When
Aliss told her parents about the Rose Dragon, they were very surprised to find
out that their daughter had befriended a dragon, but they accepted the dragon
and told her that she may stay in the garden for as long as she wished.
Aliss and the Rose Dragon became the
dearest friends. Aliss’ morning and afternoon excursions to the garden now
included delightful meetings with the dragon as well as the flowers. The Rose
Dragon was perfectly agreeable to allowing the girl to climb up on her back and
slide down off of her long neck. They would chase eachother through the garden
and tumble and wrestle and laugh until their sides ached. Sometimes the dragon
would tease Aliss by gently butting her like a young goat while she was tending
to the flowers or reading or daydreaming at her table, and sometimes Aliss
would retaliate by gently tugging the dragon’s tail and running off to hide under a hedge or behind a bush. The
dragon always found her, and when she did the two of them would laugh and
embrace and taunt eachother playfully. Aliss taught the dragon the songs and
stories she learned at school, and the dragon would quietly and respectfully
listen and nuzzle her in approval when she finished.
The spring turned to summer, and the
Rose Dragon remained in Aliss’ garden. Aliss was released from school and was
free to spend entire days with her. At night, the Rose Dragon would open up her
rose petal wings and Aliss would climb into them, and the two of them would
sleep together amongst the frogs and crickets that came into the garden to sing
their songs.
One afternoon Aliss’ parents were
leaving for an out-of-town wedding. They told Aliss that they would be away
until next afternoon, and that a friend of the family named Kara would be
coming to keep an eye on things.
“Can’t my dragon take care of me?” Aliss
asked.
“Of course she can,” said Aliss’
mother. “Kara will only be dropping in to make sure the two of you are all
right.”
Aliss’ eyes widened. “What will Kara
say about my dragon?” she asked in alarm.
“We told Kara all about your dragon,” Aliss’ mother
assured her, “and she promised that she wouldn’t do anything to disturb her.”
Even after this reassurance, Aliss
did not trust Kara. When her parents left, she ran to the garden and warned the
Rose Dragon, “My parents will be away until tomorrow afternoon, and their
friend is dropping by to check on things.” The Rose Dragon bared her fangs in
alarm, and Aliss knew she would have to be very protective of her until her
parents returned.
Aliss stayed by the Rose Dragon’s
side, and the two of them remained vigilant when Kara dropped by. But when Kara
saw the dragon, she only waved politely to her and didn’t get too close. “She
is a beautiful dragon,” she told Aliss. “You are very lucky to be her friend.”
“I am!” cried Aliss. “I am very
lucky to be her friend!” Aliss stopped worrying about Kara, and Kara treated
the dragon with respect. She let Aliss stay out in the garden, and brought
dinner for her and the dragon to Aliss’ table.
“The Rose Dragon doesn’t eat food
like me,” Aliss explained to Kara. “She eats sunlight and water, just like
flowers.”
“I see,” said Kara, and took the
extra food inside to save for the next day. As much as she wanted to get to
know the dragon herself, she had been told that the dragon was very distrusting
of humans, and she didn’t want to do anything that might alarm her.
Aliss and the dragon spent the rest
of the afternoon playing hide and seek in the hedges, and that night Aliss
slept curled up in the dragon’s soft rose petal wings.
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