
The Magic Paintbrush - Chapter 1
An Artist's Dream
A long time ago, there was a young man called Ma Liang. 👁
He was very poor because his parents had died early. 👁
Ma Liang loved to paint. 👁
Since he couldn't afford a paintbrush and colours, he painted with everything he could find. 👁
He used blades of grass and wet soil to paint animals on the walls of the cave that he called his home. 👁
After many years of practice, he got so good at painting that the pictures on the wall almost looked alive. 👁
Ma Liang enjoyed giving others joy with his paintings and invited everyone to look at his art. 👁
One night, he had a strange dream. 👁
Ma Liang stood in a wide meadow full of colourful flowers when suddenly an old man with a white beard came down from the sky. 👁
He stopped directly in front of him. 👁
The man gave Ma Liang a magic paintbrush and told him to only use it for good. 👁
Shortly after, he vanished into the clouds again. 👁
Ma Liang looked at the paintbrush in his hands and noticed that it had a magical glow. 👁
When Ma Liang woke up in the morning, he was surprised to find that he was still holding the paintbrush in his hand. 👁
Ma Liang wanted to try it out immediately and began to paint a small bird. 👁
Without having to dip the paintbrush in paint, he drew a beautiful bird with colourful feathers. 👁
After the painting was finished, the bird spread its wings and flew out of the cave. 👁
Ma Liang could hardly believe what he had seen. 👁
The boy used the magic paintbrush to help everyone in the village. 👁
He painted homes for poor beggars to live in. 👁
When the fields dried out in the summer heat, he painted a river so the farmers could water their fields. 👁
It didn't take long before he was known throughout the entire country. 👁
When the emperor heard of Ma Liangs powers, he sent a group of his soldiers to capture the young man. 👁
The emperor wanted to use the magic paintbrush to become even richer and more powerful. 👁
So he threw Ma Liang into prison and took the brush for himself. 👁
But no matter how hard he tried, his paintings would not come alive. 👁
The emperor sent for Ma Liang and commanded him to draw a huge mountain of gold. 👁