Mulan

Our story begins with a young girl in ancient China.

Her name is Hua Mulan.

She lives with her parents, her older sister, and her younger brother in a little village.

One morning, Mulan is working in her room. She is making cloth to sell at the market.

Suddenly, she hears a noise. She goes to the window and looks out. A lot of people are running down the street.

Mulan sees her friend, Sun Ying. "What's the matter?", asks Mulan. "Quick! Come and see", says Sun Ying.

Mulan follows Sun Ying through the village. "Wait for me!", shouts Mulan.

They soon see a big crowd of people in front of them.

Everybody is looking at a long list on a tree.

"Move! I can't see!", says an old woman at the back.

"Stop that!", shouts a man at the front angrily.

"What's on the list?", Mulan asks Sun Ying.

"The enemy are now here in our country, says Sun Ying, and we must fight them. The Emperor needs a very big army".

"One man from every family must join the army tomorrow", says Sun Ying. "The names of all the men in the village are on the list".

Mulan goes to the front of the crowd. She quickly reads the list.

"Oh, no!", cries Mulan. "Look! My father's name is the first on the list".

"My father can't fight", says Mulan. "He's old and ill. And my brother, Xiong, is a young child. He can't join the army".

"What can I do?", cries Mulan.

"You must think of a plan", says Sun Ying.

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ancient very old

parent a mother or a father

cloth you make clothes from this

sell to take money for something

market where people go to sell things in the street

follow to go after someone

shout to say loudly and angrily

crowd a lot of people together

list a lot of names that you write one after the other

enemy people who are not triends of your country

fight to hit someone again and again

emperor the most important man in

army a large number of men who fight for their country

join to go with

plan when you get something ready before it happens