Anna Fienberg would like to thank the Literature Board of the Australia Council for their assistance.
This collection first published by Allen & Unwin in 2020
‘Tashi and the Silver Cup’, Copyright © Text, Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg, 2015;
Copyright © Illustrations, Kim Gamble, 1995–2015
‘Tashi’, Copyright © Text, Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg, 1995;
Copyright © Illustrations, Kim Gamble, 1995
‘Dragon Breath’, Copyright © Text, Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg, 1995;
Copyright © Illustrations, Kim Gamble, 1995
‘Kidnapped!’, Copyright © Text, Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg, 2017;
Copyright © Illustrations, Kim Gamble, 1995–2017
All illustrations previously published by Allen & Unwin in various Tashi books from 1995–2017.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
ISBN 978 1 76052 544 6
eISBN 978 1 76087 447 6
For teaching resources, explore www.allenandunwin.com/resources/for-teachers
Cover and text design by Sandra Nobes
www.tashibooks.com
Contents
Tashi and the Silver Cup
Tashi
Dragon Breath
Kidnapped!
TASHI
and the SILVER CUP
In a land far away, there was once a family who longed for a baby. Yet years passed and no baby arrived, and the wife grew thin and silent.
Now in the village there lived a wise and kindly man who had studied medicine and magic potions all his life. When villagers had sore knees or an aching head, a worrying cough or sadness that stayed too long, they went to see him. ‘He’ll know just what to do,’ they said, and even as they watched him mix his herbs and pour his potions, they began to feel better.
And so, after still another childless year had passed, the wife’s mother made up her mind. Finding her daughter sobbing into her breakfast one morning, she said, ‘Why don’t we pay a visit to Wise-as-an-Owl and ask him for help?’
Off they went that very day. They knocked at his door and while they waited, they marvelled at its mysterious carvings of dragons and birds and lotus flowers, and were filled with hope.
Wise-as-an-Owl listened carefully to the wife. He nodded, smiling, as he turned the pages of his great Book of Knowledge that lived in his study.
‘I think this mixture will do the trick,’ he told them, taking down several bottles and mixing their ingredients in a bowl.
The wife danced all the way home and that night as she sipped the strangely delicious mixture, the family toasted her, their voices ringing through the house with excitement and laughter.
And they weren’t disappointed: within the year a baby was born.
He was given the name Tashi. The whole village took a great interest in his birth and watched him closely to see if this child would be special in any way. He certainly was a lively baby, always crawling into small spaces and high places.
‘He’s so curious,’ his father said fondly. ‘Yesterday I found him in the grandfather clock, trying to find out what made it tick.’
‘He’s quick as a firecracker,’ his mother said tiredly. ‘It’s always Tashi who’s first to the door when someone calls.’
And so it was that when half the village turned up to celebrate his first birthday, his mother put him firmly into his high chair to keep him out of mischief. But Tashi made sure that he was right in the middle of the room and the noise and the fun.
The presents were put on a large table and all exclaimed in admiration when they saw the beautiful silver cup that Wise-as-an-Owl had brought. His son, Much-to-Learn, put it into Tashi’s tiny hands.
‘Happy birthday, Tashi,’ said Much-to-Learn. And the young man smiled, gazing at his father’s silver cup fondly.‘This cup has had a very special place in our family, Tashi. Keep it safe.’
People came and went all afternoon, and there were great bowls of spicy fish and tasty noodles, duck eggs and gooseberries. Third Aunt played her violin and Luk Ahead the fortune teller wept with joy for the beauty of it. Much-to-Learn performed the magic tricks he’d been practising all week, and didn’t make one mistake.
Finally, the food was all eaten, the wine and tea drunk, and the toasts were made. ‘Three cheers for little Tashi!’ the guests all cheered together.
People were beginning to say goodbye when someone noticed: the silver cup was gone!
A shocked hush swept over the room.
‘But how could this happen?’ cried Tashi’s mother. ‘It couldn’t just vanish, could it?’
‘Was this one of your magic tricks, Much-to-Learn?’ Tashi’s grandma asked.
‘No!’ he replied hotly. ‘Sometimes I don’t, well, get things quite right, but I would never, ever use the silver cup just to do a trick.’
Grandma nodded and patted his cheek, and they joined the search. People looked
under chairs, behind the cupboards, and even into the garden outside. Such a hunting and scurrying and poking about went on, and still the cup couldn’t be found.
But little bright-eyed Tashi had been watching from his chair.
He had seen someone pick up the cup and drop it on the floor.
He had watched this person casually kick it under a sofa and then sit down above it.
He had seen him drop his cap to cover the cup and then pocket the cap and cup together. Tashi’s bright black eyes had not missed a thing.
