A Tale of Two Dragons

Two lovely dragons sat perched in a tree

Discussing the previous night.

Each claimed to have had a superior venture

While the other protested in spite.

“My evening began,” said the dragon of gold,

It’s scales glowing soft in the dark,

“With a maiden I found all alone in the woods,

Singing melodies that would shame the lark.

She did not appear to notice me there,

Enjoying her song as I stalked.

I felt it a shame to eat one so pure,

So I listened, my massive head cocked.

Distracted I was, by the music she made,

That I almost knocked over a birch.

The crack of the branches surprised the poor girl,

And caused the sweet thing to lurch.

She fell to the ground as I finally came forth,

Revealing to her all my brilliance.

The fact that she stood up and uttered no scream

Spoke of this maiden’s resilience.

She asked me my name, but I did not reply,

For, our tongue, most do not understand.

And since you know small talk is just not my thing,

I grabbed her and flew back to our land.

She currently sits in a cage in my castle,

To cheer me when I feel diminished.

If you think you had a more lucrative night,

I’ll eat my own tail once you’ve finished.”

The other then spoke, “I congratulate you!

Your songbird’s voice must be exquisite.

Perhaps once we’ve finished this challenge of ours

I will have to pay you a visit.

But my evening,” said he, his emerald scales twitching,

“I do believe has your night beat.

For as I was soaring through the mountains nearby

I witnessed a marvelous feat.

A lone man was climbing, no sword and no steed,

Climbing high through the cold mountain air.

I swooped down beside him and inclined my head

To ask what he was doing there.

Though startled, he boldly met my eye,

Divulging the details of his quest.

He’d witnessed a dragon abduct a fair maiden -

I do believe you know the rest.

He requested my help, and for fun I obliged,

For I knew the abductor was you.

I thought it great sport to ruin your day,

So I let him climb on and we flew.

We stopped at the river that circles your castle

And waited for you to depart.

Then he quickly set forth to complete his quest

While I marveled at the bravery of his heart.

Not too long after, again you appeared,

Sailing home on the cool night’s breeze.

So I interjected, inviting you here,

So he could finish his rescue with ease.

The great feat, you see, was that this mere mortal,

No magic or weapon in hand,

Was able to steal from the lair of a dragon -

The most powerful one in our land!”

In a rush of gold sparks the first dragon sped off,

While the second, sill perched in his tree,

Simply chuckled a bit, and then glancing down,

Winked at the maiden and me.

~

Thank you for reading my story! If you enjoyed it I hope you’ll consider leaving me a tip!

I wrote this for fun after finding a beautiful illustration of two dragons sitting in a tree. The flow may be a bit off, but I can fix that if I ever decide to publish it elsewhere. I just though you might enjoy the story since it’s cute.

I’m sharing stories on this site (as well as looking for other online work) so I can hopefully start making some money remotely. My mom really needs help caring for my grandparents and I can’t be there for her because of my current full-time job and the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19. When you read these stories it really does mean a lot to me and is great encouragement to keep writing – something I set aside for too long.

Be safe out there!