to move on the
paper and come to life, as it jumps off the paper onto
the table. Shiao Hu is in utter disbelief and shock.
But at the same time, he is filled with joy as he
holds Mimi tightly in his arms because this was the
first time he didn’t have to worry about having enough
to eat.
However, people began finding out about Mimi’s
painting powers somehow, including the Emperor who
sends his soldiers out to bring Shiao Hu and Mimi to
his palace. The Emperor commands Mimi to paint gold
coins and expensive gems. She obeyed his demands, but
the painting did not come to life like the fish. The
lifeless painting infuriates the Emperor, who
wrongfully accuses Shaio Hu of fabrication. The
Emperor felt embarrassed that a mere cat brought shame
to his pride. So out of anger and vengeance, he
sentenced Shiao Hu to the death penalty.
However, Mimi proposes a deal with the Emperor. She
asks the Emperor to spare Shiao Hu and to take her
life instead. The Emperor is not satisfied and
demands once again for Mimi to bring a painting of
gold coins to life. But this time, the Emperor
threatened the lives of both Shiao Hu and his parents
if the painting failed to transform. Mimi agrees to
his terms and begins painting. When the painting is
complete, the table is covered with so many gold coins
and precious jewels that they are falling to the
ground.
The Emperor then spitefully orders for Mimi to be
sentenced to death, as he begins counting his money
with greed. But as soon as Mimi is killed, the gold
coins begin to disappear despite the Emperor’s attempt
to tenaciously hold onto them. While the Emperor was
distracted by his loss, Shiao Hu quickly escapes
without being noticed.
Shiao Hu returns home safely but is filled with grief
for his friend Mimi, who sacrificed her life for him.
He tries to find relief from the pain in his heart by
making another attempt to paint. This time, his hand
felt steady as the ink flowed onto the paper from the
brush. When he finished, there was a sweet bowl of
fruit on top of the painting he had just completed
because it had come to life!
Shiao Hu knew that Mimi was with him in his heart,
even though she wasn’t there physically. But she will
be remembered through the living paintings that
provide the daily needs of Shiao Hu and his parents. |
