Once upon a time, there lived three pandas who were born and raised in China with their mother, who owned a great dojo. All day the pandas laughed and played, except for their elder sister, who calmly sat and read.

One day their mother decided that it was time for the three young pandas to become the three NINJA pandas. The two youngest cried and yelled saying,

“No fair, no fair! We want to play! Because that is what we do all day!” The only one who did not cry was the eldest, who was filled with joy. The very next day her dreams came true.

They all started working for a white belt but after a year, the youngest quit, because he was bored half the time. His mother didn’t complain but sent him out to go play until they were all done with training.

This went on for three years. The second eldest quit, but at least HE went into a blue belt. He quit because he got injured far too often for his liking. So, his mother said some wise words and sent him to join his brother outside. Their mother expected the eldest to quit on red or brown, but she surprised her and stayed until black. Then, finally, she gave them enough money to each build their own dojo and sent them on their way.

The three ninja pandas walked together until they reached a vast valley, then they split up to go their own way. The youngest went to the right, the 2nd oldest went straight, and the eldest went to the left.

While the youngest was walking, he met a cat selling leaves and vines.

“Oh, will you please give me some of your beautiful leaves?” asked the youngest panda.

“Of course!” replied the cat. The youngest panda took the vines and leaves and built a grand dojo with them.

The second eldest, while walking, met a crane selling bamboo sticks.

“Oh my! Do you mind if I can have a few of your bamboo?” asked the panda.

“No, I do not mind at all!” replied the crane, giving the panda some bamboo. Then the panda built a dojo made from bamboo.

Then the eldest panda, while walking, saw dragon selling blocks of quartz.

“Beautiful!” cried the eldest ” What fine blocks! Do you happen to know where these came from?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend mining these from scratch, it’s a very tough work.” said the dragon “but since you are so kind, I will give you some of mine.”

The eldest panda thanked the dragon kindly, then, she built a great dojo for everyone.

Then came the Big Bad Sensei. He had heard of the three new dojos in town and started to worry about HIS dojo if everybody went to THOSE dojos none would go to his! So he decided he wanted those new dojos GONE. So, he went to the first panda’s dojo and called:

“Panda, little panda, can I teach you something new?”

“No, no, no! But I’ll chop your clothes in two!” Called the youngest panda.

“Then I’ll chop, and chop, and then I’ll chop that dojo into dust!” Shot back the sensei. And that is just what he did, but the youngest panda decided to fight and got knocked back to his brother’s dojo squealing:

“I should have gotten a blue belt!”

The second panda saw him coming and sheltered him in his dojo. The sensei saw the dojo and called:

“Pandas, little pandas, can I teach you something new?”

“No, no, no! But I’ll chop you in two!” called the second youngest panda.

“Then I’ll chop, and chop, and I’ll chop that dojo into dust!” shot back the sensei. Sadly, again, that is what he did. But the two pandas decided to fight, and they were both knocked back to their sister’s dojo squealing:

“We should have gotten a BLACK belt!”

When the eldest panda saw them coming, along with the sensei, she called:

“Come inside, come inside! Come inside as quickly as you can!”

When the SENSEI saw the dojo, he just laughed saying:

“Pandas, little pandas, can I teach you something new?” Then he tried to chop the dojo in half. When THAT didn’t work, he tried again and AGAIN. But before he could try again the third panda came out of her dojo and said:
“No, you cannot teach me, but I can teach YOU!” And chopped a quartz brick in two! “Now get out of my sight before I lose my temper!” She yelled. The sensei ran off, but he was making a plan inside his head.

The next day there was a knock on the dojo’s grand doors. When the pandas opened it there was a little panda dressed in a little ninja suit. He held up a poster saying:
“I saw this poster, and I would LOVE to learn! Will I be able to learn?”

“Of course!” Said the eldest panda “But I need to talk to your parents and have them sign some papers. Do your parents mind if I have them come into my office?”

“Um…” Said the little panda. The youngest panda looked over the little panda’s shoulder and said:

“Are you lost, kid? Here, let me look for your parents outside. These mountains are sure confusing!” The youngest panda looked all around the mountains, paths, and the dojo. But after an hour, he still couldn’t find the little panda’s parents. When he came back he said:

“I couldn’t find the kid’s parents. But he is kind of strange, he even has a little bit of orange fur sticking out of his suit!” And so the eldest panda called the police and said:

“Hey, so there is this little panda at my dojo and he is very strange! He has a little bit of orange fur sticking out and he is not here with his parents! So, if we are correct we need to find the kid’s parents. So you need to hurry!”

When the police came they saw the kid, solved that he was the sensei, and took him to jail. Nobody saw him again, but I guess they were too busy taking their kids, and themselves, to the newest dojo in town. And it was called:

The Three Ninjas