A forever story

The 75-page Shenme Yemeiyoude Gushi is one of five books in a new series of fairy tales-Once Upon a Time, There Was a Story (Congqian Youyige Gushi)-written by Long from the Chinese mainland and illustrated by Monica Liaw from Taiwan.

Published recently, the five books range from 56 to 80 pages. The other four, with different themes, are Zhouzhoubabade Chengshi (A Crumpled City), Weini Zhangyike Yingtaoshu (Grow a Cherry Tree for You), Zhuzai Wudingshangde Xiaoren (The Little People Living on the Roof ), and Liushou Renjiande Jingling (The Fairies That Stayed in the Human World).

Long's stories are imaginative. Interesting characters find adventure in inconspicuous corners of familiar surroundings of cities or rural areas, carrying their own longings or worries. The stories do not always end happily, but often with inevitable departures and acceptable changes. That's life.

Long employs a simple poetic language to create these stories about love, history, environmental protection, friendship and growth, imparting them with a seasoning of melancholy. That explains why some grown-up readers had moist eyes after reading these stories.