The sun was a giant orange ball in the sky, making everything super warm. General Cao Cao and his brave soldiers were marching, marching, marching. It was a long, dusty road, and there wasn't a single drop of water to be seen.

"Phew, it's hot!" said one soldier, wiping his forehead.
"My throat feels like sandpaper," mumbled another.
Soon, all the soldiers were tired and very, very thirsty. Their water bottles were empty. Clink, clank, empty! They started to slow down. Some even sat by the side of the road, too tired to move.

General Cao Cao saw this. "Oh dear," he thought. "My soldiers are so thirsty. We need to find water soon, or we won't be able to keep going." He looked around. No rivers, no wells, just dry land.

Then, General Cao Cao had a clever idea! A little twinkle appeared in his eye. He rode his horse to the front of his tired troops and pointed ahead with a big, excited voice.
"Look, everyone!" he shouted. "Just over that next hill! I can see a huge forest of plum trees! And they are full of big, juicy, sweet-and-sour plums!"

The soldiers perked up. "Plums?" they whispered to each other.
They started to imagine those plums. Big, round, juicy plums. They thought about biting into one, the sweet and slightly tangy juice filling their mouths. Mmmm!
Just thinking about those delicious plums made their mouths start to feel a little watery. It was like magic!

Suddenly, they didn't feel quite so thirsty. The thought of those yummy plums gave them a new burst of energy.
"Let's go!" they shouted, and they started marching again, much faster this time. They wanted to get to those plums!

They marched over the hill, and then another. And guess what? After a little more marching, they found a real stream with cool, clear water!
"Water!" they cheered, and rushed to drink.

General Cao Cao smiled. There hadn't actually been any plum trees where he pointed. But his clever idea about the plums had helped his soldiers forget their thirst just long enough to reach real water. What a smart general!

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