Nine Color Deer

Our Querido list is a wonder cabinet that we are filling with treasures from around the world. Here, from China, is a gorgeous story about generosity and gratitude, adapted from a traditional Buddhist tale by Kailin Duan. Her illustration style evokes artwork contemporary to the story’s origins more than a thousand years ago, found in the famous Mogao caves, (located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China.)

The story begins deep in the Kunlun Hills with a legendary deer whose fur has nine colors. One day she hears a cry for help, and rescues a drowning man. When the man asks how he could ever repay this kindness, the Nine Color Deer simply requests that the man never reveal her whereabouts.

But will this promise survive a bounty offered by a King and Queen who seek the magic of the deer for their kingdom?

Award-winning translator Jeremy Tiang offers readers his own gift in making Kailin Duan’s interpretation sparkle in English, while Duan’s illustrations speak beautifully for themselves.