In a small Chinese town lived a poor young man named Liang. He loved painting. One night, an old man with a long beard visited Liang in a1. He gave Liang a paintbrush.
"Use this magic paintbrush to help the2, he said, " but don't use it to help people who are rich and greedy(贪婪的), or you will lose your skill and you will3 paint again."
When Liang woke up, he found the paintbrush 4 on the table by his bed. He painted a butterfly and was surprised to see it5 the page and out of the window.
Liang ran out of his little house and started painting things for people. He painted a buffalo(水牛) to help a farmer,6 for hungry people and clothes for people who were cold.
However, a rich man 7 the paintbrush and asked Liang to paint some gold for him but Liang 8.
"If you don't paint for me, I'll cut your fingers off," the rich man said. "Then you will never paint again."9 Liang painted an island of gold in the middle of a blue sea and a boat for the man.
The man got in the boat and went on his way toward the island, laughing. When the rich man was halfway there, Liang painted a 10 in the side of the boat. The boat sank into the water and nobody ever saw the man again.
