A Dragon Tale
&
© Grandpa Jim
A time not so long ago in a kitchen not far from here in a house very much like this house, a small dragon lived under the sink.
Let me tell you about dragons and this little dragon in particular. As everyone knows, dragons can still be found in Ireland. Way up north, in the cold craggy rocks, overlooking the sea. That’s where they can be found, and that’s where the Murphy Clan of dragons lives.
The Murphys are a very old dragon family, dating way back to when the Vikings sailed the waves in their dragon ships.
Well, a new dragon baby had been born to the clan. He was a wee bit smaller than the rest of the young dragons, and the others laughed and called him “Midget Murphy.” The little dragon smiled and turned, took off, and flew higher and faster than the other dragon children.
One day, the young dragons were watching the jet planes take off at the nearby airport. A teenage dragon swooped down from the rocks, glided low along the ground, and attached herself under the wing of a plane. That dragon took off with a rush into the sky. It was a free ride, and that was and is a great sport among young dragons, but it can be somewhat dangerous.
Midget Murphy was watching, and he decided he was big enough to give it a try. He swooshed off, glided low and attached himself beneath the wing of a big jet just as it spurted down the runway. Only, when he pulled to adjust his grip, Murphy could not un-attach. He’d gotten himself stuck under the wing of that big jet airplane.
After a longish time, Murphy was still stuck and flying over a city. The plane descended, lowered its wheels and smacked the ground with a loud whack. The jolt knocked Midget Murphy free. He swooped up into the dark night sky not knowing where he was or what to do.
As Midget Murphy soared between the clouds, he spotted the lights of a house below. He banked, dove and circled the house. There, he saw it. There was a cracked grating along the base of the house just big enough for a little dragon. Gliding down, slowing and folding his wings, he smoothly slid into the dark space beneath the house. Squinting, he spied a hole in the floorboards overhead. It was just big enough for a little dragon to squeeze through, which he did. He found himself under a sink with a garbage can with old food in it. Midget Murphy was very hungry and not particular after his long and unplanned flight. So he munched broken pieces of stale bread, picked at what was left of a fish and settled down for a much-needed rest.
And that’s how a small dragon came to live in a house very much like this house under the sink in a kitchen very much like the kitchen in this very house.
It was sad life. The little dragon never spoke for fear of being heard. His missed his family and friends. He had no one to talk to, he ate leftovers and he wished he were home. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
Sometime later, a boa constrictor snake escaped from the zoo near the house. This was a smart snake. As the zoo police scoured the neighborhood to find him, that big long fat snake slithered and slid along and between the houses and waited for an opportunity to enter somewhere and hide from the searchers.
Just then the boy in the house very much like this house rushed out with an armful of small cars to play on the sidewalk, and that boy forgot to close the door.
HHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSp e r f e c t, the big snake lisped under his breath, and quick as greased lighting, that snake slithered through the open door, across the cold-tiled entry, into the living room and under the big leather couch.
Although the snake was sneaky and quiet, a certain small dragon under the sink heard something unusual and decided to investigate.
HHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSg o o d. The snake flicked his long pink forked tongue in and out and smacked his thin wet snake lips.
At the front door, the Daddy called to the boy. “You forgot to shut the door. Again. No matter, it’s time for bed anyway. Gather your toys and come in. You can play for a short time in your room.”
The snake heard the front door slam and the running feet down the hallway to the boy’s room. He hissed a patient snake hiss. HHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS w a i t.
Sometime later, the Daddy’s footsteps could be heard on the wood floor of the hallway. Poking his head into the boy’s room, the Daddy said, “Time for bed,”
“Yes, Daddy, I’ll turn off the light when I’m done reading. Promise.”
“Don’t stay up too late. Love you.” The Daddy’s steps faded away and a door closed.
Not long after, a click was heard, and the light went out in the boy’s room.
The snake smiled a big snake smile and waited until the house became very still.
Then that big long snake slithered out from under that couch, up the wall and into the ceiling fan, which was off, the blades still and not rotating.
HHHIIIISSSSSSSSSSS s o o n. The snake smiled and swayed the fan back and forth making a creaky sound. CCCRRRRRRREEEEEKKKKKKYYYYYY CCCCRRREEEKKKYY
The noise woke the boy, who grabbed the flashlight he kept near the bed for emergencies. He pulled the covers back, quietly dropped his feet to the floor, flicked the flashlight on, and slowly and carefully moved to the door, down the hall and into the living room, scanning the floor with the beam of his light. Under the fan, the boy halted, never looking up, and focused the cone of light under the tables and chair, but not up.
