"Chie Lo! Chie Lo! come out quickly, or you won't see it before it passes," called Chin to his sister.
She was playing with her dolls in the sitting-room, but when she heard Chin calling she put them down and came out on the platform where her brother sat dangling his feet in the water and holding his pet parrot.
"Chie Lo! Chie Lo!" screamed the parrot, when she appeared. He was a bright-looking bird with a shining coat of green feathers and a red tuft on his head. He must have loved Chie Lo, for he reached up for her to pat him as she squatted beside her brother.
"Look, look," said Chin, "isn't that grand?"
The boy pointed to a beautiful boat moving rapidly down the river.
"It is the king's, you know," he whispered. "Do you see him there under the canopy, with his children around him?"
"Yes, yes, Chin, but don't talk; I just want to look."
It was no wonder that Chie Lo wished to keep still, for it was a wonderful sight. The boat was shaped like a huge dragon, whose carved head, with its fierce eyes, could be seen reaching out from the high bow. The stern was made in the shape of the monster's tail. The sides of the royal barge were covered with gilded scales, inlaid with pearls, and these scales shone and sparkled in the sunlight.
A hundred men dressed in red were rowing the splendid boat, and they must have had great training, for they kept together in perfect time.