It looked just the same as all the other stones, but when I picked it up in my hand it had a strange feel to it something magical. Ai Lien repeated. He nodded, his eyes twinkling. You remember I told you about Chinese dragons, how very different they are from the dragons of the West. They don't breathe fire or eat people.
Chinese dragons are very civilized.
They can talk, and cast magic spells and change their shapes whenever they want to. They don't live in caves but in beautiful palaces at the bottoms of rivers, where they rule over all the fish and water-creatures. And when these clever dragons lay their eggs on the river bank they disguise them as stones, to protect them from anyone who might find them. Ai Lien thought that was a lovely idea. When she went up to bed that night she placed the stone reverently on her dresser, next to her bowl of goldfish.