The snake smiled a wider smile and began to drop slowly between the fan blades toward the boy.
On the kitchen counter, from behind the toaster, the little dragon watched the snake and the boy. Murphy did not like snakes. No dragon or person in Ireland likes snakes. Dragons are one of the reasons there are no snakes in Ireland, and dragons know what to do with snakes.
Midget Murphy threw his dragonhead back, opened his small many-toothed mouth, and aimed a dragon roar across the room right at that dangling snake. RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!
The startling sound and rushing air from that roar were so great the snake stopped in mid-drop and looked toward Murphy. At that very moment, the turbulence from the roar hit the wall and turned on the fan switch.
In a flash, the fan blades swirled and spun and caught the boa constrictor and twisted and flipped and wadded that snake into a big ball of knotted and tied-up boa snake.
The boy looked up and jumped aside as the snake ball hit the floor.
It was just then that the little dragon let out the biggest and longest roar of his young life. RRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
And, as everyone knows, dragon roars are not just mighty, they are magical.
That stupendous roar blew open the front door and tumbled the ball of boa out and onto the sidewalk at the very moment the zoo police with their lights flashing screeched, SSSCCCRRREEEEEEECCCHHHH, to a stop in front of the house to investigate the complaints of a very large noise.
In seconds, the trained officers were out of their car with the over-sized snake bag they kept in the backseat. Quick as professionals, they rolled that wadded boa into the bag, secured the ties, and lifted and pushed the bewildered snake into the back seat of the cruiser. Jumping into their seats and slamming the car doors, the zoo policemen waved through their open windows and yelled to the Daddy standing stunned in the light of the open front door. “We’ll be back later with the reward. Thanks for all the help. Don’t worry about the noise.”
“Noise?” the Daddy repeated, squinting his eyes. “What was that noise?” He turned to his son and jumped. “What’s THAT flapping in the air beside you?”
The boy looked at the little dragon and smiled. “Can we keep him?”
“It’s. . . . is it . . . a dragon?” the Daddy stammered. “A little dragon?”
“Yes,” the boy agreed, nodding his head in delight. “Can we keep him?”
“Well. . . .” The Daddy looked into the house, down at the sidewalk and over his shoulder at the road where the zoo police had just raced away. “Was that his roar? Did he do that to that big snake?”
“He did, Daddy. With his roar.”
“ Wow. I mean, well . . . I mean, okay. I guess he saved your life. Mine, too, I guess. Yes, you can keep, you can keep, well, the dragon. Wow.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” The boy turned and started to walk back to his room. The dragon flapped along beside him.
“But,” the Daddy called, “what will you call him?”
The boy stopped and looked closely at the hovering dragon. “He has a golden plate around his neck on a golden chain.” The boy examined the medallion more closely. “It says ‘Murphy.’”
“Okay.” The Daddy closed the front door and headed down the hall after his son and the little dragon. “It that his name?”
The boy stopped at the door to his room, thought for a second, and smiled at the dragon. “I will call him ‘Mighty Murphy’ because of his mighty roar.”
“Good name,” the Daddy agreed and continued on to his room. He halted, his hand on the doorknob. “What will he eat?” The Daddy’s eyes grew big as he turned to his son with a worried look on his face.
“Same as me.” The boy smiled at his father.
“Oh,” the Daddy exhaled, turned, opened the door to his room and stopped. The boy was growing fast and his appetite was growing with him.
Murphy smiled in mid-air. The little dragon liked this Daddy and this boy. And he was growing too. He didn’t really like all those icky leftovers. With some real food, he’d really start to grow. Mighty Murphy let out a not-so-loud roar. RRRROOOOAAAARRRRR
At the sound, the Daddy flinched and shut his door, dollar signs spinning in his head at the thought of all the groceries he’d be buying for the boy and the dragon. Then he remembered the reward the zoo police had promised and he went to bed happy.
Down the hall, Murphy nestled into the bed beside the boy for a good night’s rest — the best in a long time, a very long time.
The little dragon covered his head with a wing and started to slip to sleep thinking, Mighty Murphy. It is a good name. I like it.
He yawned. The Irish and their dragons had been leaving Ireland for some time to make their lives elsewhere. It was an accident that he had left Ireland, but it was about time for him to do so, and this seemed a good home, a very good home, to start his new life.
The little dragon snuggled closer to the boy and breathed out a quietly happy goodnight roar.
Rrrroooooaaarrrrr.
The End