Once upon a time, in China, there was a boy named Ma Liang. Ma Liang's parents had died early so the boy had to support himself by chopping wood and cutting grass. The boy loved painting but he was so poor he could not afford to buy a paint brush!

 

One day, Ma Liang walked past a school and saw a teacher painting with a brush. Without thinking, Ma Liang walked into the classroom and asked the teacher: “I want to learn painting. Can I borrow a paint brush from you?”

 

The teacher glared at the shabby boy and sneered: “What? A poor kid like you wants to learn to paint? You must be daydreaming! Get out of my sight!” Quietly, Ma Liang walked away. He had just been snubbed by an adult but he remained composed and calm. In his mind he was thinking: “I just don't believe a poor child is not good enough to learn painting.”

 

The boy made up his mind to learn to paint by himself. When he chopped wood in the forest he would draw a bird in the sand with a branch. When he was cut grass by the river, he would dip a grass reed in water and trace a fish on the rocks. At night, when he returned to the cave which he called home, he would use a stick of charcoal to sketch on the wall everything he had drawn during the day.

 

Year after year Ma Liang practiced never missing a day. He drew everywhere he went using anything he could find. If he was not actually drawing something he was drawing it in his mind. Every inch of his cave wall was covered with paintings.

 

Even though he still didn’t have a paint brush Ma Liang had developed some amazing skills. When he drew a hen on the ground of his village entrance, eagles hovered above. When he drew a black wolf at the back of the mountain, cows and sheep stayed away in fear. “It would be great to have a paint brush.” Ma Liang said to himself everyday.

 

One night, feeling very tired, Ma Liang fell asleep while painting. Suddenly, there appeared rays of colorful, brilliant light. An old man with a very long white beard walked out of the light and handed Ma Liang a paint brush. “This is a magic paint brush, use it well.” said the old man whose beard was so long it stretched to the floor. Ma Liang was overcome with joy. The paint brush felt heavy in his hand and it shimmered with golden light. Before Ma Liang could thank the old man, he had disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared.

 

A surprised Ma Liang awoke from his sleep. What a fantastic dream! But it could not have been a dream since he was still holding tightly to the paint brush. Ma Liang drew a bird with the brush. The bird flapped its wings and flew into the sky. He then painted a fish. The fish wiggled its tail, leapt into the air and into a river Ma Liang had drawn and swam away. Ma Liang was ecstatic. The old man was right. This was indeed a magic paint brush!

 

Each day, with paint brush in hand, the kindhearted Ma Liang helped the poor people in his village. He painted a cow for the family that needed a cow, a stone mill for the family who wanted a stone mill, and a waterwheel for the family who didn’t have a waterwheel.

 

Very soon, news about Ma Liang's magic paint brush spread to a wealthy local landlord. The greedy landlord sent two of his bodyguards to bring Ma Liang to him and made the boy draw gold coins and ingots. But Ma Liang was a tough kid and no matter how the landlord threatened or beguiled him, he refused to obey the landlord. Angry but out of ideas, the landlord ordered Ma Liang to be locked in a stable and not given any food and water. It was the dead of winter and outside the stable the snow was several feet thick.

 

The landlord thought it was just a matter of time before Ma Liang gave in to the cold and hunger. But what a surprise awaited the landlord two days later when he approached the stable! Through the doorway he could see a bright red light and smell delicious food. Curious, he looked inside the stable. A cheerful Ma Liang was eating piping-hot Chinese pancakes and cooking a pot of stew over a fire! The landlord knew Ma Liang had drawn the food and fire with the magic paint brush. Livid, he ordered his henchmen to kill the boy and grab the magic paint brush. When a dozen men rushed into the stable Ma Liang was nowhere to be found! With the magic paint brush he had drawn a ladder and escaped over the eastern wall. The landlord and his men followed up the ladder but they had climbed no more than a few rungs before the ladder vanished and they all came crashing down. They could hear Ma Liang laughing outside the stable! 

 

 

Ma Liang got on a gallant white horse he had drawn and started riding for the next village. Before long, he heard horse hoofs behind him. The landlord and a dozen men were chasing him on horseback and waving shining blades. They were closing in fast. Calmly Ma Liang drew a bow and arrow with the magic paint brush. He stretched the stiff bow and aimed the arrow at the landlord. Ping! Went the arrow and struck the landlord right in the throat. The landlord fell off his horse. Ma Liang took the chance to gallop away.

