The Child and The Dragon

The child and The dragon:

There once was a fierce and terrible dragon that lived in a cave at the top of a mountain in Dagoland. He was constantly confronted by knights who wanted to slay him for he was the last of his kind and whoever defeated him would gain immense glory and fame across the land. He fought and fought and defeated every last one of them, for this reason nobody dared climb the mountain.

One day a new family arrived in Dagoland to whom nobody told about the dragon. It was a big and happy family and the youngest son was the kindest and happiest, his name was Dante. One day his mother asked him to go out and look or some medicinal herbs. Dante climbed the mountain unknowing of the danger and began his task.

Reaching the top of the mountain he saw a cave with a very big and curious entrance. His curiosity got the better of him and so he went inside. As soon as he entered the dragon became aware and hid in a dark corner of the cave.

"Stop" roared the dragon, "If you have come here to challenge me, let me rest."

The child astonished stood his ground and said: "I have come to challenge no one; I am looking for medicinal herbs."

The dragon relaxed and lay down as he said: "Well, then leave my cave, there are no herbs here."

"But who am I talking to?" said Dante

"You have not heard of me?" said the dragon "I am the dragon that lives at the top of this mountain. My name is Garrow and I am the last of my kind in existence."

Dante stepped further into the cave and asked: "Why do you attack people?"

Garrow answered: "I do not wish to hurt anyone, but if I am attacked I will defend myself. But you have done no such thing so I will not hurt you. But please, I must insist you leave before a knight comes and attacks me, you may be hurt in the battle."

The child understood how alone Garrow felt. Being the youngest, his brothers were usually too busy to play with him and he had no friends in Dagoland.

Dante, fearless, sat down on a rock close to the darkness and said: "You are the only friend that I have been able to find in this kingdom, I will not leave you alone so someone can hurt you."

Surprised, Garrow answered: "You consider me a friend? But I am a fierce and dangerous dragon, are you not afraid?"

Dante answered bravely: "You may seem like a fierce dragon to everyone else, but I see why you truly hurt others, to defend yourself. It's an instinctive reaction that any person would have towards danger. Besides, if you were as fierce as you say you would have attacked me the second I stepped into the cave."

Garrow stepped out from the dark corner and into the ray of light entering from the entrance. He was an impressive and humongous beast, much bigger than Dante. His face looked weary and kind, his red scales sparkled in the sunlight and in his orange belly there were cuts and bruises from the many battles he'd fought.

Amazed by the boy's answer he responded: "Boy, these words you say are wise beyond your years. It seems I have misjudged you humans. All the knights that came here had the same purpose, to slay me and win fame and glory. Their arrogance blinded me with fury and I had no problems with defeating them and throwing them off my mountain. But you, you are wiser than all of them combined. You have seen past the material world, you have seen my true nature, what nobody else could see for their fear of the unknown."

Garrow leaned in closer to the boy and spoke softly

"I do not wish to hurt anyone, but I felt obligated to do so. Now that I have spoken with you, I will try things differently. I will give humans a chance; I'll talk to them and try to resolve things without violence. Thank you, you have earned my trust, but to be your friend I need to know your name."

Dante stood up from the stone, extended his hand out and said: "Dante"

Garrow grabbed his hand with his index finger and thumb to reply: "Dante, if one day you need any favor just ask and I shall oblige."

Dante replied happily: "Well, I came here looking for medicinal herbs, could I have some?"

Garrow went to the back of the cave and scrapped some herbs off the wall. He then gave them to Dante while saying: "You have what you came for, now I need you to go. More knights may come to attack me. But this time I shall not fight, I will try to discuss things so as to end this war."

Dante, complacent with Garrow's words went back to his home at the bottom of the mountain.

The next day he climbed again to Garrow's cave to visit him but the dragon was gone. On the wall at the entrance there was a note that he had left which read:

"Dear Dante,

I tried to reason with the knights, but their arrogance did not permit them to listen. I had to burn them and escape. By now I should be immigrating to other mountains where maybe I will be left in peace. I hope you never forget me, I know I will never forget you and the day I'm able, I shall return to speak with you again. Until that day I must keep moving, but I leave you these words;

Do not think that others around you will change just because one day you wish it to be so, you must work hard and persevere. No matter what happens along the way you cannot give up if you want to reach a goal. You can accomplish anything if you try your best and you don't give up.

Never forget these words and you shall fulfill all your dreams. My friend, one day we shall see each other again, be it in this world or the next.

Sincerely,

Your friend, Garrow"

Dante, with tears in his eyes, fell to his knees and cried on the cave floor.

The End