Once upon a time, there lived a boy called Ma Liang in a small village. He was a very good boy. His parents died when he was eight. He was poor and his life was hard. He liked painting, but he didn't have a paintbrush. He often practised （练习） painting with a stick （枝条）. He painted swimming fish on a rock. He painted birds on the ground.
One day an old man gave him a paintbrush. He was so happy. He painted a bird on the wall. Then the bird flew away. He painted food. Then the food became real. It was magic!
A bad man knew it. He took Ma Liang's paintbrush and painted gold. But he couldn't use it. The bad man was angry. So he took Ma Liang away. He asked Ma Liang to paint gold for him. Ma Liang painted a gold hill and a big ship in the sea. The bad man got on the ship. There came a storm （暴风雨） and the bad man didn't come back.
From then on, Ma Liang helped the poor villagers with-his magic paintbrush and they lived happily.
