The Myth of the Dragon Mother
It was said that in ancient times，the dragon mother was a girl who cut wood.She lived with her mother in Lvtao Village and they lived on a few of thin farmland.The fields they planted were in Linshui（means nearby the sea）Pavilion，and once it rained，the flood covered the fields.
One year，a black dragon came from Kanziwa in Tengyue（Langfeng Peak in Cangshan Mountain）and occupied the Black Dragon Bridge in Xiaguan Town.The dragon blocked the end of the sea and made the sea rise higher and higher，piling up to the north，flooding the fields on both sides of Erhai Lake and even Linshui Pavilion.So there was no crops to harvest in Dali，and the villagers were forced to flee to other places.The mother and the daughter could not escape to other places.They had to go to Langfeng Peak to cut grass and firewood for a living.
One day，the daughter went to the mountain to cut wood.She was very thirsty and went around looking for water.Then she came to a peach tree.She looked up and saw a big green peach on the branch.She picked a peach down and put it in her mouth.The peach slipped directly into her stomach.Strange enough，after swallowing the peach，she was not thirsty any more.After a while，she felt unwell and hurried home to tell her mother about it.Her mother was a little surprised to hear that.A few days later，she felt her waist was getting thicker and thicker，and she was pregnant！She was so sad because she did not get married that she hid at home and cried every day！Her mother was very sad.She said to her sympathetically，“My daughter！You've grown up by my side.You are a good girl.I know you have never done anything wrong when going out.”The daughter slowly relieved her depression，but she felt embarrassed to go out to cut wood.
After a few months，she gave birth to a son.She felt more anxious and was afraid of being laughed at by others，so she secretly threw the baby into the deep mountains without telling her mother.After leaving the baby in the mountain，she felt a little bit guilty and ran to see him several times.The first time she went to see her son，she was surprised to see the boy grew up a little bit and did not cry or shout.The second time she saw him，she was shocked to see a snake coiled in a big tree，holding food in its mouth，hanging its head to feed the baby.The third time when she went to see her son，the baby grew into a three-month-old baby，who could crawl and laugh，and was very cute.She loved him so much that she took him back home.When the son was eleven or twelve years old，he followed his mother up the mountain to cut wood and grass every day.Wherever he mowed the grass，the grass would grow again tomorrow.So，there was grass every day.
On his way home，there was a pool.Every day when he arrived there，he would put down his basket to have a rest.One day，he stopped at the edge of the pool and took a few sips of water.He felt that the water was not the same as usual.The cold water turned into warm water.He said to himself，“Is the dragon king sick？Why is the water getting warmer？”At this moment，a man appeared out of the water and asked him，“The dragon king was really ill.Can you cure him？”The boy replied bravely，“Yes，I can！”Immediately，the water was separated from both sides to form two crystal walls，with a crystal stone step separating from the middle to reach the bottom of the pool.With the word“please”，the man led the boy down to the ladder step by step and took him to the gate of the dragon palace.They were about to enter the door when they heard some sweet music and a group of dragon ladies were coming to welcome him.The dragon ladies led him into a palace with colored stones and made him sit down before the music stopped.After a while，the man opened the pearl curtain and the boy saw the dragon king sleeping on the dragon bed，humming.The boy walked over and looked at the dragon king，who was seriously ill.The boy hurriedly pulled out a green grass from his pocket—it was said that was a fairy grass which could cure all kinds of diseases.He held the fairy grass in his hand and presented it respectfully to the dragon king，who ordered his servants to boil the fairy grass.After the dragon king drank it，he recovered from his illness within half a day.
Because the boy cured the dragon king，the dragon king was very happy and liked him very much.The dragon king asked the boy to stay in the dragon palace and entertained him with delicious food and wine during the day and let the dragon ladies sing and dance for him in shifts at night.The dragon king also gave him many pearls and treasures and thanked him for saving his life.However，the boy didn't want the precious pearls，he just wanted to stay for a few more days to play in the dragon palace.The dragon king agreed to his request and let him roam freely in the dragon palace.
One day，the boy came to a gate of a jade palace with green grass.The door of the palace was tightly sealed by cloud and mist.He knocked at the door lightly，and immediately the cloud and the fog dispersed.The door opened，and he went in.This palace was very beautiful and colorful.The wall was made of various jade stones，and dragon robes in yellow，red，purple and white were hung on the wall.He was very curious to see them and then took off a yellow dragon robe and put it on.He went to the clear pond and found he was very beautiful in the yellow dragon robe.He felt happy when a thunder rumbled in the sky，and the door of the palace was closed.The dragon king suddenly appeared in front of him，scolding him for sneaking into the inner palace and fiddling with the dragon robe！The boy got a fright to hear the roar and tried quickly to take off the dragon robe，but he could not take it off.The dragon king was very regretful letting the boy stay in the dragon palace and turning him into a dragon，but he had no way out.The dragon king walked up to him and said to him sincerely，“You are a dragon now，and you can see it in the pond！”The boy came to the pond and found that he turned into a shining golden yellow dragon.
After he became a small yellow dragon，he left the dragon palace soon.The dragon king sent him out and said to him，“Now，the black dragon in Kanziwa has rushed into Erhai Lake and is entrenching in Xiaguan.He covered the fields with floods.So the farmers harvested nothing and lived a poor life.After you go back，can you drive the black dragon away？”“Yes，I can！”He said with a nod.After consulting with the dragon king，the boy borrowed a batch of fish and shrimps from the dragon palace and returned back to Xiaguan.He fought with the black dragon in Jiangfeng Temple of Xiaguan.The black dragon lost one eye and broke a horn in the battle.The black dragon rolled in the sea in pain and rushed desperately towards Tiansheng Bridge.After breaking a hole，the black dragon fled back to Kanziwa in Tengyue along the river.
Since then，the water from Erhai Lake has flowed out under Tiansheng Bridge，and the flood in Dali has subsided.The fertile fields are no longer flooded and the harvest is good for two crops a year.