Sakari and the Green Dragon

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. There weren’t always Anasazi either. Some would say it was all Girl’s doing. The two found Chaco Valley at the same moment. When is such a thing ever a coincidence?

Stories of that time are almost lost to memory, but what the Elders suspected was true. Girl brought the first dragon in when it was no more than a hatchling, glowing green in a sack she hid under her cloak. No one in the Tribe would have countenanced such a thing, but no one knew.

Besides, most Anasazi thought Girl odd, because she was given to trailing off alone where a wolf or a cougar or a bear was likely to get her. It would be a great pity when it happened, they thought, because she was tall and strong and good-looking enough for a twelve-year-old. However, she was not a woman yet, and even fully grown men did not want to face a predator alone.

Girl was not as odd or foolish as the Tribe thought. She herself had seen wolf tracks and once even smelled bear. Still, since the Tribe had entered the Valley, neither she nor anyone else had seen any sign of the biggest threat, the real threat, the tribe’s mortal enemy, the Toltecs. Most Anasazi were jubilant at the thought of having escaped the Toltecs and having this green, new valley to themselves. It was a grand new start, they all agreed. It was going to be home.

Here were deep, lush grasslands for their sheep and bottomlands filled with mesquite and palo verde and juniper, edged by creosote and prickly pear taller than a man. Chaco Valley was fringed with red and purple mountains with clay for adobe and stone for building great houses and high mesas for summer grazing. Tribe followed a freshwater stream as they explored the valley, its ice-cold waters tumbling down from the mountains and ever so slightly bubbly. Occasionally a fish jumped, flashing silver in the sunlight and promising to keep them from famine.

Still, Girl, whose given name was Sakari, was a problem. She never seemed to pay attention. Eventually, even her parents gave up. They were so busy with the fifteen younger children in their care, they did not even notice the foul smell coming from Girl or an occasional glimmer of green light from her poke sack.

“She stinks,” cried more than one of Girl’s brothers, who were shushed and told to be kind.

So Girl trailed along behind, keeping the stinking baby dragon hidden, and in those early days, that seemed to be the Tribe’s biggest problem.

It had all been a horrible mistake, she would tell them later. She had found a very big egg, and thinking about how many it would feed, she was sure she would be a hero. Then it had hatched. Girl knew perfectly well that “Kill the dragon” was tribal law. But the little thing curled up next to her, glowing a happy green. It was stinky, like all babies. This confused her, since another tribal law was, “Look after babies. They could come in handy.”

Girl touched the turquoise stone in her pocket for answers. Grandfather had given it to her and told her it was full of wisdom and comfort, but today it was silent. Then the baby dragon nudged her hand, and she thought, Maybe it’s hungry.

She pulled off a few translucent pink yew berries and fed it. She did not know much about dragons except that they needed poison to thrive, so the yew berries were perfect. Luckily, Girl had the sense to scrub her hands with sand after she touched the berries.

That night, when Family raised a tent and she was expected inside, Girl snuck off into the woods instead. Once there, she laid the poke sack on the ground, undid the strings, and dumped out the tiny dragon. It was now the size of a full-grown quail, and Girl dearly wished it was one.

“Goodbye, Little Thing,” she whispered to the baby dragon. “Good luck.”

But when she walked away, Little Thing squawked in alarm, struggled to its toes, and toddled after her.

“Shoo, shoo, shoo!” Girl ran away.

Little Thing unfolded some very strange-looking wings, and suddenly, there he was, landing in front of Girl, folding up the strange wings and squawking as if he were scolding her.

Girl plopped down on the forest floor and held out her arms. Little Thing ran to her, curled into her lap, and glowed a happy shade of green. Girl was about to give the baby dragon a stern talking-to about how things must be sometimes. Then, she heard a twig snap.

Little Thing went dark. He looked up at Girl, who put one finger to her lips. Girl could feel the dragon vibrating, as if he was purring or growling. Girl tried to hide him, but the dragon had grown! He was already the size of two quail or maybe four.

A pair of amber eyes gleamed out from amid the trees. Then another. Then another. The eyes were coming closer. Wolves.

A shadow fell across Girl so suddenly she ducked. It was a Great Grey Owl, now settling down on a bare branch of a dead tree. The owl swiveled its big head toward the wolves and hooted, “Whoo goes there?”

Girl shivered at the sound and touched the turquoise stone for strength. Owls were said to bring messages from the dead, but Girl had never heard one speak.

The alpha wolf glanced up at the owl. “Leave us. Girl ours.” His voice was such a deep growl that Girl could hardly understand him. The alpha wolf’s head was lowered, his teeth bared, hair standing up on his neck. He kept moving silently toward Girl, his two pack-partners close behind him.

The owl raised his great wings as if to attack, but suddenly the three wolves stopped.

Little Thing had blinked, and now a red light shown from his eyes, focused like Girl had never seen before, sharp pinpoints of light shining directly at the wolves and reflected in their amber eyes. Little Thing was now the girl’s size. He spread his wings and looked even larger, and the vibrations were now a growl. Clearly.

The owl hooted again. “Whoose girl? Ours. Not yours.”

Little Thing moved his red laser-eyes to one of the two wolves behind the leader. It yelped and disappeared into the forest. The second one followed. Little Thing’s eyes returned to the alpha male, who winced at the light.

“We are not done,” growled the alpha wolf. Then he turned and loped away.

“Sakari!” A hoarse whisper came from behind her. “I thought we were both goners.” It was one of her younger brothers. Girl jumped up and hugged him.

“The twig that snapped?”

“Yeah, that was me. No wolf would be so careless.” He stared at Little Thing and clung to Girl in fear. “What is this?”

Little Thing seemed to have shrunk, and his eyes were soft and friendly again.

“Brother, meet Little Thing. I think he’s a dragon,” Girl said apologetically. “But it’s okay. He’s on our side.”

“Pa-Pa sent me to find you. It wasn’t hard with the way that thing stinks.” Brother lowered his voice on that last word, in case the dragon was inclined to take offense.

“Whatever will Pa-Pa say? I found the egg by accident, and then it hatched, and then I tried to get it to go off by itself. But it won’t go.”

“It’s a good thing it didn’t.” Brother shuddered to think how close the wolves had been.

The Great Grey Owl was still on its bare branch, but now it swooped down in a circle and headed for the tent.

Girl, Brother, and Little Thing followed.

“You’re going to have to confess,” said Brother. “A dragon! You know how the Tribe feels. Pa-Pa will have to bring you in front of the Council. It’s an Anasazi law! You could be declared a criminal!”

“Will you sleep outside with me tonight? Tomorrow is soon enough to tell. And maybe,” Girl whispered, “when we wake up, he’ll be gone, and we won’t have to tell anyone anything.”

Little Thing nudged something toward Sakari, who picked it up. It was a grey feather from the owl. She stuck it in her headband. The owl had settled on another bare branch, this one overlooking the tent.

“We can hope,” said Brother.