The Ballad of Mulan (Campfire Story)

Long ago in northern China, about fifteen hundred years ago, a young woman named Mulan sat at her loom by the window. Click-clack, click-clack, went the loom. But one day, the clicking stopped, and all you could hear was sighing.

'Mulan,' said her mother, 'what's wrong?'

'Last night I saw the army's lists,' said Mulan. 'The Khan is calling up soldiers to fight the invaders on the northern border. There are twelve scrolls of names. And on every one of them is Father's name.'

Her father was old, and his back was bent, and he could barely lift a sword anymore. Her brother was only a little boy. There was no one else to go.

So that night, Mulan made a choice. She went to the market. In the east market, she bought a good horse. In the west market, she bought a saddle. In the south market, a bridle. In the north market, a long whip. She cut her hair, put on her father's armor, and before the sun came up, she rode away to take his place.

By nightfall, she was camped beside the Yellow River. She couldn't hear her mother and father calling her name. She heard only the river rushing by. The next night, she was in the Black Mountains. She couldn't hear her mother and father calling her name. She heard only the horses of the enemy, neighing in the dark.

And then she went to war. For ten thousand miles she rode, over mountains and through passes, as fast as flying. The cold night wind carried the sound of the watchmen's gongs, and the winter moonlight gleamed on her iron armor. The battles were long and hard. Many generals died. Many soldiers never came home.

For twelve years, Mulan fought beside her fellow soldiers. She marched with them, ate with them, slept beside them in the camps. She was brave and strong and clever, and she rose through the ranks until she was one of the most honored soldiers in the army. And in all that time, not one of her companions ever guessed that she was a woman.

At last, the war was won. The soldiers went before the Emperor in his great hall, and he rewarded them with gold and medals. When he came to Mulan, he said, 'You have served better than anyone. I will make you a high minister, with a palace and servants. What else do you wish?'

Mulan bowed. 'I don't want to be a minister,' she said. 'I only want to borrow a fast camel, to carry me home.'

When her parents heard she was coming, they hurried out to the edge of town to meet her, holding each other up. Her older sister put on her best dress. Her little brother, who wasn't little anymore, sharpened a knife to roast a pig for a feast.

Mulan walked into her old room. She opened the door of the east chamber and sat on the bed in the west chamber. She took off her armor, and put on her old dress. She combed out her hair, which had grown long again, and fixed it by the window, and put on makeup in the mirror.

Then she walked out the door to meet the soldiers who had traveled home with her. And her comrades stared. And stared. For twelve years they had marched and fought beside her, and not one of them had known Mulan was a girl.

The ballad ends with a riddle. Mulan says: 'The boy rabbit's feet kick and scramble. The girl rabbit's eyes squint in the sun. But when two rabbits are running side by side across the field, who can tell which is the boy, and which is the girl?'

Storyteller tips: the four markets and the two nights by the river and the mountains are repeated just as in the ballad; keep the rhythm. Afterward, ask: what's the riddle about the rabbits really saying?