The Tales of Ba Sing Se

Book 2: Earth: Chapter 15: Tales of Ba Sing Se is a set of vignettes about each of the main characters' adventures in Ba Sing Se, providing a glimpse of their personalities and private lives.

The Tale of Toph and Katara
Toph and Katara enjoy a day of pampering at a local spa. on the way back they are teased by some girls from the city, who Katara and Toph send off a bridge and down a river with bending.

The Tale of Iroh
While out shopping for a picnic, Iroh encounters an inconsolable child and his mother. Grabbing a lute from one the stalls, Iroh entertains the child with a song, Little Soldier Boy. Later he is mugged, but rather than surrendering his belongings or fleeing, he offers the mugger advice on his stance, and then shares a cup of tea with him, giving him council about the direction of his life. Later on he goes up to a tree on a hill outside the main city and sets up a shrine to Lu Ten, singing Little Soldier Boy again.

The Tale of Sokka
Sokka goes out in Ba Sing Se at night and finds himself at a poetry recital. When one of the ladies challenges him Sokka engages in a haiku slam, which he nearly wins. Finally he gets too cocky, adds an extra syllable to one of his haikus, and is thrown out by the bouncer.

The Tale of Aang
Aang gose searching for Appa in a local zoo. When he sees that the animals are kept in small cages he decides to help the zookeeper transport the animals outside the inner wall. Unfortunately the animals run wild throughout the city. Finally Aang uses airbending to blow the bison whistle so loudly that every animal in Ba Sing Se comes after him. After he leads them outside the inner wall he uses earthbending to create a new zoo with enough room for the animals. Unfortunately every animal in Ba Sing Se that wasn't caged came after Aang, including a number of household pets.

The Tale of Zuko
Zuko thinks that a girl who frequents the tea shop where he and Iroh work knows that they are from the Fire Nation. While Iroh is assuring Zuko that she merely has a crush on him the girl introduces herself as Jin and asks Zuko out on a date. Zuko accepts the invititation and the date is terribly awkward. Towards the end Jin leads Zuko to her favorite place in the city, a fountain surrounded by lights, but the lights aren't lit. Zuko asks Jin to close her eyes, then uses firebending to light the lamps. The two hold hands and then kiss.

The Tale of Momo
Momo dreams that he and Appa are eating moon peaches from a tree so high it reaches over the clouds. When he starts awake at a clap of thunder he instinctively hides in Sokka's bag. When he emerges, there is a tuft of Appa's hair on his head from inside the bag. Tying the hair around his arm, Momo sets out to find Appa. First he mistakens a cloud and then a tree for Appa. Suddenly he is attacked by pygmy pumas who chase hum around town until all are captured and caged in what appears to be a butcher's shop. Momo unlatches his cage and escapes, then returns to let the pygmy pumas out. The pumas return the favor by showing Momo to a courtyard with one of Appa's enourmous footprints in the ground, where momo cries himself to sleep.