Danny and the Dragon

DANNY AND THE DRAGON

Argon, the dragon was snoring softly and dreaming of ice cream cones filled with piles of chocolate and strawberry flavors with sprinkles on top. He smiled in his sleep and in his dream he was about to devour the whole cone when he heard something that woke him up.

"Uuuurrrrr?" He thought. "What was that?" He opened his sleepy eyes and looked around.... Silence.

"It must be that goofy owl," he thought. "If he doesn't stop annoying me, I'm going to singe his feathers."

The sound came again. A kind of whimpering sob with a hiccup or two.

"That's not that dorky owl! That's something else!"

Argon rose from his comfy bed of dried leaves and pine straw and lumbered out in a squeaky and slightly painful way because of his advanced age. His back hurt and his tail felt like it weighed a ton. His scales were falling off and his once powerful flame inducing breath was just short of lighting a candle.

"Whoever woke me up in the middle of a wonderful dream will suffer my wrath." he muttered to himself.

Argon reached the opening of his den and cautiously looked out. There was a full moon shining brightly and the huge trees of the forest looked like very tall actors on a stage.

The sound came again, a tiny whimper. Argon slowly and as quietly as a huge lumbering, ageing dragon could, tiptoed out to follow the soft sad sound of some small creature in distress.

Argon bent close to the ground where the sounds seem to come from and sweeping his eyes back and forth, he finally found the source under a small evergreen bush.

"It's a little human!" Argon exclaimed. Startled, the little human looked up at Argon and was instantly terrified and about to scream.

"No, no'" said Argon holding his short arms in front of him. "I won't hurt you."

The little human was terrified and Argon felt really bad because he knew that when anyone saw him it scared them half to death.

"I won't hurt you," he said again. "I want to help you."

The little human stared up at Argon with eyes wide in shock.

"What's your name?" asked Argon.

"DDDaaannny'" the little human stuttered.

"That's a nice name," said Argon. "My name is Argon."

Danny just stared for minute then said, "That's nice too."

"Thank you," replied Argon. "Now can you tell me why you are out in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night?"

Danny started to stutter and cry. "I want my mommy."

Argon sat down next to Danny. "It's cold out here Danny. Let's go into my den where you can be warm and we'll figure out how to find your mommy."

Then Argon and Danny both stood up and with a gentle paw on the little boy's shoulder, he was guided into the warm den of the dragon.

"Come sit down on my nest and I'll make a nice fire to take the chill away," said Argon while thinking, "I hope I have enough fire in my breath. How embarrassing if I blow nothing but hot air."

As the dragon went about gathering some sticks which he had for an occasion such as this, Danny took an interest in his surroundings.

"How come you live in a cave?" he asked. "How come you're all by yourself? How come you have wings? And a tail?"

Argon finished his pile of sticks and leaning close, he huffed and he puffed and he blew as hard as he could. Luckily a flame shot out of his mouth. Not a big one, but enough to light the fire.

"Whew!" he thought.

"WOW!" exclaimed Danny. "How did you do that?"

"It's a talent dragons are born with. That's what we do, although I'm getting a bit old and out of breath now, but I used to be able to blow HUGE flames!"

"You're a real dragon? I've never seen a real dragon before. I mean, not a real live one. I saw pictures in a book and a cartoon."

Argon wasn't sure what a cartoon was, so not wanting to look dumb, he didn't ask.

"Well," said Argon. "There aren't as many of us as there used to be. Years ago, when I was as small as you, I had a very large family and we all lived high on a mountain far away."

"What happened?" asked Danny.

"Well, one day the Goths came to attack people on the other side of the mountain and we were in the way."

"Why?" asked Danny.

"Who knew? We didn't wait to ask them. There were so many of them and they had these long swords and shields and looked so ferocious we knew we couldn't fight them so we all took to the sky to fly away. Some of us flew to the east, some to the south and some to unknown lands in the west."

"Where did you go?"

