Ariel Tseng_Final assessment_The Noor star

Literature G10 Mainstream Ariel Tseng The Noor star ___ In the olden time in Ancient Greece, there was a dog who lived alone in the forest. Its furs were dark as charcoal, and its eyes were blazed like a galaxy(c)； Noor, the dog’s name. Noor normally lived near a log cabin which a burly hunter lived in there(cx). The hut was compact and archaic as it had been there for decades, and moss crept to the edge of the eave, assimilating into the dark green forest. Every day before the sun rose, the hunter would go out to watch the twilight before sunrise. One day in the early morning, Noor was so exhausted as she had craved food for so long. As she was going to faint because of starvation, the hunter coincidentally saw her when he came back from outside. “Poor little dog, let me bring you some food,” the hunter said gently. Even if the meat was left over, Noor was really appreciative of the hunter. Later in the week, when she starved for food, she would wait at the hunter's house door. “Poor little dog, let me bring you some food,” the hunter said gently when he saw her waiting beside his door. From that day on, the hunter would give her some treats when she begged

2 for food, as a matter of course, Noor became the hunter’s pet, and she promised to treat the hunter as her benefactor. Since the hunter didn’t have a wife or child, he treated Noor like his daughter. One day, the hunter brought back a gift to his lovely pet. It was a golden dog collar with black stripes on it. The day after, whenever they went out together at night, the hunter could recognize her easily by the gleaming dog collar. Noor never took it off as it was so precious to her. Early morning on the kalends of December, Noor was awakened by the icy blast of wind. When she opened her eyes, she didn’t see her owner who would usually huddle with her on the single bed. She sat up and made the rounds in each room, but she found nothing but a gray linen scarf hanging randomly on the coat rack. It was the hunter’s scarf that he had to wear in the morning when he went out. Noor pushed the doorknob with her paw and went out to find the hunter. Flakes rendered her fur white as snow storms were ranging. Water became a massive chunk of aquamarine that felt frozen to the core when she passed by. Pine trees were all installed crisscrossed, which was like a labyrinth. The path in the forest seems interminable, and Noor was already terrified since she sought the hunter for the whole day(ccx). Because she lost direction, the only option she could choose was to walk with her intuition. Some day in some month, Noor finally found a territory. It was antithetical to Greece； there were numerous pyramids and deserts all over the place. She walked with an exhausted shuffle, trying to find a source of water. As the terrified dog walked from village to village, she

3 found a golden palace that was decorated with gigantic pillars at the entrance that had delicate hieroglyphics on them. Without hesitation, Noor stepped into the palace. As she walked and walked, she finally found a fountain surrounded by luxury ceramics. All of a sudden, as she sipped the water, something weird happened to her. A dazzling light blazed out from her dog collar. “Boom” a strident exploration came from her collar. And as the fog disappeared, Noor saw a mysterious creature sitting high on the throne that was adorned by gold and precious stones. “Who are you?” a perplexed voice came from Noor. Instantly, she was shocked as she was able to speak like a human. “The animal god of Egypt,” a deep voice replied. “Don’t be surprised, every animal who sips the water in this palace would have the ability to speak.” The cryptic god chuckled deliberately. “Since you are the animal god of Egypt, could you help me for once as a request?” Noor didn’t want to miss the chance to find the hunter. She wanted to find his owner and live with him happily together again. “I have an owner who is a hunter, but one day he disappeared and never came back.” “I know where he is now,” said the god leisurely, wiping his scepter. “He is now in the dungeon in this palace…but I can’t save him for you.” The god finally stood up from the throne and stared deeply at Noor meaningfully. “Oh, to let you notice.”

4 “Your owner will be killed on the last day of this month because of this!” The god pointed at her dog collar. “That is the ancient Egypt treasure…now he would need to pay for it.” “No! I’ll give you back the dog collar. Please don’t kill him,” Noor tried to pull the dog collar off, but it got stuck tightly on her neck. “The collar wouldn’t come off as one had put on. The only choice is to sacrifice yourself.” Noor turned into silence. A few minutes later, there was finally a voice coming from her. “How could I save my owner?” asked the dog. The god saw her in interest. “As an exchange, you would be a star forever to brighten the Egyptian sky. Of course, I would promise to free the hunter.” After that, the god raised his scepter. “Aikhtafaa” suddenly Noor vanished in a flash. It was in a long time in ancient Greece.(s) Each year in the late winter before the morning, people could see a visible star shining in the early sky before sunrise. It was Noor, the brightest star who shined for the hunter. Ariel Tseng