The Boy Who Hated Dragons

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley. In fact there weren't any for as many years most folk could remember," the old wizard said stroking the wiry gray fibers of his beard as the children listened intently. "What happened?" one of the children said while waving their right hand excitedly "Something bad I bet?" "Yes it was something like that," the wizard said blowing puffs of smoke from his long curled pipe. "You see there was once a time in which it was very dangerous to be a dragon. In fact even the idea of having scales was down right deadly."

The children wriggled in there seats as the fire in front of them suddenly popped and shot bits of glowing embers up into the darkening night's sky. "Before the lot of you were even born, when I was near your age and full of sprite, dragons all of sorts flourished in these lands. There where green dragons with shimmering jade scales whose acid breath could dissolved the bravest knight's armor. Others were blue like the sky, black as the darkest night, golden like the sun shining off the morning mountains, and even white ones with skin as white as the winter's first snow.

"What about red dragons?" the children began shouting. "You're forgetting the red dragons." "I was just about to get to that!" the old wizard laughed loudly. Waving his weathered hands for them retake their seats next to the fire he continued once the uproar had abated. "There was once a boy who was a prince. Probably no more than ten winters old he lived a life of relative ease. You see he had servants and maids to care for his every need as well as the finest clothes and beds, and never once did he feel the pains of hunger or the ache in his body from a long day's work. In his spare time he would study and listen to the various noblemen who came from all ends of the realms to meet and speak with the king at his court. He would hear tales of bravery and kindness as well as legends of monsters and dark creatures that lurked in the shadows.

One such tale told on a warm spring night was that of a rather evil dragon that terrorized the northern lands. This tale spoke of a fierce red dragon that hunted children, snatching them from their beds and eating them whole. Brave knights from all corners of the realms heeded the call and hunted this dragon, eventually killing it in it's lair in the forest. The families rejoiced that the beast was slain but they too were also greatly saddened as nothing could bring back their children. Not even the death of the dragon.

"Dragons don't eat people!" one of the children said throwing up her arms. "Do they?" The wizard lowered his chin and spoke deeply. "Not if they can help it. You see people don't taste particularly good. We're getting off the subject here so listen closely. So after hearing this particular tale the young prince began to have nightmares of being grabbed and eaten by a dragon from under his bed. The dreams got so bad that the boy's father, the king, ordered his physicians to see to his son. Tried as they might the king's best healers could not cure the boy of his horrible dreams."

"So what happened to the prince?" a young boy said as he clutched tightly on his blanket. "Nothing seemed to help," the wizard continued. "Days stretched in weeks and weeks in months. Finally one day the young prince came to his father who was meeting his his advisors. "I hate dragons!" he screamed. "I wish there were no more dragons, ever!"

"Unable to help his only son, the king sent out word to ever corner of his domain declaring that ever last dragon be cast out and never to return. Word of the news spread quickly of the prince's condition and soon being a dragon turned deadly. Many of them flew off to distant lands but many stayed because they had been hatched here and it was their home of course. Many brave knights and soldiers died in the months to pass and within a year's time the last dragon had been slain."

The group of children huddled close around the fire as the wizard waved his hands before suddenly reaching into the fire. Without hesitation he pulled out a small crackling figure of a dragon that roared momentarily before vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Or so they thought," the wizard said said clenching his fist. "That very week the kingdom celebrated with a great feast. The people rejoiced but as the day came to an end a witch appeared in the king's court in front of his advisors and many of its citizens as they drank and feasted.

"Who are you to rid the realms of dragons!" she shouted in a booming voice that brought silence to the throngs of people who'd gathered. "To save a spoiled prince of his nightmares you'd kill every last dragon." She spun around waving her staff and pointing into the crowds of stunned onlookers. "What do you know of such creatures?" The king waved away his guards and approached the wrinkly old woman. "I am the king and I have decreed it as such. The beasts are no more and the lands are free. No more will they bring sorrow to anyone, especially my son."

The old crone cackled and turned away from the king to face the crowd that had now started muttering. "Mark this day with drink and feast for tomorrow shall bring about more days of sorrow than anyone here will wish to count. Only when one of you truly sees through the eyes of the dragon shall this curse be lifted."

The old wizard puffed at the now empty pipe hanging from his mouth before continuing. "With that the old witch vanished as quickly as she appeared. The king and crowd laughed and the festival continued on into the night. However the very dawn brought with it a witch's curse. Unbeknownst to everyone a dark sinister magic had crept into the prince's chambers. That night as he slept he drempt of the dragon again. This time it was different, for it was the prince that was under the bed and the dragon sleeping on top. You see that little last dragon was hiding in its lair, frightened of the men that had taken his parents from him. That young dragon was so full of emptiness and sorrow that it cried itself to sleep, hoping against hope that with each new day his mother and father would return. Somehow the witch sensed this and using her magic she cursed the prince to live as the dragon and the dragon to live as the prince."

"What happened to them?" the children cried out in disbelief. The wizard responded by stomping his leathery boots and leaning back. The slightest smile became to form at the edges of his mouth as he eyed the eagerly waiting children. "That's a tale for another night."