"I went to many places including India and China and South America and Africa. Some places hated us and were very afraid, well truthfully, some dragons are not so nice, but China really liked dragons. They still do. They paint pictures of us and wear clothes with dragons on them. But after hundreds of years, I got tired of all the attention and the parades and their asking for fortune or rain or something. I wanted to retire. And then I heard about the wild west."

"Where?"

"You know, where the deer and the antelope play."

Danny stared at him with open mouth.

"You haven't heard of this?" asked Argon.

Danny shook his head no.

"How old are you?" asked Argon.

"I'm four," answered Danny while holding up four fingers.

"You're only four?" exclaimed Argon. "You are a very smart and brave young boy for four."

Danny smiled.

"Now where was I," asked Argon.

"The deer and the antelope," answered Danny.

"Oh yes. So I got directions from one of the younger dragons that roamed the planet more often than the human's mechanical wing contraptions . . . oh what are they called?"

"Planes."

"Oh right. Airplanes. So, I got directions and landed in the most arid, dry, waterless, dusty landscape I've ever seen. And I thought, 'what am I doing here?'"

Danny was getting sleepy.

"Maybe you should sleep now and I'll finish this in the morning." suggested Argon.

Danny snapped to attention. "No, tell me now."

"Okay. So I looked around this place and suddenly saw hundreds of funny looking four legged creatures with huge bushy heads with horns and small butts running towards me!"

Danny started laughing.

"It was not funny!" said Argon. "I was scared to death!"

"They're buffalo!"

"Well, I know that now,. I didn't know then. So I left."

Danny looked sleepy again. His eyes were closing but he was still listening.

"You need to sleep..." Argon started to say.

"No," said Danny. "I want to hear more. You tell the best bedtime stories."

Argon thought, "Is this a compliment?"

"Well, okay," he said, "I flew to a high cliff that overlooked the whole desert and just rested and tried to think about what to do next. Apparently I fell asleep and when I woke up, I saw the biggest, most scary winged creature looking at me. It had a weird looking pale bald head and had black feathers everywhere else. 'Who are you? What are you?' The creature asked me. I'm Argon. I'm a dragon. Who are you?" I said. The scary creature bent down closer and stared into my eyes. And then he jumped up and flapping his wings, he shouted out, 'He's a dragon! A real live dragon! I can't believe it!' Suddenly dozens of these bizarre creatures flew down and surrounded me. I thought I was going to be eaten, but they were making some strange noises like cackling and laughing and then patting me on the back with their enormous wings that almost knocked me off the cliff. I'm going to die, I thought. Then the leader said, 'We are condors. We are honored to meet you. Tell us why you are here.' I was choked with emotion and fear. If I give the wrong answer will they let me live or tear me to pieces."

Danny sat up and asked, "What was your answer?"

Argon had to pause to think about he was to say because he knew it meant a lot to his young listener.

"I told him that I had new information on the fate of humankind. The condor laughed. 'What is that?' he asked. I told him that most of humankind was good and wanted the best for all."

"What did he say?"

"He said he knew that and many people are starting to know that too. He also said, 'Do you know that humans protected us from extinction?'"

"What's extinction?" asked Danny.

"It's the end of things."

"Oh."

"Now", said Argon, "You must get some sleep now and I'll help you find your mommy in the morning."

"I'm not tired yet," Danny said yawning again.

"Well, okay then. Why don't you tell me how you arrived here."

"I ran away."

"From home?"

"No, I ran away from a bad man. He said he had a puppy to give me. And when I got to his car, he pushed me in and shut the door. Then he drove away and he kept driving and I started crying and he wouldn't stop!"

"Then how did you get away?" asked Argon.

"I told him I had to pee."

Argon couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"He told me to go out to a tree and do it there. So I did and when he wasn't looking at me, I ran away really fast and hid in the woods."

"Good for you!" said Argon approvingly.

"Yeah, and then he yelled and yelled and when I wouldn't come out and he couldn't find me, he left. So then I got lost."

"You're very brave," said Argon. "And don't worry, tomorrow morning we will find your mommy and everything will be alright."