Now, when everyone had given up the search in despair, Tashi called to be lifted from his chair. Scrambling down, he tottered and crawled across the room to his uncle Tiki Pu.
Tiki Pu looked very embarrassed when Tashi pulled at his trouser pocket, and he tried to move away. But Tashi clamped both arms around his leg and hung on. Tiki Pu shook his leg, but Tashi was stuck fast.
People laughed, at first.
‘Tashi looks just like my puppy clinging to the broom when I’m trying to sweep the floor!’ said Mrs Ping.
But they stopped laughing and turned to stare when Tashi tipped the cup out of Tiki Pu’s pocket.
‘Well I never saw such a thing!’ and ‘Who would have thought?’ and ‘Shame!’ could be heard throughout the room.
Tiki Pu blushed fiery red. ‘I can’t imagine how that cup could possibly have got in there,’ he said. ‘Someone must have knocked it into my pocket.’
And for the sake of ending the party on a happy note, people pretended to believe him.
But when all the guests had gone home, Grandma scooped Tashi up and hugged him. ‘What a clever little Tashi!’ she cried.
From that day on, although everyone in the village went on doing exactly what they always did, and life continued in the way it always had, people knew that with Tashi, something quite wonderful had arrived in the world.
T
ASHI
‘I have a new friend,’ said Jack one night at dinner.
‘Oh, good,’ said Mum. ‘What’s his name?’
‘Tashi, and he comes from a place very far away.’
‘That’s interesting,’ said Dad.
‘Yes,’ said Jack. ‘He came here on a swan.’
‘A black or white swan?’ asked Dad.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Jack. ‘You always ask the wrong questions!’
‘How did Tashi get here on a swan then?’ asked Mum.
‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘it was like this. Tashi’s parents were very poor. They wanted to come to this country, but they didn’t have enough money for the airfare. So they had to sell Tashi to a war lord to buy the tickets.’
‘How much did the tickets cost?’ said Dad.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Jack. ‘You always ask the wrong questions!’
‘So why is Tashi here, and not with the war lord?’ asked Mum.
‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘it was like this. Soon after Tashi’s mother and father left, he was crying for them down by the lake. A swan heard his cries and told him to jump on his back. The swan flew many days and nights until he arrived here, right at the front door of Tashi’s parents’ new house.’
‘Did he arrive in the morning or the afternoon?’ asked Dad.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Jack. ‘And I’m not telling you any more because I’m going to bed.’
A week passed and Jack ate lunch with Tashi every day. And every day he heard a marvellous adventure.
He heard about the time Tashi found a ring at the bottom of a pond, and when he put it on his finger he became invisible.
He heard about the time Tashi met a little woman as small as a cricket, and she told him the future.
And he heard about the time Tashi said he wanted a friend just like Jack, and look! the fairy had granted his wish.
But at the end of the week he heard the best adventure of all.
‘Listen to what happened to Tashi yesterday,’ Jack said to Mum and Dad at dinner.
‘Last night there was a knock at Tashi’s door and when he opened it, guess who was standing there!’
‘Who?’ said Mum.
‘The war lord, come to take Tashi back! Tashi turned and ran through the house and out the back door into the garden. He hid under the wings of the swan.’
‘Go on,’ said Mum.
‘Well, the angry war lord chased him out into the night and when he found the swan he shouted, “Where did young Tashi go?”
‘The swan answered, “If you want to find Tashi, you must go down to the pond. Drop this pebble into the water, and when the ripples are gone you will see where Tashi is hiding.”’
‘Did the war lord find the pond?’ asked Mum.
‘Well,’ said Jack, ‘it was like this. The war lord did as the swan told him and dropped the pebble into the pond. But when the water was still again, he didn’t see Tashi. Instead he saw his own country, and his own palace, and he saw all his enemies surrounding it, preparing to attack.
‘The war lord was very upset by what he’d seen in the pond, and he said to the swan, “I must go home at once!”
‘“I will take you,” said the swan. “Just climb on my back.” And bending his head under his wing, he whispered, “Goodbye Tashi, I am homesick for my country. Just stay in the long grass, and he won’t see you. Goodbye.”’
‘Can I bring Tashi home tomorrow to play?’ asked Jack.
‘Oh, yes,’ said Mum and Dad. ‘We’re dying to meet Tashi.’
Jack and Tashi sat at the kitchen table, drinking their juice.
‘Would you like to play in the garden now?’ asked Mum.
‘Oh, yes!’ said Tashi. ‘I like gardens.’
‘We could look for a dragon to kill,’ Jack said hopefully to Tashi.
‘Are there any dragons left in the garden?’ asked Dad.
‘You always say the wrong thing!’ said Jack.
