The Three Little Dragons

            by Mary Pinto

 

Once upon a time there were three little dragons.  They lived in a cave with their mother in the middle of a big forest.  The oldest one was named Ruby.  She had red scales and loved to fly.    The next oldest was Benny.  He had blue scales and loved to eat.  The youngest dragon was named Pepper.  He had purple scales and loved to spit fire.

Every morning, after their mother cooked them breakfast, the little dragons would venture into the forest to explore and have fun.  One day, they decided to go into a different part of the forest.  Instead of turning right in front of the big, twisted tree, they turned left. 

            “This is so exciting!” Ruby said, flying above Benny and Pepper’s heads.  She was the bravest.  Ruby loved soaring through the sky and feeling the wind under her wings.

“I’m hungry,” Benny complained.  “I want to have lunch.”

“We just had breakfast.  We’re going to have fun now and lunch later,” Ruby said, flying in a circle around Benny.  “Come fly with me!”

“I’m too tired,” Benny said.  He stopped by a shady tree and sat down.  “I think Pepper’s tired too.”  Since Pepper was the youngest, he didn’t want to argue with Benny.

“Yes, I’m tired too.  Let’s rest.” Pepper said, sitting next to Benny.

“You two are no fun!” Ruby yelled, swooping down to glare at them.  “I’m going to have fun without you!”  With a snort, Ruby flew back above the tree and away from her brothers.

Ruby flew for a while until she heard chirping coming from a tall pine.  She peered into the branches, spotting a small blue bird.  It was singing merrily and flapping its wings.

“Hello,” she said, slowing down to hover in front of the bird.

“Well, hello,” the bird replied, “what an amazing flyer you are!”

“Thank you.  Do you want to fly with me?” Ruby asked, eager for a friend to play with. 

“Of course!” the bird said.  She jumped off the branch and began racing through the sky.  Ruby giggled and tore after her.

Back in the other part of the forest, the two younger dragons were still sitting under a tree.  Benny’s tummy was rumbling loudly.

“I’m bored,” Pepper said.  He had already spit fire on fifteen twigs and twelve sticks.  The only wood left was the tree he was sitting under, but he couldn’t set it on fire because his mom had taught him not to.

“I’m hungry,” Benny whined, “Maybe we should split up.  You can find more twigs and I can find some food.”

“Okay,” Pepper said.  They both stood up and walked in opposite directions.

Pepper walked slowly, enjoying being in charge for once.  Sometimes Ruby and Benny were just so bossy.  He liked to choose where to go and what to do.  After a few minutes, Pepper stopped in front of a large pile of sticks.

            “Cool!” he shouted, thinking of how much fun he could have spewing fire on the pile.  Just as he drew in a deep breath, a little dragon ran up to him.  The dragon had green scales and blue, blue eyes.

“Hey!” the dragon yelled, “those are mine!” 

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” Pepper said, disappointed, “I didn’t realize they belonged to someone.”  He started to walk away.

            “You can share them, if you want,” the other dragon offered.  He nudged some of the twigs toward Pepper.  “My name is Glen.”

            “Thanks, Glen.  I’m Pepper,” he said.  He smiled and shot a small flame across the twigs.  Glen grinned and did the same.

            Benny was still hungry.  He was having trouble finding food on the forest floor.  He wasn’t fast enough to catch the rats and he didn’t like the look of any of the plants.

In defeat, he sat down next to another tree.

            “Ow!” Benny yelled as something hard bounced off him.  He rubbed his sore head and looked up into the tree.  A small, brown squirrel was sitting on the bottom branch.

            “Sorry about that,” the squirrel said.  “I guess my lunch was trying to run away from me.  Do you see my acorn?”  Benny looked through the grass and spotted a shiny acorn.

            “Here it is!” Benny exclaimed.  Just the sight of food made his tummy growl.

            “I was going to make acorn stew,” the squirrel said, scampering down the trunk of the tree.  “Do you want to help me?”

            Benny agreed and they both began collecting acorns.  When they had a large pile, Benny helped the squirrel build a fire for the stew.

            “This smells delicious,” Benny said as the mixture started to bubble.

            “It’s going to taste delicious too.”

            The three little dragons arrived home separately later that night.  They were all glowing with the memories of their new friends.

            I’ve finally found someone who loves to fly as much as I do!  Ruby thought.

            I’ve finally found someone who loves fire as much as I do!  Pepper thought.

            I’ve finally found someone who loves to cook and eat as much as I do!  Benny thought.

            “Now that I have a new friend,” Ruby said aloud, “I won’t have to hang out with you two.”

            “Who cares?” Benny said, “I don’t need you.”

            “Me neither,” Pepper added.

            Although the dragons were mad at each other, they all fell asleep with sweet dreams of their new friends.

            The next morning, they ate breakfast quickly without speaking. 

            “I can’t wait to see Glen today,” Pepper said as they left their cave.  They turned left at the big, twisted tree again.

            “Stupid old Glen,” Ruby snapped, “he’s not as cool as my friend.”

            “Or my fri–ahhhhhh!!!!!” Benny screamed.  Suddenly the ground under his feet disappeared and he tumbled downward.  He could hear Ruby and Pepper falling next to him.  They landed with a thud on surprising soft ground.

            “Where are we?” Benny asked, looking around their new surroundings.  They were at the bottom of a dark hole.

            “I’m scared,” Pepper cried.  Ruby tried to walk over and comfort him, but she couldn’t move her legs.

“I think we’re stuck!” she shouted.  Ruby looked down and saw that they had landed in a thick tangle of vines.  “Okay, I’m going to count to three and we’re all going to fly up as fast as we can.  Hopefully we can break out.”  She reached out to grab one of Pepper’s and one of Benny’s hands.  “Ready?  One… two… three!”

They sprang out of the pit and landed on the hard dirt around it.

“We’re okay!” Pepper cheered.  He kept holding Ruby’s hand.

“I’m sorry I was mean,” she said, looking sheepish.  “I was so excited about my new friend that I forgot how much I love to play with you guys.”

“We’re sorry too,” Pepper and Benny said.

They invited their friends to the cave and they all had a wonderful time together.