Mr. White and the Black Warrior

Brief introduction：

This is a heartwarming story about companionship and guardianship. “Mr. White” is a very old female white goose. The Black Warrior is a Chinese dog with black fur， that is both muscular and tame. From the perspective of a child， the writer takes a warm style of writing to describe the mutual companionship， care and emotional attachment among Mr. White， the Black Warrior， and Grandpa， and to express the wittiness， bravery and love of animals as well as the author’s perception of life.

About the author：

Liang Xiaosheng is a famous contemporary writer and winner of the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize. He once worked in Beijing Film Studio and China Children’s Film Studio and was transferred to Beijing Language and Culture University in 2002. He focuses on a wide range of literary creation， involving in novels， prose， social news commentaries， movies and TV dramas， and has been paying close attention to Chinese children’s reading.

“Mr. White” was a goose. To be exact， she was a big white goose.

Grandpa once pointed at her and said to me， “I guess that she is 3 or 4 jin heavier than usual geese.” As a matter of fact， I didn’t have to weigh her to see that she was much bigger than usual geese.

At that time， Mr. White was coming back from outside. With steady steps， she held her head up high and straightened her long neck， like an exuberant man who was taking a walk.

She’s 26 years old.

A 26-year-old goose， is absolutely too old. Grandpa said a usual domestic goose， even if was raised very well by its owner， could only live for up to 20 years. This was enough to prove how much Grandpa had loved her.

Grandpa did not raise her as a pet. Instead， he saw her as an old friend and supported her with respect and gratitude. Indeed， my Grandpa was completely considerate in doing his duty of supporting her， just as a man performs that kind of responsibility to his parents. Mr. White had long since stopped laying eggs.

After she stopped laying eggs， Grandpa treated her even better and began to call her “Mr. White”.

I asked out of curiosity， “Grandpa， why do you call her ‘Mr. White’？”

Grandpa said slowly， “I feel quite bored sometimes. Everyone wants to talk with someone when he feels bored. After your grandmother passed away， no one kept company with me. So I gradually got used to talking to her. When I talk to her， I have to at least follow the way a conversation goes， right？ So， although she’s a goose， I must have a name for her.”

“But why did you call her ‘Mr. White’？ Couldn’t you call her ‘Old White’？”

Grandpa smiled. He stroked his beard and said， “Of course. I can call her anything. It must make no difference to her. But if we convert its age into human years， she’s much older than me. So I would like to give her an honorific title. Besides， doesn’t she look like a knowledgeable old man？ I think it’s fully worthy of the title ‘Mr.’”

Grandpa’s explanation made me feel the goose really looked like a respectable old gentleman when I saw her again， so later began to call her “Mr. White”.

Grandpa also told me “Mr. White” had made a practical contribution to our family. Since the goose grew up and started to lay eggs， my father could had a big goose egg in his meals every day for 12 years as a student from primary school to high school.

“How could your father be in such good health？ Because the goose eggs had provided him with adequate nutrition since he was young！”

In praising “Mr. White”， Grandpa always expressed his gratitude as if recalling the honorable past of his old friend.

But I noticed a flaw in his words and asked disapprovingly， “Grandpa， that’s not right！ It’s okay to call a male goose ‘Mr.’， but she’s obviously a female goose.”

Asking such a question didn’t mean that I doubted about what he said. Instead， I had no doubt at all what Grandpa said was true. Because he never said groundless things. I just didn’t really understand.

Grandpa smiled. He touched my head and said， “You don’t understand this， and I guess your father doesn’t understand it either. If we have special respect for a woman， and if she is very old， according to the Chinese etiquette， we can also address her ‘Mr.’ Remember what I said. It is knowledge.”

The “Black Warrior” was an ordinary native dog. He was completely black， without any spot of other colors， and had shiny black fur. He was not yet four years old. Despite big， he was not ferocious. He was a long-legged dog， which made him look as cool as a panther.

When Grandpa picked him up， he was just able to eat on his own.

Others said that his mother must be a wild dog， and advised Grandpa not to keep him.

However， Grandpa said， “I have found him. If I didn’t bring him back， he would have died.”

Because he was different from other domestic dogs， Grandpa showed tender care for it. He decided to give him a home and be its owner.

Then the dog grew up. One day， he ran back drenched as if he had got into some big trouble outside. He lay prone on the straw mat on which he had always been lying， and dared not look Grandpa in the eyes.

As Grandpa was confused， several adults and children suddenly came. One of the children pointed at him and said， “This is the dog！”

He looked even more uneasy and took refuge behind Grandpa.

Grandpa’s heart skipped a beat， and his expression was suddenly nervous. He bowed and cupped his hands， “Did my ‘Black Boy’ do something wrong？”

“Black Boy” or “Blacky” was what my Grandpa called the dog.

Unexpectedly， the child’s mother immediately said to the child， “Get down on your knees and kowtow！”

It turned out that the child accidentally slipped into a pond， which was more than two meters deep. The child couldn’t swim and was about to sink. At that critical moment， Black Boy jumped into the pond， took the child’s back collar and rescued him.

In the evening， the child’s father also came and gave Grandpa a chunk of spareribs.

When Grandpa talked about what Black Boy did， he stroked his beard and laughed， “Thanks to him， we had meat to eat every day in the following half month！”

Grandpa told me this once. It seemed that apart from this story， Grandpa had nothing more to say about Black Boy. But Grandpa had a lot to say about Mr. White. As soon as he started to talk， Grandpa always seemed to have endless memories of Mr. White.

Mr. White and the Black Warrior

Liang Xiaosheng

Shaodong Education Publishing House

January 2021

28.00 （CNY）