Falling from heaven, a dragon landed in a remote village.
It sought water in the villagers' houses, hoping to fly back to the heavens. However, the villagers drove it out with drums and firecrackers. At the village entrance, the dragon thrashed in a puddle no more than a foot deep, desperate to use the shallow water to soar skyward. Despite exhausting all its strength, it could only rise one foot above the ground.
The dragon crouched in the mud for three days, its scales crawling with ants and flies. Then, as the rain poured down in a tremendous thunderclap, it fled like a bolt of lightning.