 

After riding nonstop for a few days, Ma Liang finally arrived at the next village. He decidedto start life anew at this village. Ma Liang painted many works and sold them on the streetbut every animal drawn was either without lips or with a leg broken. He didn't want the animals to come to life. He was afraid to let people know about the magic paint brush. One day, he painted a white crane without eyes. In a moment of carelessness, a drop of ink landed on the crane's face. Magically, the white crane opened her eyes flapped her wings and flew into the sky. This created a great commotion in the village and before long everyone got wind about the young boy and his magic paint brush.

 

Local officials immediately reported this "strange happening" to the emperor. The emperor issued an edict for Ma Liang to appear before him and dispatched his guards to escort the young boy. An unwilling Ma Liang was brought by force to the emperor's palace.

 

Ma Liang had heard many stories about the emperor bullying the common poor people. In his heart Ma Liang hated the emperor and he thought, "I will never paint anything the emperor wants!" When the emperor instructed Ma Liang to draw a dragon, he drew a big house lizard; he painted a crow when the emperor ordered a phoenix. These two ugly creatures fought each other and made a big mess in the palace hall.

 

Enraged, the emperor ordered his guards to take away Ma Liang's magic paint brush and throw young boy in prison. Now the magic paint brush was in the gleeful emperor's hands. First he drew a mountain made of gold. Then he drew a second one, followed by a third and on and on. He painted one gold mountain on top of another. Finally satisfied thegreedy emperor stood back to look at his mountains of gold. There weren't any mountainsof gold, only piles and piles of huge rocks! Suddenly, the rocks tumbled down and nearly crushed the emperor's feet! Undeterred, the emperor started drawing gold bricks. One by one he painted the gold bricks. But he felt the gold bricks were too small. So he drew a veybig and long gold brick thatfilled the wall. Before the emperor could finish, the painting came to life in the form of a huge and long python! The hungry giant reptile opened its massive jaws and pounced at the emperor. Luckily, the emperor's bodyguards saved him from the man-eating creature in the nick of time.

 

Not ready to give up, the emperor ordered Ma Liang to be set free. In a kind and gentle voice, the emperor told the young painter the princess would marry him and he would be made a prince if he agreed to paint what the emperor asked. Ma Liang pretended to agree - all he wanted was to get back his magic paint brush.

 

The happy emperor gave the magic paint brush back to Ma Liang and asked him to draw a money tree.

When shaken, gold coins would drop from the money tree. Ma Liang raised his brush and waved it left and right. A blue ocean appeared before him. There was not a single ripple on the water and the sea shone brilliantly like an endless jade mirror. The angry emperor shouted:

"I want you to draw a money tree and you give me the sea!"

Ma Liang drew an island in the middle of the ocean and on the island, a tall and big tree.

"Isn't that the money tree you wanted?" Ma Liang asked the emperor.

 

The emperor laughed. "Quick, draw me a boat. I want to shake the money tree," he said hurriedly. So Ma Liang drew a big wooden boat and the emperor and all his guards boarded the boat. Ma Liang painted some small ripples on the water and the boat started out slowly towards the island.

"Faster! Faster!" The emperor shouted. So Ma Liang sketched a few broad strokes in the air. Immediately huge gusts of wind started blowing. The masts caught the wind and the boatsurged forward in the sea.

"More wind! More wind!" The emperor demanded. So Ma Liang added more strokes to the wind. The boat masts caught the wind fully and the wooden boat sailed ahead at full speed. Now the waves were getting bigger and bigger. The boat was being tossed about in the choppy waters.

"Enough! Enough!" The fightened emperor waved his hands at Ma Liang to stop.

 

Ma Liang pretended not to see and added more wind. Waves many feet high slammed against the boat and drenched everyone on board. "Stop drawing! The boat is sinking..."

The emperor's hysterical voice was drowned by the roaring waves and the shouts of panic on board the boat. Ma Liang continued drawing. His paint brush whipped up a thunderstorm. Walls of waves smashed intothe ship amidst horrific thunder and lightning. The waves finally broke the boat and sank it. The emperor and everyone on board drowned.

 

After the death of the emperor, the story of Ma Liang and the magic paint brush spread far and wide. But nobody knew where Ma Liang went. Some said he went back to his hometown. Other said he travelled to many places and wherever he went he used his magic paint brush to help the poor.