The story I’m about to tell you happened a long time ago. Back then, there were still a few dragons on earth. There weren’t many, but there were a few. They lived peacefully on the ground and tried not to be seen. Most people didn’t even know they existed. They didn’t show themselves to people. Only occasionally would someone catch a glimpse of them unexpectedly. Some lived in the woods. Others lived in the seas or lakes. One of the dragons stayed near the high cliffs. His home was inside a cave.
Near these cliffs there lived a boy. He was a restless and brave boy. His hair was always sticking up like a nest and his eyes were always full of mischief. I don’t even know his name anymore, but because he liked to go to the rocks and climb them every day, everyone called him Climber. He loved the feeling of climbing higher and straining all his muscles to reach the highest point. Plus, at the top of the rock, there was always a beautiful view of the landscape. He always secured himself properly with harnesses and ropes so he wouldn’t hurt himself. His daddy taught him well.
But one day something happened that he’ll never forget. One day, when he was walking around the rocks and watching the birds flying around, he saw a nest up among the rocks. He wanted to see if there were eggs there, so he started climbing. He didn’t realise he had no ropes. He just climbed upwards. “I can do this. It’s not that high. I’m just gonna take a look and come down.” He said to himself. And so he climbed higher. He was almost at the nest when his foot slipped. He was hanging by one arm and couldn’t pull himself up. With the last of his strength, he began to cry out: “Help, help!”
Just when he knew he couldn’t hold on and was afraid, all of a sudden he felt a great wind starting to blow over him. It was as if the earth was rising up towards him. The wind was getting stronger and he felt lighter. Soon he was standing on something. And that something was now carrying him towards the ground. He quickly grabbed onto something and sat down. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might jump out of his chest. Slowly and surely, the thing carried him to the ground. He jumped down and only now could he see what had actually saved him.
It was a dragon. It was so huge and beautiful. The little boy could have fit up its nostrils. The boy stood there with his mouth open. He had heard of dragons, but he wasn’t sure they existed. Now there was one right in front of him. The dragon didn’t fly away, so the boy approached it cautiously. He slowly reached out his hand, lowered his eyes, and waited to see if the dragon would allow him to touch it. Suddenly he felt warmth on his hand. The dragon gently brushed against the boy’s hand. “Thank you, my friend. You saved my life. I shouldn’t have climbed up there without a rope. And if it wasn’t for you, it would have turned out badly”, the boy said gratefully. The dragon nodded his head and winked to show that he understood. Then he left.
The boy didn’t see the dragon for a long time. He came to the rock regularly. He looked in all directions from above, but could not find him. Once, when the boy was surprised by rain on his walk, he quickly hid in the darkest cave. And there he found his sleeping dragon savior. When the dragon awoke, he found his little friend there, snuggled and hidden in his big paws. From then on, even the dragon knew he didn’t have to be afraid of the boy. He knew that he was a friend who wouldn’t betray him and who loved him. They formed an unbreakable bond of friendship.
This happened a long time ago. There are no dragons today. But there are other animal friends around us who deserve our trust and love, don’t you think?
