Today’s post summarizes The Chicken Feather Letter, a classic Communist children’s novel written in July 1945, while he was working as a war correspondent for Xinhua News Agency embedded with anti-Japanese resistance forces in northern China.
那是抗日战争的时候。在华北的一个小村子里，住着一个十二岁的男孩，叫海娃。他的父亲老赵是村里的民兵队长。海娃每天的工作是放羊，同时帮村里放哨——如果看到日本鬼子来了，就赶快通知村里的人。
有一天，父亲把海娃叫来，交给他一封非常重要的信。信封上插着几根鸡毛。在那个时候，鸡毛信的意思是：这封信非常紧急，必须马上送到。父亲说：”你把这封信送给山那边的八路军张连长。记住，不管发生什么事，这封信不能落到鬼子手里。”
海娃点点头，把信放进衣服里，赶着羊出发了。
但是他刚走进山谷，就看到前面来了一队日本士兵。海娃非常害怕。他想，如果鬼子搜他的身，一定会找到信。他看了看身边的羊，突然想到了一个办法。他把信藏在了一只大羊的尾巴下面，然后若无其事地继续走。
鬼子拦住了他，搜了他的身，什么都没有找到。但是鬼子没有放他走——他们抢了他的羊，还逼他带路去龙门村。海娃没有办法，只能跟着鬼子走。
晚上，鬼子住在一个山庄里。海娃睡不着，他一直在想那封信。半夜，等鬼子都睡着了，他悄悄地从羊群里取出信，然后慢慢地爬向门口。外面很黑，很冷。海娃跑了起来。
但是天还没有亮，他就在山里迷路了。他又累又冷，不知道该往哪里走。天亮以后，鬼子发现他跑了，开始追他。就在这个时候，海娃看到了山上有八路军的士兵。他大声喊：”八路军！我有鸡毛信！”
但是就在这时，一颗子弹打中了他的手。海娃倒下了，但是他没有松开那封信。
八路军士兵跑下来，把他救了。海娃把信交给了张连长，然后晕了过去。
根据信里的情报，八路军和游击队一起炸毁了鬼子的炮楼，打了一场大胜仗。
海娃醒来的时候，张连长坐在他旁边，笑着说：”你是一个勇敢的好孩子。”
海娃看了看自己受伤的手，笑了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 抗日战争 | kàngrìzhànzhēng | War of Resistance Against Japan |
| 民兵 | mínbīng | militia |
| 放哨 | fàngshào | to stand guard, to keep watch |
| 紧急 | jǐnjí | urgent, emergency |
| 若无其事 | ruòwúqíshì | as if nothing happened |
| 搜身 | sōushēn | to search someone’s body |
| 迷路 | mílù | to get lost |
| 游击队 | yóujīduì | guerrilla forces |
| 炮楼 | pàolóu | blockhouse, gun tower |
| 勇敢 | yǒnggǎn | brave, courageous |
| 那是 | nà shi | (coll.) of course; naturally; indeed |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 华北 | Huá běi | North China |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 村 | cūn | village; (dialect) to scold; rustic; boorish; variant of 村[cun1] |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 十二 | shí èr | twelve; 12 |
| 岁 | suì | variant of 歲|岁[sui4], year; years old; classifier for years (of age); year; year (of crop harvests) |
| 男孩 | nán hái | boy |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 海 | Hǎi | surname Hai |
| 娃 | wā | baby |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5]; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 赵 | zhǎo | surname Zhao; the Former Zhao 前趙|前赵[Qian2 Zhao4] (304–329) and Later Zhao 後趙|后赵[Hou4 Zhao4] (319–350), states of the Sixteen Kingdoms |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 队长 | duì zhǎng | captain; team leader; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 放羊 | fàng yáng | to tend a flock of sheep; to let sheep out to pasture; fig. to throw off the reins; to leave sb alone; acting freely and irresponsibly |
| 同时 | tóng shí | at the same time; simultaneously |
| 帮 | bāng | old variant of 幫|帮[bang1]; to help; to assist; to support; for sb (i.e. as a help); hired (as worker); side (of pail, boat etc); outer layer; upper (of a shoe); group; gang; clique; party; secret society |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 日本 | Rì běn | Japan |
| 鬼子 | guǐ zi | devil (derog. term for foreign invaders); (esp. during resistance against Japanese aggression 1931–1945) Jap; Nip |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 赶 | gǎn | to overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush; to try to catch (the bus etc); to drive (cattle etc) forward; to drive (sb) away; to avail oneself of (an opportunity); until; by … |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 通知 | tōng zhī | to notify; to inform; notice; notification; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 封 | Fēng | surname Feng |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 插 | chā | to insert; stick in; pierce; to take part in; to interfere; to interpose; old variant of 插[cha1] |
| 几 | jī | small table; (literary) almost |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 鸡毛 | jī máo | chicken feather; CL:根[gen1]; trivial |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 意思 | yì si | idea; opinion; meaning; wish; desire; interest; fun; token of appreciation, affection etc; CL:個|个[ge4]; to give as a small token; to do sth as a gesture of goodwill etc |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 必须 | bì xū | to have to; must; compulsory; necessarily |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | at once; right away; immediately; on horseback (i.e. by military force) |
| 送 | sòng | to send; to deliver; to transmit; to give (as a present); to see (sb) off; to accompany; to go along with |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 山 | Shān | surname Shan |
| 那边 | nà bian | over there; yonder |
| 八路军 | Bā lù jūn | Eighth Route Army, the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces fighting the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) |
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 连长 | lián zhǎng | company commander |