Danny looked relieved. He wasn't scared anymore. His eyes started to close and he lay down in the leaves and fell instantly asleep. Argon was deeply touched by the sweet innocence of this little boy that chose to trust a big old dragon. "I must find his family," thought Argon, "if it's that last thing I do."

After waking up the next morning, Danny announced that he was hungry. "Well, you should be," said Argon, "you didn't have dinner last night. So what do you usually eat for breakfast?"

"Cheerios," answered Danny.

"Cheerios? What are cheerios?"

"Cheerios are little round wheels you pour milk on," explained Danny. "I also like fruit loops. They come in colors" Argon thought for a minute. "Well, I can't help you with the little wheels but I think I can help you with the fruit part. Let's go out and take a look."

When they went outside, Argon instructed Danny to climb on his back and put his arms around his neck. "Hang on tight now," said Argon, and with a bit of a groan and some creaky joint sounds, the dragon lifted off slowly. When they were high enough to clear the treetops, Danny let out a whoop. "Wow! I can see forever!" he exclaimed. It was evident that Danny was enjoying his ride.

After several minutes, Argon lowered slowly and landed in a meadow surrounded by blueberry bushes. As Danny climbed off, Argon said, pointing at the berries, "there's your fruit, my boy. Eat as much as you like." And he did. In fact, both did. Blueberries were one of Argon's favorite foods.

"What else do you like to eat?" asked Argon.

"I like fish sticks."

"Fish what?"

"Sticks."

"How can a fish be a stick?" asked Argon.

"They're shaped like sticks. They're not real sticks."

"That's a relief!' said Argon. "What else do you like?"

"French fries, with ketchup."

"What are French fries?"

"They're potatoes cut into sticks."

Argon stared at Danny for a second or two, then said, "You like to eat a lot of sticks, don't you?"

"And nuggets!"

"Nuggets?"

"Chicken nuggets!"

"How can a chicken be a nug....oh never mind. Forget I asked."

"They're really good though. I eat them with French fries."

"And Ketchup?"

"Yep," answered Danny happily as he stuffed his little face with blueberries. When they finished eating, Argon led Danny to a nearby stream where he could drink some water and wash his berry stained face. Leaning back against a rock, Argon picked a blade of grass and chewed on it.

"What would you like to be when you grow up?" Argon asked Danny.

Danny was lying on the grass looking up at the sky, which was bright and blue with puffy clouds.

"I want to go up there", he said pointing to the sky. "Like you do."

"Ah," said Argon, "you want to be a pilot? Or an astronaut?"

"A pilot!" he answered. "I don't want to go too far away. I'll miss my mom and dad." Danny looked a little sad and said, "They don't know where I am. They must be very, very sad." Tears appeared in Danny's eyes. "I need to tell them I'm alright. I need to find them."

Argon nodding his head said, "Yes. We need to find your parents now. Shall we take to the skies? You will be my pilot and I will be your plane." As Argon groaned and creaked to a standing position he said, "I don't think I'm ageing well."

"Why not?" asked Danny as he climbed upon Argon's back.

"Not enough exercise," said Argon as he spread his wings and after a few deep breaths and flapping his wings, he lifted his hefty self off the ground and off they went. As they rose higher and higher, Argon started to circle wide and wider.

"Where are we going?" yelled Danny.

"We are widening the circle of probability."

"What?"

"We are covering ground from the location of where I found you. By circling we won't miss seeing your home."

"O...okay." Danny sounded sleepy.

"Danny, are you alright? You sound sleepy."

No answer.

"Oh dear," thought Argon. "I'm flying too high. Not enough oxygen. I should have brought an oxygen mask. Wait. Dragons don't have oxygen masks." Argon quickly descended to just above the treetops. "He should be fine here." Very quickly Danny perked up and pointed to a church steeple barely visible pointing skyward above the dense treetops.

"There!" he shouted. "that's where I live!"

Argon quickly changed course and headed in that direction.

