Jenna's Dragon
The child was shadowing her mother as she swept through the house,
dusting and cleaning. The mother paid little attention to the little girl; her
head was filled with time and hurrying and her husband, who would soon
be home.
At last, the work done, the mother relaxed upon the couch. "Mama,
read me a story, please?" the little girl pleaded. The mother looked at her
child and thought, ("So sad...her big eyes...")"Why don't I write you a
story of your very own?" she replied aloud. "Yes! Yes! I like that!" the
little girl cried hopefully.
The mother got her notebook and a pen, and sat looking thoughtfully
off into the distance.
"Once upon a time," she wrote...
The Little Dragon
Once upon a time, there lived a little golden girl named Jenna. Her
home was high on a cliff, overlooking the sea.
Every afternoon, when her mother allowed, she would run...hair
streaming...down the path that led to the beach. There she would chase
the waves, build sand castles and play hide & seek with the crabs.
One day, while she was looking for pretty shells to string upon a
necklace, she heard a crying further up the beach!
Now, it should be known that this little girl, her parents, brothers and
sisters, and an ancient old man, were the only inhabitants of a very
small forgotten island. And this cry did not sound like anyone Jenna
knew, so she went very cautiously to see who it could be.
"What a strange cry!" Jenna thought. "It almost sounds like a hissing!"
Looking slowly up the beach as she approached the rocks, she soon
discovered something flashing between two big boulders. "Why, I think
it's a snake!" she cried as she peered closely at it. "No, no, for what
snake has wings?"
Carefully, she picked up the flashing 'snake'. "Look how his scales
sparkle and glow!" she thought amazed.
The tiny creature appeared to be trying to fly with its gossamer wings.
But the left wing just lay there, spread out and crooked.
"Poor thing! Have you hurt your wing?" she crooned. "Don't cry so! I
will take you to Whitelock and he shall fix your wing, as he has many
bird's wings!"
Up the path she went, gingerly holding the creature so as not to jar
him too much.
Further into the coastal forest, there was a log house, with a porch.
Upon the porch were perches and tiny beds, and creatures of the most
common kind. There was a big, green parrot with a splinted wing...a
squirrel with a bandage upon his tail, and many others, so that it looked
like a small animal hospital.
Up to the house came Jenna, with the creature nestled in her arms.
"Whitelock! Whitelock! Are you here?" she shouted. "What's this?"
questioned a muffled voice from inside the house. A very tall and straight
man came to the door. His face was greatly lined, with sparkling green
eyes set beneath full, bushy white brows. Full white hair and a long white
beard flowed over his broad shoulders and onto a deep green robe.
"Whitelock! I found him down upon the beach! Isn't he strange? He
was crying and I think his wing is broken!" Jenna said in a rush.
"Slowly, child, slowly." Whitelock laughed. "Now, what have we
here?"
"I was telling you!" Jenna said slowly. "I found him down on the
beach and..."
"Yes, yes, child...I heard." he said, as his eyes crinkled, "Well, bring
him here and we shall see what is to be done."
Gently, Jenna laid the creature upon the bench on the porch. Whitelock
gazed at the creature...eyes shining...before he finally approached it.
"A dragon! I'll be damned!" he cried joyfully. "I didn't know there were
any still alive in these times!" he muttered softly, "Well, to business. Let's
see what's hurting him so."
Whitelock examined the dragon intently. He was amazed at the beauty
of its scales and the transparency of its wings. Even though it was hurt,
still it was a gentle creature, and suffered the care bestowed upon it by the
old man.
Soon the sun began to fade from the sky, and the shadows lengthened
with the coming of night.
"Jenna, it is time for you to go home." Whitelock said softly. "But!"
Jenna protested. "Nay, child. Your people will worry. Don't worry about
your little dragon. He will be safe here, with us." he replied as he indicated
all of the animals upon the porch.
Jenna thought about her mother and father. ("How worried they must
be!") "You're right, Whitelock!" she said aloud. "But, I will be back every
day until he is better!" And she ran through the forest and to her home,
which was really not far away at all.
As the days passed by, Jenna came to see if the little dragon was
mending. She laughed at his antics, as he tried to fly with a splinted wing.
And he would roll his huge, luminous eyes, as if he, too, found it funny.
