The Luminous Pearl

Source: Torre, Betty L. The Luminous Pearl: a Chinese Folktale. New York: Orchard Books, 1990.

Summary: Mai Li, daughter of the Dragon King of the East Sea, is looking for a suitor to marry, but she rejects all the choices her father's advisors bring her. Finally, Admiral C. Horse tells her of a young man he saw while on an inspection tour, who is known to be honest and brave. Mai Li travels to find him, and finds two brothers. She gives them a test to discover which of them is both honest and brave: retrieving a luminous pearl that shines in the night from her father. As the brothers travel to the East Sea, they both come across a village that has been flooded, and both promise to return with the Dragon King's golden dipper to save them. Upon reaching the Dragon King, he allows them each to choose one item from his treasures. The first brother takes an enormous pearl, while the second takes the dipper to fulfill his promise, resigning himself not to marry the princess. After rescuing the village, he finds an oyster containing a black pearl, and takes it back to the princess. That night, it is the second brother's pearl that shines, and he wins the princess's hand.

Cultural origins: Chinese. The book describes itself as a Chinese folktale, and contains an adaptation note identifying another source of the tale.

Audience: 4th-6th grade. Like the other "princess" stories in this collection, this is a complicated story. It is unlikely that younger audiences would be able to follow the plot all the way through the story.

Adaptation notes: When I first read this story, I missed where the second brother got his pearl from. Therefore, when I tell this story, I would be sure to emphasize this part, as it clearly demonstrates that the pearl was his reward for honoring his promise to the village. I would also shorten the part where the princess rejects the suitors presented to her, as I did not think this was as important to the story.