Monday, December 10, 2007

The dragon

The boy wanted to be away. The farm was no place for him. He wanted to see the world, and knew becoming a farmhand and repairer of rooftops was not the life he wanted to lead. But how could he get away? One night, as he was catching fireflies, he came across a large beast resting on the farm. By its appearance the boy knew it was a dragon. It had eaten one of the old horses, and looked sated. It spread its wings which cast a huge shadow. The boy, seeing his chance, dropped his jar and jumped onto the dragon's back. The dragon took off just as the boy clasped the back of the dragon. Fast and far away the dragon flew, to lands further than he could ever dream. The dragon did not react to the boy; to it he weighed like a leaf. The dragon flew higher, and the boy felt cold, but he clung on. The dragon crossed the world, and the boy saw mountains and rivers and seas. Once, the dragon caught a whale that had leapt out of the clear blue water. Another time, it joined a group of swans in flight, scattering them with one last swipe of its wing before soaring up in the sky, where the boy could see stars. Eventually, the dragon came to rest next to a lake, and the boy got off. The dragon turned around and noticed the boy. The boy was afraid, but the dragon did not mean any harm. The dragon shook its head, and flew off, leaving the boy there. Some villagers discovered him, and he was adopted. He grew up to be a farmer, and led a common life, and never spoke of how he came to arrive at the lake.

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