| 记 | jì | to record; to note; to memorize; to remember; mark; sign; classifier for blows, kicks, shots |
| 不管 | bù guǎn | not to be concerned; regardless of; no matter |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 落 | là | to leave out; to be missing; to leave behind or forget to bring; to lag or fall behind |
| 手里 | shǒu lǐ | in hand; (a situation is) in sb's hands |
| 点点 | Diǎn diǎn | Diandian (Chinese microblogging and social networking website) |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 放进 | fàng jìn | to put into |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 羊 | Yáng | surname Yang |
| 出发 | chū fā | to set off; to start (on a journey) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 刚 | gāng | (literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago |
| 走进 | zǒu jìn | to enter; to step into |
| 山谷 | shān gǔ | valley; ravine |
| 前面 | qián miàn | ahead; in front; preceding; above; also pr. [qian2 mian5] |
| 队 | duì | squadron; team; group; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 士 | Shì | surname Shi |
| 兵 | bing | soldiers; an army; arms; warlike |
| 害怕 | hài pà | to be afraid; to be scared |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 搜 | sou | to search |
| 身 | shēn | body; life; oneself; personally; one's morality and conduct; the main part of a structure or body; pregnant; classifier for sets of clothes: suit, twinset; Kangxi radical 158 |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 找到 | zhǎo dào | to find |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 身边 | shēn biān | at one's side; on hand |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 想到 | xiǎng dào | to think of; to call to mind; to anticipate |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 藏 | Zàng | Tibetan ethnic group; Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xi1 zang4 Zi4 zhi4 qu1]) |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 尾 | wěi | tail; remainder; remnant; extremity; sixth of the 28 constellations; classifier for fish |
| 巴 | Bā | Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan); the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality; surname Ba; (bound form) abbr. for 巴… |
| 下面 | xià miàn | below; under; next; the following; also pr. [xia4 mian5] |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 继 | jì | to continue; to follow after; to go on with; to succeed; to inherit; then; afterwards |
| 续 | xù | to continue; to replenish |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 拦 | lān | to block sb's path; to flag down (a taxi) |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place; to release; to free; to let go; to let out; to set off (fireworks) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 抢 | qiáng | (literary) to knock against (esp. to knock one's head on the ground in grief or rage) |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 逼 | bi | to pressure |
| 带路 | dài lù | to lead the way; to guide; to show the way; (fig.) to instruct |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 龙门 | Lóng mén | see 龍門縣|龙门县[Long2 men2 Xian4]; see 龍門石窟|龙门石窟[Long2 men2 Shi2 ku1]; see 龍門山|龙门山[Long2 men2 Shan1]; Dragon Gate, mythical gate at the crest of a waterfall over which a carp may leap … |
| 跟着 | gēn zhe | to follow after; immediately afterwards |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening; night; CL:個|个[ge4]; in the evening |
| 山庄 | shān zhuāng | manor house; villa; (used in hotel names) |
| 睡 | shuì | to sleep; to lie down |
| 不着 | bù zháo | no need; need not |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 半夜 | bàn yè | midnight; in the middle of the night |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (… |
| 睡着 | shuì zháo | to fall asleep |
| 悄 | qiao | used in 悄悄[qiao1 qiao1] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 羊群 | yáng qún | flock of sheep |
| 取出 | qǔ chū | to take out; to extract; to draw out |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 爬 | pá | to crawl; to climb; to get up or sit up |
| 向 | Xiàng | surname Xiang; to tend toward; to guide; variant of 向[xiang4]; variant of 向[xiang4]; direction; orientation; to face; to turn toward; to; towards; shortly before; formerly |
