The Gift of the Unexpected
Fairy tales are a wonderful place to find reminders of what the good things in life are really made of, as well as a respite from the holiday rush.
Review by Megan Foster
Having spent several years as a children’s bookseller, I can say that I’ve braved the worst of holiday retail hell. The clogged aisles, the never-ending register shifts, the harried breaths caught in back rooms while grabbing extras of The Night Before Christmas—such insanity made the few weeks pass too hastily. I often found myself desperate for peace during the holiday season.
It strikes me that the original Advent was not particularly one of peace, either.
I think of the costs of Mary and Joseph’s laborious journey, wrought with rejections and weariness, yet succeeded by blazing stars and singing seraphim. The shepherds, the magi, all presented with the unexpected gift of a swaddled savior. I’m reminded of other stories with people who go on perilous quests and meet miraculous—or rather, magical—beings. They, too, receive well beyond their expectations, be it in the form of a golden harp or glass shoes.
I am talking, of course, of fairy tales.
While I enjoy fairy tales from around the world, I’m often drawn to the Chinese stories and mythologies that harken back to my childhood in Macau. Consequently, I’ve found myself rediscovering Grace Lin’s Newbery Honor-winning novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which pays homage to classic Chinese fairy tales and travel narratives. And like the quintessential Cinderellas or the quiet individuals of the original Advent, Lin’s protagonist learns that unexpected gifts are often the greatest.
In a poor village nestled just below the Fruitless Mountain, Minli and her parents spend all their days planting in the muddy fields, dreaming of better fortune. Back at home, Minli begs her father for stories of jade dragons and proud magistrates and The Old Man of the Moon, who can answer any question—and whom Minli is determined to ask how to change her family’s circumstances. When a man passes through the village selling goldfish and promising good fortune, Minli spends a precious coin to bring one home. To feed the fish, her father sacrifices his own scant rice, while her mother rages over the misspent money. Reluctantly, Minli releases the goldfish into the river and mulls aloud how to reach the Never-Ending Mountain to ask The Old Man of the Moon her question. Much to her surprise, the fish herself tells Minli how to get there. After packing a modest bundle and leaving her parents a note, she sets out on her journey. Without the fish’s generosity, Minli would have no hope of changing her family’s fortune.
While traveling through a forest, Minli meets a red dragon with a stone ball on its head. The dragon tells Minli the story of how he was born from a painting, brought to life when his eyes were dotted. But something more important sets him apart from other dragons: he cannot fly, he and cannot understand why. The dragon agrees to accompany Minli on her journey, so that he can ask The Old Man of the Moon his own question.
The gifts from her journey have reminded Minli that her family already had everything they truly needed.
Minli and the dragon reach the City of Bright Moonlight, where she must ask for the “borrowed line” from the Guardian of the City. She encounters a “buffalo boy,” who kindly invites her to his ramshackle hut to share his meager meal and helps her navigate the city in search of the borrowed line. When he brings her to the Inner City the following day, Minli sacrifices her last coin to buy an old beggar a peach. She sees his royal attire peeking out from his sleeve and realizes he’s the king. After she follows him to the palace, he welcomes her secretly and provides her a sumptuous meal. She recounts her entire journey and asks him for the borrowed line. The king tells her about a page from the Book of Fortune that the Old Man of the Moon gave his ancestor. A single line upon it read, “You only lose what you cling to.” He considers that his ancestors have clung to the page for generations and have gained nothing by it. And so the king gives the sacred page to Minli. Once again, Minli only succeeds in her quest due to the generosity of others.
Soon afterwards she finds the Village of the Moon Rain, populated by a large family who help the dragon recover after he is attacked by a poisonous green tiger. Twin children Da-Fu and A-Fu offer to lead Minli to the Never-Ending Mountain nearby, and the twin’s grandmother gifts Minli a patched jacket to brace her for the cold. When saying goodbye, Minli realizes that every villager has large holes in their sleeves. They’d sacrificed part of their own clothes to provide her jacket.
With the help of the twins, Minli and the dragon reach the Never-Ending Mountain, but the dragon cannot cross the bridge. Minli promises to ask the Old Man of the Moon the dragon’s question. But when she finally faces him, he says that she may only ask one thing. She considers those who aided her long journey—the buffalo boy, the king, the village. Each had sacrificed for her, content with their own fortunes. Minli looks upon the page with the borrowed line.
“And the words had changed again. There was a single line of words running down the entire page. As she looked, Minli realized for the first time, she could read the words—or really the word. For the line was only made of one word, written over and over again. And that word was Thankfulness.”
Rather than ask her own question, Minli asks the Old Man of the Moon why the dragon can’t fly. The gifts from her journey have reminded Minli that her family already had everything they truly needed.
Despite the hastiness of the holidays, there’s a lot to be grateful for. However, it’s one thing to anticipate our little wrapped parcels and quite another to receive unexpected expressions of grace. Grace Lin’s novel is a reminder that the best gifts are often those we had not anticipated—like the King of Kings himself, bundled in a trough. Jesus was certainly not what any of us expected. But he is exactly what we need.
Megan Foster earned an MA in the Humanities from the University of Chicago and has been a children’s bookseller across New England. She currently lives in New Haven with her husband and two cats.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2009 and is available for purchase here.
