Peter’s Chinese Kid Lit #2: Creaky and Swaying Suspension Bridge
April 25th, 2009 | View Comments
Last week, we met Little Fox and his fragile emotional state that leads him to cry at the sight of a wet water bucket. In this week’s book, we learn more about Little Fox’s psyche as we explore his fear of heights and apparent sexuality.
吊橋搖呀搖
Diao4 qiao2 yao2 ya1 yao2
The Creaky and Swaying Suspension Bridge
Once again, 小狐狸 xiao3 hu2 li2 (Little Fox) and his friends 小熊 xiao3 xiong2 (Little Bear) and 小兔子 xiao3 tu4 zi5 (Little Rabbit) are on an adventure through the woods. This time, the trio come across a suspension bridge that crosses a gorge. They want to cross it, but are too afraid of heights. (They looked down at the river below… idiots.)
Just then, an elderly 山豬 shan1 zhu1 (Mountain Boar) crosses the bridge. The kids are eager to ask him what lies on the other side of the bridge. Sensing their gullibility, he tells them on the other side a little girl fox, a little girl bear, and a little boy rabbit are waiting for them. (Apparently, Little Rabbit is a girl.) Upon hearing this news, the kids’ ears perk up and they fantasize a scene in which they square dance in the woods; or at least that’s what the illustration implies.
The next day, Little Bear and Little Rabbit realize they’re too young to cross the bridge on their own and they should wait until they’re older and abandon Little Fox at the bridge. Besides, the opposite sex might have cooties. Little Fox, however, is all of a sudden horny and wants to cross the bridge to meet the mythical little girl fox. But first, he must dream about crossing the bridge. His dream scares him so much that he closes his eyes… while sleeping and dreaming. In the morning, he gets enough courage to try crossing the bridge. Little Fox very cautiously takes three steps, then runs back. The next day he takes four steps. Followed by five steps, six steps, etc. (The author felt the need to do this for several pages.)
A few days later, Mountain Boar crosses the bridge again and runs into Little Fox, desperately clinging to the sides as the bridge shakes from Mountain Boar’s weighty steps. Little Fox asks after his beloved crush and is reassured that she is just fine. In fact, she’s still waiting for him.
One day, on his brave quest, he brings a flower for the little girl fox. He takes his however many steps for that day and places it on the bridge telling her, “Here’s a flower for you… on the bridge… because I’m to chicken to cross the entire thing myself and deliver it in person.” (Ok, so the last part wasn’t exactly in the book.) The next day, the flower is gone. Little Fox reveals a bit of skepticism by considering the possibility that the wind blew it away, but the romantic decides that someone took it.
Later, he decides to go for it and cross the bridge. (It’s been well over a week since he started, by the way.) He makes it to the halfway point on the bridge. Little Fox sits down on the bridge, pulls out a harmonica which he just happen to have in his pocket (Huh?), and begins to play. Music permeates the air and reaches the ears of his friends who realize they’ve been less than stellar by abandoning him on the bridge. Little Bear and Little Rabbit quickly run to the bridge and call out to Little Fox, “Come Play with Us!”
Little Fox looks at his friends, looks at the other side of the bridge, and back at his friends again. He tells the little girl fox, “One day when we’re older, I hope we can play together,” before running BACK TO THE STARTING POINT to join his friends.
OY! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS KID? He gets conned by an old mountain boar into thinking a little girl on the otherside of the bridge has the hots for him. Despite desperately wanting to meet this non-existent girl, he ends up abandoning her to play with his friends. In reading this book, I just wanted to shove the twerp off the bridge into the river hundreds of feet below.
Unfortunately, I have no more books about Little Fox at my disposal. Yvonne has some if she’d like to contribute next week’s entry. Otherwise, we’ll take a break from this psychotic animal and learn about a nice old lady who can perform magic!
Peter posted this on April 25th, 2009 @ 3:26pm in Books, Chinese, Peter's Chinese Kid Lit, Reading | Permalink to "Peter’s Chinese Kid Lit #2: Creaky and Swaying Suspension Bridge"
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