| 门口 | mén kǒu | doorway; gate; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 外面 | wài miàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface; exterior; external appearance |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 冷 | Lěng | surname Leng |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 亮 | liàng | bright; light; to shine; to flash; loud and clear; to show (one's passport etc); to make public (one's views etc) |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 累 | lěi | to accumulate; to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. [lei4]); continuous; repeated; rope; to bind together; to twist around |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 往 | wǎng | to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous; old variant of 往[wang3] |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 天亮 | tiān liàng | to grow light (at daybreak) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 追 | zhui | to sculpt; musical instrument (old) |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 的士 | dī shì | taxi (loanword) |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice; loudly |
| 喊 | hǎn | to yell; to shout; to call out for (a person) |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 这时 | zhè shí | at this time; at this moment |
| 颗 | ke | classifier for small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites etc |
| 弹 | dǎn | crossball; shot; ball |
| 打中 | dǎ zhòng | to hit (a target) |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 松开 | sōng kāi | to release; to let go; to loosen; to untie; to come loose |
| 救 | jìu | variant of 救[jiu4]; to save; to assist; to rescue |
| 晕 | yun | confused; giddy; to swoon; to pass out |
| 过去 | guò qù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 据 | jǔ | according to; based on; evidence |
| 情 | qíng | (bound form) feelings; emotion; sentiment; passion; (bound form) situation; condition |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 炸 | zhǎ | to deep fry; Taiwan pr. [zha4] |
| 毁 | huǐ | to destroy; to ruin; to defame; to slander; to destroy by fire; variant of 毀|毁[hui3]; to defame; to slander |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 大胜 | dà shèng | to defeat decisively; to win decisively; great victory; triumph |
| 仗 | zhǎng | weaponry; to wield; to depend on; battle |
| 醒 | xǐng | to wake up; to be awake; to become aware; to sober up; to come to |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 旁边 | páng biān | side; adjacent place |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 受伤 | shòu shāng | to sustain injuries; wounded (in an accident etc); harmed |
This happened during the War of Resistance Against Japan. In a small village in North China, there lived a twelve-year-old boy named Haiwa. His father, Old Zhao, was the captain of the village militia. Haiwa’s daily job was to herd sheep while also keeping watch for the village – if he saw Japanese devils coming, he would quickly warn the villagers.
One day, his father called Haiwa over and gave him a very important letter. Several chicken feathers were stuck in the envelope. At that time, a chicken feather letter meant: this letter is extremely urgent and must be delivered immediately. His father said: “Take this letter to Eighth Route Army Company Commander Zhang on the other side of the mountain. Remember, no matter what happens, this letter cannot fall into the devils’ hands.”
Haiwa nodded, put the letter inside his clothes, and set off driving his sheep.
But just as he entered the valley, he saw a group of Japanese soldiers coming toward him. Haiwa was very scared. He thought, if the devils search him, they would definitely find the letter. He looked at the sheep beside him and suddenly thought of an idea. He hid the letter under a big sheep’s tail, then continued walking as if nothing had happened.
The devils stopped him and searched him but found nothing. However, the devils didn’t let him go – they took his sheep and forced him to lead the way to Longmen Village. Haiwa had no choice but to follow the devils.
That night, the devils stayed in a mountain village. Haiwa couldn’t sleep; he kept thinking about that letter. At midnight, when the devils were all asleep, he quietly retrieved the letter from among the sheep, then slowly crawled toward the door. It was very dark and cold outside. Haiwa started running.
But before dawn, he got lost in the mountains. He was exhausted and cold, not knowing which way to go. After daybreak, the devils discovered he had escaped and started chasing him. Just then, Haiwa saw Eighth Route Army soldiers on the mountain. He shouted loudly: “Eighth Route Army! I have a chicken feather letter!”
But at that moment, a bullet hit his hand. Haiwa fell down, but he didn’t let go of that letter.
Eighth Route Army soldiers ran down and rescued him. Haiwa handed the letter to Company Commander Zhang, then fainted.
Based on the intelligence in the letter, the Eighth Route Army and the guerrillas together blew up the devils’ blockhouse and won a great victory.
When Haiwa woke up, Company Commander Zhang was sitting beside him, smiling and saying: “You are a brave and good child.”
Haiwa looked at his injured hand and smiled.