Hoping to avoid punishment for breaking a beautiful tile that was his gift to a Chinese warlord, an artist suggests that the warlord hold a contest to see if anyone can mend it.
In ancient China, an artist and his young apprentice are kidnapped and taken into the desert, where their captors' caravan is lost until the artist's carved wooden goldfish points the way to safety.
In ancient China, Chuan and Jing Jing invent a cart that sails on land in order to quickly reach the warlord with an important message from the emperor.
While traveling to an important feast in ancient China, Chuan and his friend Jing Jing devise a water "alarm" clock to make sure their party reaches the emperor's palace before rival warlords.
While traveling back to their warlord's palace in ancient China, Chuan and the artist to whom he is apprenticed join a troupe of puppeteers and Chuan learns about puppet proportions.
When a hostile army attacks the warlord's palace in ancient China, Chuan and his friend, Jing Jing, find an ingenious way to scare them off using simple kites.