"You live in a...pointed tree house?" Argon did not know what to call it.

"No. It's the church where we go to pray!"

"What's pray?" Argon was a bit confused.

"That's when we ask God to save us," answered Danny.

"Who's God?" asked Argon.

"He's our best friend," said Danny.

"Kool!" answered Argon.

As Argon flew closer and closer to the church, a large open field came into view and it was filled with people and dogs walking through the long grass side-by-side as if searching for something.

"Look," yelled Danny, pointing at them. "That's my dad!" Danny yelled at them and waved one arm to get their attention. Everyone looked up and started to run away.

"Wait," yelled Danny. "It's me!" Argon circled the field and landed in the middle of it while Danny yelled and waved his arms.

"It's Danny," yelled a female voice. "Danny!" she called while running towards him.

"Mom, mom!" Danny slid off Argon's back and ran to his mother. She scooped him up in her arms and hugged and kissed him and Danny's dad came over and put his arms around them both. There was a lot of excitement and everyone ran towards them smiling and happy.

"Danny, where have you been?" Many voices were asking him all at the same time. Danny pointed to Argon and said, "I was with Argon." Everybody looked at Argon with wonder and curiosity.

"That's a dragon," someone said. "A real one!"

Suddenly everyone was talking at the same time.

"I didn't know there were real dragons!"

"Where did he come from?'

"How did you find a dragon?"

"Where did you find a dragon?"

"Argon found me!" Danny said and walked over to Argon and hugged him. "He took care of me too and fed me blueberries for breakfast."

Everyone laughed. Everyone was relieved that Danny was home safe.

"Thank you Argon," said Danny's mom. "Thank you so much!"

"Yes, thank you," everyone said.

"You're welcome," said Argon.

"He speaks!" Someone exclaimed. "How can you speak English."

"Well, I've lived a long time and travelled the world, so I picked up a language or two," replied the dragon. "And I live up in the woods not far from here and that's where I found Danny."

Danny's mom knelt down to ask Danny, "How did you get there, Danny. Did you run away?"

Danny shook his head no. "I was stolen by a bad man. He said he had a puppy to give me, but he locked me in his car and drove away. But I ran away from him and got lost in the woods and Argon found me."

"Thank goodness," she said and hugged him again.

"What did this man look like?" asked Danny's father.

Danny looked around at all the people there and while he was thinking of his answer, he saw someone in the back slowly backing away from the group.

"That's him!" said Danny pointing.

Just then the man turned and started running as fast as he could.

"Don't worry," said Argon as he lifted himself into the air and flew after him. "I'm coming to get you!" he yelled at the man running away.

Everyone watched in amazement as Argon caught up and knocked him down then sat on him. As people ran towards them, Argon got up so as not to crush him completely but he sure did knock the wind out of him. One man who wore a hat and a badge and a gun took some handcuffs out of his pocket and said to Argon, "Good job! I should make a deputy out of you."

"What's a deputy?" asked Argon.

"I'll explain it to you later," said the sheriff as he hauled the bad man to his feet and led him away. As people started to leave to go back to town, Danny asked his parents, "Can Argon come and live with us?"

They looked a bit startled at the question. "He can live in the barn," said Danny. Then he turned to Argon. "Do you want to live with us? We have a big barn with lots of hay. You'll be warm there and you won't be alone. We have a donkey there too. His name is Max."

Argon thought, "What's a barn?" But didn't ask. He didn't want to be totally clueless.

"Okay," said his parents. "He can live with us if he wants to."

Argon nodded his head yes. He was to choked up to say anything.

So Argon became a permanent guest in Danny's household and also of the town's. Every afternoon between 3 and 4, Argon would be in the town's square telling his wonderful stories to the children. Some of them were true and some were not, but they were all fascinating and as time went on more and more children came to listen to Argon's "Dragon Story Hour" and after every story hour, Argon would be presented with a huge bowl of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream with sprinkles on top. And to Argon's immense delight, the real ice cream was so much better than the dream.

The End

(or the beginning of a new adventure)