Beijing, China: in the year 1572, Hu-Wan and his grandfather grow gourds that are made into ladles and bowls and sold in the marketplace. Each year, one special gourd is made into a cricket cage. This year, the gourd is carved into the shape of a sleeping dragon. When Hu-Wan learns that the emperor has died and his nine-year-old son is named Emperor of China, he offers the special cricket cage to the young emperor as a gift.
