Extrait du livre The genie of the seas
The genie of the seas Pascale Vignali Illustrated by Mathilde Menet Le Regard Sonore Editions
Once upon a time, in Asia, in a country once called Burma. Sprinkled with thousands of pagodas, their roofs curling upward, and small golden temples, it is a country where genies, the Nats, are said to be everywhere. In the forests, the rivers, the mountains, the lakes and the oceans, too…
Suu Ki and her little brother Aung Min lived there happily, playing among the fish drying on the beach. They often wandered the shoreline all the way to Shipwreck Bay, the place where the waves washed up the remains of boats destroyed by storms or, worse, the remains of those unlucky enough to have ventured too close to the dreaded Isle of the Sentinels...
But it was also where the children found their most prized treasures: planks of wood in strange shapes and covered with seaweed, fishing nets entangled with shells to form pearly garlands, broken pots bearing mysterious symbols… AUNG MIN : Suu Ki! Suu Ki, look over there! The waves brought in something huge! It looks like… A boat! A real entire boat! Come on!
The boat lay on its side on the sand, like a wounded animal. Its sail torn, its mast broken, and its hull cracked – it looked as if it had been through the very worst hurricane… A dark spot had spread across the damaged hull. In the center of the spot was an arrow piercing the wood. Suu Ki tugged on it, pulling it out in one go. As she did this, she heard a sigh… and turned to Aung Min: SUU KI :Aahh ? What did you say? AUNG MIN : Me? Nothing! SUU KI :Come on! We’d better get back before dark. We’ll come back tomorrow!
The night felt terribly long to the anxious children. The next morning, with the first rays of dawn, they set off for the bay, hoping that their discovery from the previous day was real and not just a dream… SUU KI & AUNG MIN : Ohhh ! oooh ! The boat was still there… but in the water! The mast stood straight, the sail no longer had a single tear, and the smooth hull glistened like a banana leaf. The boat had the proud, dashing look of a vessel ready to take to the high seas. SUU KI : That’s impossible… that can’t be the boat from yesterday ! The hull bore a black scar where the arrow had been the day before… But it was impossible to repair such a badly damaged boat in just one night… They climbed up to the bridge.
RANGOON : Hello! Hello! A burst of laughter made them look up: RANGOON : HAHAHAH ! Up here! Yoohoo, on the mast! A smiling face suddenly appeared in the wood. Aung Min stared at it in wonder: AUNG MIN : Are you a Nat? A genie of the seas? RANGOON : Hmmm… more like an apprentice genie. But I’ll be a real genie soon, as soon as I’ve finished my journey! Which would have ended here without your help… thank you both! SUU KI : What’s your name?
The genie disappeared… then reappeared on the planks of the bridge. RANGOON : Rangoon, my dear children, at your service! AUNG MIN : Woooooaw… What happened to you? RANGOON : Oh.. I got too close to the Isle of the Sentinels. One of their arrows struck me, paralyzing all of my powers. I could no longer sail… But when you pulled it out, you freed me from the curse, Suu Ki! Now I can finish my journey and become a real genie of the seas!
His eyes brimming with desire, Aung Min asked: AUNG MIN : May we come with you? Please? Please? RANGOON : Hoooo, I’m not sure that I’m allowed! And remember, I’m still just an apprentice! Then again, I do owe you a favor… let me think… it’s a deal!
