Once upon a time, in a land where the mountains kissed the sky, there lived a young maiden named Nüwa. She was the beloved daughter of the Emperor of Fire and Earth, and she was as brave as she was beautiful.
Nüwa loved to explore the world, but most of all, she loved to venture to the edge of the kingdom, where the great ocean stretched out endlessly. The sea was vast and blue, but it was also wild and proud.
One day, while playing by the shore, the waves rose up suddenly, fierce and angry. They pulled Nüwa into the deep water, and sadly, she did not return.
But the spirit of the brave girl was not lost. She rose from the waves transformed into a little bird. She had the body of a crow, a head patterned with lovely markings, a snowy white beak, and claws as red as burning copper.
From that day on, the people called her Jingwei.
"I will not let the sea win!" cried the little bird. "It may have taken my life, but it shall never break my spirit!"
And so, Jingwei made a vow. She flew to the great mountains far away, picked up tiny stones and small twigs in her beak, and flew all the way back to drop them into the roaring ocean.
Plop.
The sea laughed at her. "Little bird! You are so tiny, and I am so huge! You can never fill me up. Give up!"
Jingwei looked at the waves, her eyes bright with determination. "Even if it takes me a thousand years, or ten thousand years, until the end of time, I will not stop! I will fill you, so that no one else shall ever be harmed by you again!"
And so she continued. Day after day, season after season, through rain and storm, through sunshine and frost. She flew back and forth between the mountains and the sea, never resting, never wearying.
She did not succeed in filling the ocean in her lifetime, but her story did not end there. She married a tree spirit, and they had many little birds, and their children and grandchildren continue the work even to this day.
The ocean may still be vast, but the spirit of Jingwei remains stronger still. She teaches the world that no goal is too high, and no task is too great, so long as one has a heart that never yields.
And they lived, and worked, and hoped, happily ever after.