The Magic Paintbrush

Part One · A Boy Who Loved to Paint

Long ago in China, there lived a poor boy named Ma Liang. He had no mother or father, so he lived by himself and gathered firewood to sell in the market. More than anything, Ma Liang wanted to paint, but a paintbrush cost money, and he did not have a single coin. One day he walked past a school and peeked inside, where a teacher was painting a picture with a beautiful brush.

"Please, sir," said Ma Liang, "may I borrow a brush? I want to learn to paint." The teacher laughed at him. "A poor boy wants to paint? Get away from my door!" But Ma Liang did not give up. He drew birds in the sand with a stick, and he drew fish on the rocks beside the river with his finger dipped in water. When he went home at night, he drew on the walls with a lump of charcoal.

He practiced every day for years, and his pictures became better and better. When he drew a bird, people thought they could almost hear it singing, and when he drew a fish, it looked as if it could swim away. Still, he wished for a real brush of his own. Then one night, an old man with a long white beard came to him in a dream and gave him a shining paintbrush.

"This is a magic brush," said the old man. "Use it well." Ma Liang woke up, and to his surprise, the brush was really in his hand. He painted a crane on the wall, and as soon as he painted its eye, the crane blinked. It shook its long white feathers, stepped down from the wall and flew up into the blue sky. Ma Liang could hardly believe it.

Ma Liang knew exactly what to do with his gift, so he went around the village and painted for the poor families. For a farmer with no ox, he painted an ox that pulled the plow. For people who had to carry water a long way, he painted a stream. He painted hoes, buckets and lamps for anyone who needed them, and he never asked for a coin.

Part Two · The Greedy Rich Man

Soon a rich and greedy man in the village heard about the magic brush. He sent his servants to grab Ma Liang and drag him to his big house. "Paint gold for me!" he shouted. "No," said Ma Liang. "I only paint for people who need help." The rich man was so furious that he locked Ma Liang in a cold stable with no food and no fire.

That night, snow fell, and the rich man smiled. "By morning he will be ready to paint my gold," he said. But when he peeked through a crack in the door, he saw a warm red glow. Ma Liang had painted a stove with a crackling fire, and he was eating hot cakes that he had painted too. The rich man hurried away to get the key.

By the time he opened the door, the stable was empty. Ma Liang had painted a tall ladder up the wall and climbed out over the top! The rich man rushed up the ladder after him, but Ma Liang flicked his brush, and the ladder disappeared. Down tumbled the greedy man into the snow, and Ma Liang ran far away to another town.

In the new town, Ma Liang earned his rice by selling his paintings, but he was always very careful. He never painted the eyes on his birds and animals, so they would not come alive. Then one day, by accident, he dropped a spot of ink on a picture of a crane. The ink landed right where the eye should be, and the crane stretched its wings and flew away over the rooftops.

Part Three · The Emperor's Gold

Soon everybody was talking about it, and the news reached the Emperor in his palace. The Emperor was even greedier than the rich man, and he sent his soldiers to bring Ma Liang to the palace. "Paint me a dragon!" he ordered. Ma Liang painted a big, warty toad instead. "Paint me a phoenix!" said the Emperor. Ma Liang painted a bald, scrawny chicken.

The chicken flapped and squawked, and the toad hopped all over the palace. The Emperor was so angry that he snatched the magic brush away and painted a mountain of gold himself. But when he looked again, it was only a pile of heavy rocks! Next he painted a stack of gold bars, and they turned into snakes. The brush would only work for Ma Liang.

So the Emperor gave the brush back. "Paint me a mountain of gold," he said, "and I will let you go." Ma Liang dipped his brush, and first he painted a wide blue ocean, as smooth as glass. Then, far out in the sea, he painted an island with a mountain of gold on it, shining in the sun. "Now paint me a ship," cried the Emperor. "Hurry!"

Ma Liang painted a big wooden ship with red sails. The Emperor climbed on board with all his ministers, and the ship began to sail toward the island. "Too slow!" shouted the impatient Emperor. "Paint some wind!" So Ma Liang painted a few lines of wind, and the sails filled. "More wind!" shouted the Emperor. "More!" So Ma Liang painted more and more wind.

The wind roared, and the waves grew as tall as houses. The ship tossed and spun in the storm, and the Emperor clung to the tall mast. "Enough! Enough!" he cried. But Ma Liang kept on painting. The wind blew the ship right past the golden island, far across the sea and over the edge of the sky. The greedy Emperor was never seen in that land again.

After that, Ma Liang traveled back to his village, and he kept on painting for the poor families, just as he always had. He painted oxen for the farmers, boats for the fishermen and lamps for people who worked late at night. People say he still walks from village to village with his magic brush, painting things that help, and never anything for the greedy.