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Li Xue came from China to New York to work at her family's restaurant.
When she got off the boat, she walked towards one of the yellow cars with the word TAXI on top, just as her mother had told her. It had black and white marks, just as she did.
She showed the taxi driver the address of her family's restaurant.
"Sure, no problem" said the driver and they were quickly on their way.
"How do you know where to go so quickly," asked Li Xue.
The driver showed Li Xue a map. It showed all the streets and parks and bridges in New York City.
"I studied this map everyday when I started driving my taxi. It took a long time, but with practice and a lot of driving I learned where to find every street and building in the city!"
As they drove, the driver pointed out where they were going on the map. He told Li Xue about all the wonderful museums and shops in the city.
After a while, they came to Chinatown and her family's restaurant. Her family ran from the restaurant and gave Li Xue big hugs. They paid the driver and gave him some freshly-made wonton soup.
"Li Xue wait," called the driver. He handed her his map of New York City. "Take this - it will help you learn about the city."
Li Xue took the map and promised she would learn as much as she could.
Early each day, before she would work in the restaurant, Li Xue walked through the city, finding and exploring the streets she found on the map. She thought about driving her own taxi someday.
She saved all the money she made working at the restaurant. She didn't have enough money to buy a taxi, but one day while exploring the city she saw a big bicycle, with three wheels and a big seat in the back. She bought it right at that moment and rode it home.
For the next few days Li Xue cleaned and polished her new bicycle. She painted it yellow, with a black and white checkerboard-stripe. She made a sign that said TAXI for the top. Her father helped her put a green light in the sign.
When it was ready, Li Xue took her family for a ride in her new taxi bike. She drove them around the block. Everywhere she went she pointed out the sights of the city, and everywhere she went, people pointed to the panda driving the bicycle!
By the time Li Xue got back to the restaurant, many people were waiting for a ride. A young girl and her mother climbed into Li Xue's taxi.
"Where to," Li Xue asked.
"Central Park please," said the girl.
Li Xue started pedaling. She told the girl and her mother all about the wonderful museums and shops in the city. She beeped her horn at other taxis. She was very happy.
Panda Taxi info:
Author: Mike Popovic
Written: May 2005
First Published: 25 May 2005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Notes:
After seeing a movie with pandas, my daughter requested a panda story every morning with breakfast (previous to the movie, she had requested a story about jellyfish everyday). Usually the request is in the form of "panda and something", and one morning the something was a taxi. I came up with this story. I wrote it down later that day. The hardest part was choosing a name for the panda. Eventually I went with Li Xue which means "beautiful snow" (according to several websites).
I have another story I've been working on for a while featuring a red panda, but it is a bit more complicated.
The style of this story is definitely more prose than verse, in contrast to the other stories I've published here. I think it has great potential for some lush multi-page city illustrations.
Trivia:
My favorite stuffed animal when I was a kid was a panda bear.