In one faraway foreign land, there stood a small house, completely by itself. It was an older house. It had a rotten red roof, big old creaking windows, and it was made entirely out of wood. A grandmother, a grandfather, and their grandson lived in it.
The grandson was a clever little boy called Christian. He had brown wavy hair and wore a black bandana on his head. He was constantly coming up with new ideas and playing pretend. He had a huge imagination. One day he was a cook, another day a hunter, and then a hero saving the whole world.
Since their house stood right by a lake, his most frequent games took place by the water. He loved it when he could build a raft and sail across the lake. It made him feel as if he were the boldest pirate in the world. But although he loved water, he had no idea about the secret hiding in his lake.
One beautiful, warm afternoon he told his grandmother and grandfather that he was going to go play by the lake. He sat on the shore, watching the fish. Then he picked up a stick and pretended it was a sword. He jumped from rock to rock, shouting: “Fight, you band of thieves!” In the heat of the game, his foot slipped on one of the rocks and he fell into deep water. The only thing he had time to do before he disappeared below the surface was let out a single shout. When his grandmother and grandfather ran outside, they couldn’t see their little Christian anywhere. The only thing they could see was his black bandana on the ground by the rocks.
They called for him and searched for him, and then suddenly they heard a familiar voice: “Grandma, grandpa, I’m here.” It was him. Their brave grandson had managed to grab onto the biggest branch that was floating on the lake. How happy they were to see him! But how would they get him to the safety of the shore? They looked at one another and instantly knew what to do. They took a deep breath and started calling out in unison: “Dragon, dragon, please come near, we need you here. For you help we kindly beg, or we won’t get our Christian back.”
The boy had no idea what his grandparents were doing. Suddenly the wind picked up, a huge vortex formed on the lake, and something started to rise from the water. Christian held on tight to the branch, unable to believe his eyes. A water dragon emerged from the depths of the lake. It was huge, but Christian wasn’t afraid of it. The dragon stretched out its head on its long neck and positioned it so that the boy could climb onto it and get a good hold. Moving slowly and calmly, the dragon transported little Christian safely onto the shore. Then it disappeared back into the lake.
From then on, the little grandson never plays by the water alone. Every morning, the same rhyme can be heard over the lake’s water. “Dragon, dragon, please come near, I need you here.” And once the dragon arrives, little Christian’s true adventures are ready to start.