The old man was amazed at the friendship springing up between the
two children. For he knew that, while the child of man had a gentle heart...
what dragons he had known, had been ferocious, and tended to shun men
and their ways.
"Whitelock, how is it that you knew he was a dragon?" Jenna asked
one morning.
"Ah, child, that is a long story...and it was in very ancient times." the
old man replied musingly. "Let us just say that I knew, and one day,
perhaps, I shall tell you the why of it."
Satisfied, for the moment, Jenna went to the dragon's bed and there
began to talk to him. "Oh, dragon! I am so glad that I found you! Now I
shall have my very own special friend to play with every day!"
"Now, Jenna," said the old man, who had overheard her, "Do not
count upon him for companionship. He is most certainly a baby dragon,
and therefore his parents are sure to come for him some day soon."
No sooner had he said this, than he thoughtfully gazed skyward. "Yes,"
he mused to himself," and when they do, I hope they understand that
we are helping their child, and not that we are the ones who have hurt
him!"
"But, Whitelock!" Jenna cried fearfully. "He is my friend! I found
him and I know he loves me! Surely he is mine to keep?"
"Nay, child...for is he not a creature of the wild?" he replied. "How
can you lay a greater claim to him, than his mother and father?"
The thought of her precious dragon leaving brought tears to Jenna's
eyes. "Never to play with you again?" she asked the little dragon.
"Never to see your beautiful eyes light up when I appear? Oh, it is too
much to ask!"
The dragon seemed to sense Jenna's dismay and, crawling up her
arm, licked the tears from her face.
"Do you see?" Jenna laughed. "Do you see, Whitelock?" How could
friends such as he and I ever be parted?"
So saying, she and the little dragon spent the rest of the day,
scampering and laughing, hissing and talking, until it was time for
Jenna to return home.
Several weeks had passed and Whitelock announced that the splint
could come off that very day. Carefully, he unwrapped the twigs and off
came the splint!
The dragon immediately took to the air, and flew in ever higher
circles into the sky, until he could no longer be seen.
Jenna and Whitelock, watching below, heard a joyful shriek, and
then the little dragon came plummeting to earth, to land upon Jenna's
shoulder.
"Oh, thank you, Whitelock!" Jenna cried joyously. "I am sure that
everything will be perfect from now on!"
Suddenly, the sky seemed to darken, and they heard tremendous
wings beating in the sky.
Jenna cowered fearfully in Whitelock's robes, but the little dragon
gave a joyful shriek and bounded into the air. Looking up, they saw
two huge shapes frolicking with the smaller shape of the little dragon.
"Whitelock!" Jenna cried fearfully, "Whatever can they be? They
won't hurt my friend, will they?" And she cried and cried, for she was
sure that her little dragon would be eaten by the huge monsters in
the sky.
"Hush, child, hush!" said Whitelock soothingly. "Fear not, rather,
be glad! For I am sure that these are the little dragon's parents, who
have found him again!"
And he was right, for soon all three dragons came to rest before
the log house.
The larger of the two parent dragons took a ponderous step
forward and spoke! "I thank you, man and man's child," he rumbled.
"We feared our son lost, and we owe you more than you can
know...for he is the first dragon born in seven centuries."
"We do not usually have dealings with men these years," the
mother dragon added. "But, because of your help and good hearts
towards our son, we are in your debt."
"We are honoured." Whitelock replied solemnly.
"Oh, please, please, don't take my friend from me!" Jenna
suddenly pleaded. And with this, she started to cry brokenly again.
The two dragons looked into each others eyes and, as if they
had talked, but without speech, they nodded their heads in
agreement. "Child!" the father dragon said with a rumble. "Because
of your good heart, and because of our son's wishes, we have
decided to grant you a boon. Know you that a dragon's name has
all meaning for him. And if it is both you and our son's wish, we
shall grant our son to tell you his. Never must you repeat it to
another living thing! For it grants great power over him by
whomever cries his name aloud. In this way, you may summon our
son, and he will come to you."
Jenna was overjoyed and swore she would never repeat the
little dragon's name to anyone!
And as it was both of their wishes...the little dragon perched
upon Jenna's shoulder and whispered his name into her ear.
And ever after, whenever Jenn grew lonely for her friend, she
would walk down the path to the beach and cry the little dragon's
name aloud. And he never failed to come to her.
The End...maybe...
© 1978 Terry Schorer
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