Lying is never the answer. “The Mystery Ingredient” and “The Emperor's Test” prove that. These two stories are very much alike but at the same time, they are very different from one another. “The Mystery Ingredient” is a modern story while “The Emperor's Test” is a traditional story. A modern story takes place in the present day. A traditional story takes place a long time ago or in the past. The theme of the two stories is clearly stated, always be honest. The stories have the same theme because one story is an updated version of the other. “How can I bring the emperor an empty pot?” is what Ling asked his mother. His mother told him that “honesty must be its own reward.” Ling didn't know how he could face everyone with no plant, but his mother insisted that he take it anyways. Ling could have easily replaced his seed with a plant and took it to the emperor's palace. In the second passage, it states “The mystery ingredient is guaranteed to ruin any recipe.” …show more content…
Ling is a boy who is very enthusiastic about his seed. Leona is very enthusiastic about her dish. They both want to win the contest. You can tell that Ling is enthusiastic and consistent because he “watered it everyday.” This shows that he really did care about his seed. He wanted to win. In “The Mystery Ingredient” , you can tell that Leona is consistent because even though her pastry didn't come out right the first time, she tried again. She knew she had a shot at winning, and she wanted to take it. Also the characters are self conscious. In “The Emperor's Test” it said that “Ling fought the desire to flee.” Ling saw the other pots and that the plants bloomed very impressively. This made him feel very self conscious about his plant. In “The Mystery Ingredient,” when Leona “reached the judging table and saw the other contestants' dishes, she felt even worse.” In this, Leona compared her dish to the others and felt bad because her dish looked awful compared to the