“I’m sorry Grandmother. It’s just that dragons frighten me so much,” the small boy said, closely examining the aged carving his grandmother had given him for his birthday.”
“There is no reason to be afraid of this Dragon, child. This dragon is gentle and loving.
It is yours to pass on to your grandson…
Your carving was given to me by your grandfather’s, great- grandfather and his story has been shared with the children of our family through many generations….
Listen carefully child and take care never to forget this story.
“There are many fish in the sea. There are many tortoises, seahorses and mermaids. There is, however, only one sea dragon.
And in all of time, only once was it said that the sea dragon fell in love.
In the days of the battling lords, there lived a wise and courageous man called Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was both a trusted advisor to the king of Chu and a philosopher…a poet. He was a soft and kind man, whose spirit seemed to emit a constant, golden glow. Qu Yuan’s soul purpose in life was to serve his king and country… taken from The Mermaid’s Muse
A Chinese/Canadian Legend
“Bouchard is a gracious writer whose spare prose gives the reader room in the large magical domain he has created. Where Bouchard’s prose is scant, the paintings by Zhong-Yang Huang are beautifully lush… The danger with
these gorgeous pictures is that you’re tempted to rip them out of the book
and frame them.” Vancouver Sun.
AUTHOR’S COMMENT:
Again, how do I not shake my head at the good fortune I’ve had in being able to work with such a wonderful artist as Yang? He has been my friend for fifteen years and has collaborated with me on four books. We are currently working on three new books.
