This is part of a series writing up some of the stories we make up on the spot to help our children process things. This one is about being a TCK.

Once upon a time there was a little dragon called Elliot. He lived in a lovely cave with his Mama Dragon, Dadda Dragon and baby brother Callum Dragon. Elliot was green, with sparkly green wings. Mama Dragon was blue with sparkly purple wings, Dadda Dragon was grey with sparkly blue grey wings, and Callum Dragon was golden all over because he was only a little dragon.

Even though they were dragons, they did not live in Dragonland. They lived in Panda Bear Country. In fact, Elliot the Dragon was only a tiny little hatchling when they first arrived in Panda Bear Country, so that was all he remembered. Elliot the Dragon loved his life in Panda Bear Country, but he knew he wasn’t a panda bear. Pandas are black and white, and Elliot was green! And Elliot had wings and scales, but pandas have fur. Some of the pandas spoke dragon language, and Elliot spoke a little bit of panda language, but sometimes things were a bit confusing, when Elliot couldn’t understand what someone was saying to him. Sometimes, people even told Elliot the Dragon that he didn’t belong in Panda Bear Country because he was a Dragon.

One day Mama and Dadda said it was time to fly for a visit to Dragonland. The whole family got ready for the long journey. Mama and Dadda Dragon were strong enough to fly the whole way, but Callum Dragon rode on Mama’s back and Elliot the Dragon needed help to get over the tall mountains.

When they got back to Dragonland, there were lots of exciting things. There were so many toys in Dragonland! And there were lots of people who loved Elliot and Callum Dragon and their family. Everyone spoke dragon language in Dragonland, but there were still things that were confusing to Elliot the Dragon. There were lots more rules in Dragonland than in Panda Bear Country, and everyone expected Elliot the Dragon to know them because he was a dragon. They didn’t know that he was used to how things were done in Panda Bear Country.

Elliot the Dragon also started missing his lovely cave in Panda Bear Country. Even though things were fun in Dragonland, he started asking when they could fly back to Panda Bear Country. Eventually the day came, and the family flew back to Panda Bear Country. Elliot the Dragon was pleased to be in his cave and going to his school again, but there were things he missed about Dragonland.

And people in Panda Bear Country still said things to him about how he didn’t really belong there. He realised that just like how in Dragonland people didn’t realise that he came from Panda Bear Country, even in Panda Bear Country people thought he was from somewhere else. Elliot the Dragon began to think that he was kind of in between. He looked like a dragon on the outside, and even spoke dragon language, but inside, there were bit of him that were a little bit furry, like a panda. That made Elliot want to learn panda bear language even more, so he would feel even more a part of Panda Bear Country and understand it better.

Categories: Written by Tamie

Tagged as: Elliot the Dragon TCK

Tamie Davis

Tamie Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.