Ma Liang and the Magic Paintbrush (Campfire Story)

Long ago in China, there lived a poor boy named Ma Liang. He cut firewood and herded cattle to earn a little rice. And more than anything in the world, he loved to draw.

But Ma Liang was too poor to buy a brush. So he drew with sticks in the sand by the river. He drew with charcoal on the rocks. He drew with his finger in the dust. Birds, and fish, and horses, and flowers. He drew every day, until his drawings looked almost real.

One night, an old man with a long white beard appeared to him in a dream. He held out a golden PAINTBRUSH. 'This is for you,' said the old man. 'Use it to help people.' And when Ma Liang woke up, the PAINTBRUSH was in his hand.

He painted a bird on a rock. PAINTBRUSH! The bird flapped its wings, and sang, and flew away. He painted a fish in the river. PAINTBRUSH! It flicked its tail and swam off. Whatever Ma Liang painted with that brush came to life!

So Ma Liang went from village to village, helping the poor. For a farmer with no ox, he painted an ox. PAINTBRUSH! For a village with no water, he painted a well. For a family with no food, he painted a basket of rice that never ran out. But he never painted anything for himself.

Word of the magic PAINTBRUSH spread, all the way to the palace of the greedy EMPEROR. 'Bring me that boy,' said the EMPEROR.

The soldiers dragged Ma Liang to the palace. 'Paint me a mountain of gold,' commanded the EMPEROR.

'No,' said Ma Liang. 'The brush is for helping people who need it.'

The EMPEROR threw him into the dungeon and took the brush for himself. He painted a big pile of gold. PAINTBRUSH! But it was only a pile of rocks. He painted a big gold bar. But it turned into a snake that chased him around the room. The brush only worked for Ma Liang.

So the EMPEROR dragged Ma Liang back out of the dungeon. 'Paint for me,' he said, 'and I'll set you free, and give you anything you want.'

Ma Liang thought for a moment. 'All right. What would you like?'

'I want to see the sea,' said the EMPEROR. 'With a mountain of gold on an island in the middle of it.'

So Ma Liang painted. PAINTBRUSH! There was the sea, blue and calm. PAINTBRUSH! There was an island, with a mountain of gold on it, shining in the sun. 'A ship!' cried the EMPEROR. 'Paint me a ship to get there!' PAINTBRUSH! There was a big wooden ship. The EMPEROR and all his greedy ministers climbed aboard.

'It's too slow!' shouted the EMPEROR. 'Paint some wind!'

So Ma Liang painted a breeze. Then a wind. Then a stronger wind. 'More!' shouted the EMPEROR. 'Faster! More, more, MORE!'

So Ma Liang painted more. He painted clouds, and a storm, and thunder, and lightning, and great big WAVES. The WAVES rose higher and higher, crashing over the deck. 'Stop!' cried the EMPEROR. 'Enough! Enough!' But Ma Liang kept painting, until one last enormous wave rolled over the ship, and the greedy EMPEROR and his gold and his ship were gone.

Ma Liang went back to his village. And for the rest of his life, he wandered the countryside with his golden PAINTBRUSH, painting oxen for farmers and wells for villages and toys for children. And they say that if you see a painting so good that you'd swear the bird in it is about to fly away, it might just be one of Ma Liang's.

Storyteller tips: speed up through the storm, with the EMPEROR cue getting louder and greedier each time. For younger Scouts, end with the Emperor washed up on a faraway island instead.