Our children tell me they’re too old for dragon stories now. They have a point: they now see through them and can easily identify what I’m trying to teach them and why. I suspect our days of dragon stories are numbered but for now I insist it’s just a story, which lessens the intensity of the experience, and that gives them space to listen. I told this one to both boys, but separately, once as Elliot the Dragon and one as Callum the Dragon. The occasion was as they faced yet another change in our new life here in Australia.
—————————
Once upon a time, there was a little dragon called Elliot. He was a green dragon with beautiful golden wings. For most of his life, he had lived in Panda Bear Land with his Mama Dragon, Dadda Dragon, and brother Callum Dragon but now they were living in Dragonland. That was a bit strange to Elliot the Dragon and very new. It was so strange and so new for Elliot the Dragon that his wings started to feel very heavy. He found it hard to move around. It’s any wonder! They had done a lot of work flying him all the way from Panda Bear Land to Dragonland!
The part of Dragonland that they were living in was a bit marshy but the family thought they would get used to it. They looked for the good things and Elliot could see some little golden flowers growing out of the marsh if he looked hard enough. Sometimes Elliot didn’t want to look for the golden flowers, because he felt enjoying things in Dragonland was disloyal to Panda Bear Land, and he loved Panda Bear Land, but it also helped to at least see some good things about Dragonland.
One day, Mama Dragon suggested to Elliot the Dragon that he stretch his wings and join her. She had a new meadow she wanted to show him. She said it was beautiful, a much more beautiful part of Dragonland than the bit they had been living in. But Elliot said he was too tired. His wings felt too heavy to move anywhere, and besides, the marshy big of Dragonland they were in had some golden flowers. It was fine, he was fine, and it was too much energy to move. He sank down into the marshes. Mama Dragon looked at Elliot the Dragon and felt sad. She came over to him and lay down next to him and breathed deeply with him.
After a while, she did something more than lying next to him and breathing deeply with him. She looked into his eyes and he looked into hers. And she breathed on his wings. Elliot the Dragon felt a brief gust of air fill his wings for a moment. It wasn’t much but it was enough to lift him a little out of the marsh. Mama Dragon smiled her encouragement and nodded in the direction of the new meadow. Elliot the Dragon just wanted to sink back down but with an extra nudge from Mama Dragon, he followed her.
As they flew, his wings felt so heavy he wanted to give up entirely but just when he thought his wings couldn’t carry him any further, there was the new meadow below them. Elliot the Dragon dropped heavily into it. Now, you might think Elliot would be excited to see the new meadow or that he wold forget how tired he was once he had arrived. But the tiredness did not stop just because they had arrived. His wings were simply exhausted and as soon as he dropped into that meadow, he went to sleep.
He awoke some time later because there was a sweet smell in his nostrils. When he opened one eye, he saw it was because there was a flower near his snout and his breath was pulling it in as he breathed in and pushing it away as he breathed out. The sweet smell was coming from the flower. Elliot the Dragon opened the other eye. What he saw took his breath away! Those same golden flowers from the marshy place were in this meadow but instead of there being one or two, there were dozens of them! Mama Dragon had been right. This new meadow was beautiful.
Elliot the Dragon inhaled deeply of the flower and as he did, he felt stronger. He lifted his head and looked around and as his eyes landed on each golden flower, he felt his strength return to him. With his new strength, Elliot the Dragon started to feel a bit playful and he rolled around in this meadow, among the flowers. As he did, his own wings became shinier and more golden. But Elliot wasn’t the only one growing more beautiful. As he rolled around in the meadow, the flowers also became more golden; they shone brighter and their scent became even more enchanting. Elliot the Dragon had found a beautiful meadow, but it became even more beautiful because he was in it.
Categories: Cross-cultural parenting Written by Tamie
Tamie Davis
Tamie Davis is an Aussie living in Tanzania, writing at meetjesusatuni.com.
Meet Jesus at uni 
Leave a comment