“But, you . . . ,” the dragon sputtered, “your fortune . . .”

“It’s all right,” Minli told him. “When it was time for me to ask about it, I suddenly saw I didn’t have to.” 

“You didn’t?” the dragon said.

“No,” Minli said and suddenly memories rushed through her. She heard the buffalo boy’s laughter as he refused her money, saw the king’s generous smile as he willingly parted with his family’s treasure, and remembered Da-A-Fu’s last words to her. “Why would we want to change our fortune?” they had said. She had shaken her head I’m confusion then but now finally Minli understood all of it. Fortune was not a house full of gold and jade, but a loving family, a roof over your head, and food. “I didn’t ask the question,” Minli said again and smiled, “because I don’t need to know the answer.” This is a conversation I adapted between Minli and the dragon. I chose it because it shows how some people would think that Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin is about the fortune of money, fame, and wealth when it’s really about the fortune of love, friendship, happiness, and empathy.

In Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, often the poorest people give the most and take the least. One example is the buffalo boy. He is as, if not more poor than Minli, but he doesn’t have the fortune of a loving family. Even when Minli offered him her special coin he refused because he knew that he had the fortune of a good friend, food, and a place to sleep. The villagers of the Village of Moon Rain are another example. They are really poor, but when Minli comes to the village they give her “Dragon Well Tea”, good food, and a place to sleep for the night. The next morning as Minli was getting ready to leave they gave her a jacket of parts of their clothes sewn together. A final place where poor people give the most and take the least is right in the village of fruitless mountain. Ma and Ba work all day in the grueling sun to feed themselves and Minli, and never try to hoard it just because they grew it. Also, when Minli got her goldfish, Ba fed it without even asking Minli to. On page number 62 Grace Lin uses flashbacks from the goldfish man’s life to teach Minli, Ma and Ba, and people reading the book that being able to live is a great fortune.

When you show kindness to other people it will make them want to help you. A part of the book that proves this is when Minli met the “beggar” begging for a peach. Minli still had the coin in her hand after offering it to the buffalo boy and after thinking about it for a second, bought a peach with it and gave it to the “beggar”. After the “beggar” magically grew the vendor’s peaches on his magical tree for everyone and was walking away, suddenly, Minli caught sight of the symbol of a gold dragon on the “beggar’s” bracelet that the “beggar” was wearing. Knowing that only the imperial can wear the symbol of a dragon, and only the king can wear a gold dragon she realizes that the “beggar” is actually the king. Because of Minli’s kindness though, he hides her, gives her dinner and breakfast, and a really special page from the book of fortune. Even though it was a super prized possession and it had been in the king’s family for years he gave it to Minli almost immediately because she was so kind to him when he was pretending to be a beggar, which made him want to help her. When Minli went into the village, she told Dragon to stay in the forest and that she’d be back quickly. After a few days, Dragon went looking for her and met the “guardians” of the city, the lion statues. After he learns that they can talk, he talks to them and makes them so happy that they give him the “borrowed line” which Minli and Dragon need to be able to find the Old Man of the Moon. The author uses symbolism on page number 125 to help fit together the story. If Minli had not seen the king’s bracelet she would not have been able to find the Old Man of the Moon, which would make the story a lot less interesting. 

When you chose to help other people or yourself and you chose other people it is almost always the right choice. A passage in the text that supports this is when Minli is faced with the split second decision of whether to ask Dragons or her question. She chooses Dragon’s because at that second she realizes that she has the great fortune of a roof over her head, food, a loving family, and good friends. Once she climbed down the bridge that she made with the two “borrowed lines” that lead to the Old Man of the Moon she took the ball off Dragon’s head so he could fly. She didn’t realize that that “ball” is a Dragons pearl which is super valuable. If she hadn’t asked Dragon’s question she might have not been able to do what she needed to do to change her fortune and Dragon wouldn’t be able to fly. In the end she trades the pearl for some money and a bunch of seeds to grow but more importantly learns that a loving family, good friends, a roof over your head, and being able to eat are all a great fortune. Something different Grace Lin uses is stories. There are stories in all parts of the book, but the one on page 18 is particularly important. It’s the story of the Old Man of the Moon which is the story that makes Minli go on her quest to find him. Stories inside of the story also make it more enjoyable to read because they help the story fit together and are all really interesting.

Minli eventually learns about all of the different types of fortune and what type of fortune she has. She learns from the people she meets along her quest about generosity, kindness, and love. After thinking about everything everyone has taught her, she eventually learns that she has a pretty good fortune. Sometimes you might not think you have a lot, but having a lot/having good fortune is a lot of things, which you probably have a lot of.