‘He’s right though,’ said Tashi as they closed the door behind them. ‘There aren’t any dragons left in the whole world. Can you guess how I know?’
‘How?’ asked Jack.
‘Well, it was like this. Come and I’ll tell you about the time I tricked the last dragon of all.’
DRAGON BREATH
Jack took Tashi outside to the peppercorn tree.
They climbed up to Jack’s special branch and when they were sitting comfortably, Jack said, ‘Did you really meet a dragon?’
‘Yes’, said Tashi, ‘it was like this. One day Grandma asked me to go to the river to catch some fish for dinner.’
‘Was this in your old country?’ asked Jack. ‘Of course,’ said Tashi. ‘Grandma doesn’t believe in travel.
‘Anyway, before I set off, Grandma warned me, “Whatever you do, Tashi,” she said, “don’t go near the steep, crumbly bank at the bend of the river. The edge could give way and you could fall in. And,” she added, “keep your eyes open for dragons.”’
‘Dragons!’ said Jack. ‘What do you do if you meet a dragon?’
‘Well, it was like this,’ said Tashi. ‘I walked across the field to the river and I caught five fish for dinner. I was just putting them into a couple of buckets of water to keep them fresh when I saw a cloud of smoke. It was rising from a cave, further up the mountain.’
‘Ooah, did you run away home?’ asked Jack.
‘Not me,’ said Tashi. ‘I took my buckets and climbed up the mountain and there, sitting at the mouth of the cave, was the biggest dragon I’d ever seen.’
‘Have you seen many?’ asked Jack.
‘I’ve seen a few in my time,’ said Tashi. ‘But not so close. And this dragon made me very cross.
‘He was chomping away at a crispy, dragon-breath-roasted pig.
‘“That’s my father’s pig you’re eating,” I said.
‘“I don’t care,” said the dragon. “I needed something to cheer me up.”
‘“You can’t eat other people’s pigs just because you feel like it,” I told him.
‘“Yes, I can. That’s what dragons do.”
‘So I sat down next to him and said, “Why do you need cheering up?”
‘“Because I’m lonely,” said the dragon.
“There was a time when I had a huge noisy family. We’d spend the days swooping over the countryside, scaring the villagers out of their wits, stealing pigs and geese and grandfathers, and roasting them with our dragon breath.
‘“Then we’d sing and roar all night till the sun came up. Oh, those were the days!” The dragon sighed then and I moved back a bit. “But Mum and Dad grew old and died, and I ate up the rest of the family. So now I’m the only dragon left.”
‘He looked straight at me and his scaly dragon eyes grew slitty and smoky. “A few mouthfuls of little boy might make me feel better,” he said.’
‘Oh no!’ said Jack. ‘What happened then?’
‘Well, it was like this. I quickly stood up, ready to run, and the water in my buckets slopped out over the side.
‘“Look out!” cried the dragon. “Watch your step! Dragons don’t like water, you know. We have to be careful of our fire.”’
‘Aha!’ said Jack.
‘Yes,’ said Tashi. ‘That gave me an idea. So I looked him in the eye and said, “You’re not the last dragon, oh no you’re not! I saw one only this morning down by the river. Come, I’ll show you, it’s just by the bend.”
‘Well, the dragon grew all hot with excitement and he followed me down the mountain to the bend in the river. And there it was, all steep and crumbly.
‘“He can’t be here,” said the dragon, looking around. “Dragons don’t go into rivers.”
‘“This one does,” I said. “Just look over the edge and you’ll see him.”
‘The dragon leaned over and peered down into the water. And he saw another dragon!
‘He breathed a great flaming breath. And the other dragon breathed a great flaming breath.
‘He waved his huge scaly wing. And the other dragon waved his huge scaly wing.
‘And then the steep crumbly bank gave way and whoosh! the dragon slid splash! into the river.
‘An enormous dragon-shaped cloud of steam rose up from the river, and the water sizzled as the dragon’s fire was swallowed up.’
‘Hurray!’ said Jack. ‘And then did you run away home?’
‘Yes,’ said Tashi. ‘I certainly did run home because I was late.
‘And sure enough Grandma said, “Well, you took your time catching those fish today, Tashi.”’
‘So that’s the end of the story,’ said Jack sadly. ‘And now all the village was safe and no one had to worry any more.’
‘Well, it wasn’t quite like that,’ said Tashi. ‘You see, the dragon had just one friend. It was Chintu the giant, and he was as big as two houses put together.’
‘Oho!’ said Jack. ‘And Chintu is for tomorrow, right?’
‘Right!’ said Tashi.
And the two boys slipped down from the tree and wandered back into the house.
Tashi 25th Anniversary Edition Page 1