The Attack of the Giant Stink Bugs. Larry Bennett
Heritage Builders Publishing
Ru-lan
The Attack
of the
Giant Stink Bugs
written by Laurence Bennett
illustrated by Basia Tov
HERITAGE BUILDERS PUBLISHING
Text copyright © 2015 by Laurence Bennett
Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Basia Tov
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher, except as
provided by USA copyright law.
First Edition 2015
Published by Heritage Builders Publishing
Clovis, Monterey California 93619
www.HeritageBuilders.com 1-888-898-9563
ISBN 978-1-940242-71-2
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
224022XHQ_
Ru-lan
The Attack
of the
Giant Stink Bugs
written by
Laurence Bennett
illustrated by Basia Tov
The first three years of Ru-lan's life in the kingdom of L
ǒ
u had been
tumultuous. As a baby prince, he had been kidnapped by an evil
enchantress named Su-Ling, who had kept him hidden away in her
home deep in the forest. With help from his animal friends and the
magical Fènghuáng, he'd been rescued by his braveparents, the
Emperor and Empress of Lou. And Su-Ling? She had been turned into
a mound of pebbles.
Back in the comfort of his own home, Ru-Lan had learned to play with
the other children and had made many friends. But sometimes he
thought about the forest. He missed climbing trees with the baby mon-
keys and splashing in a pond with his friend, the gentle elephant.
L
ǒ
u (pronounced “low”) - to hug in Chinese
Fènghuáng - (pron: fung wong) phoenix, in Chinese lore, a magical bird with healing powers (fèng means wind;
huáng means yellow)
5
Far away in the middle of the dense forest, something was happening
that would change Ru-lan's life forever.
As it happened, Su-Ling had a sister. Her name was Ya-Mei, The
Bamboo Spirit. Ya-Mei looked just like her sister, but she was as good
as Su-Ling was evil. 200 years earlier, Su-Ling had gotten very angry
at Ya-Mei. In a fury, she had trapped Ya-Mei in the body of a rabbit.
When he'd been Su-Ling's prisoner, Ru-lan had cared for the little
rabbit, not knowing who she was.
Now that Su-Ling was gone, Ya-Mei was recovering from the spell and
turning back into a woman. Her growth ripped apart the bamboo cage
that had for so long been her home and her prison.
The bamboo tree signifies good luck in Chinese culture
6
Nearby, wise old L
ǎ
o H
ǔ
was napping, proudly wearing
the golden badge of honor that the empress had given him for
helping set Ru-lan free. Hearing the sound of the bamboo cage
cracking, he sauntered over to see what was going on.
L
ǎ
o h
ǔ
(pron: lao rhymes with now; hu is pronounced like “who”) is Chinese for tiger, the literal translation is old
tiger- old in Chinese is synonymous with wise
7
Mistaking Ya-Mei for her evil sister, L
ǎ
o H
ǔ
shouted, “Oh no! It's
Su-ling! Su-ling's back!”
Ya-Mei looked around, confused and asked, “Where? Where?”
L
ǎ
o H
ǔ replied, “You are not Su-Ling?”
“I'm Ya-Mei, her sister,” she responded. “She's had me trapped
in the body of a rabbit for a long, long time.” Her face was aglow
with curiosity as she looked around her. “What's new in the
world?” she asked eagerly.
8
L
ǎ
o H
ǔ
smiled and led her to the watering hole, where the old
grey elephant was napping. Introductions were made, and then
the tiger and the elephant recounted the story of Ru-lan's
kidnapping and daring rescue by the royal couple.