Davey and the Dragon

“Davey, wake up!” his mother called from down the hall.  As he slowly sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes he thought about how much he was looking forward to the day.  A smile came across his face as he thought about the picnic at the park.  Even though he was eagerly anticipating the events of the day, waking up was never fun.  Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before he was up and dressed (he decided on shorts and a t-shirt with a dragon picture on it).

Davey moved into the living room where his mom was tying Janie’s shoes.  “Good to see you up, Davey,” she said looking up at him.  “Why don’t you go into the kitchen to see if your dad needs any help with the food.”  She then turned and looked at his little brother, who was in the act of sneaking up on the sleeping cat.  “Barry, what have you been told about bothering Sprinkles?”  Davey left without hearing his brother’s response.  In the kitchen, his dad was packing the cooler with food for the trip to the park.

“Hey there, kiddo,” his dad said with a smile.  “Ready for a fun Labor Day barbeque?”

“Oh, yeah,” Davey said with a broad grin.  “I’m going to eat more hotdogs than anyone else!”

“Really?  Even more than Janie?”

Davey scoffed at the very idea.  “Dad, she’s three.  She’ll have one.”

“Okay.  So, do you think you’ll have more than Barry?”

Davey was seeing where his dad was going with this conversation and decided to jump to the conclusion.  “Yup, I’ll even eat more than you.”  As he said this, he looked wryly his father, waiting for him to be shocked at his challenge.

“Oh, my!  Well, I’ll need to pack extra pickles to go with all the hotdogs you’ll be eating.”  Davey’s face twisted into a mask of disgust.  “Alright, more pickles for me then.  Can you grab the hotdog buns over on the table?”

As Davey obeyed the request, he heard his mom call from the living room.  “Walt, are you finished in there?”

“Just about,” was the response from Davey’s dad as he finished packing the cooler by placing the blue plastic ice pack in it and shutting the lid.  Having finished with the cooler, he packed the non-food items like plates and napkins, as well as a bag of potato chips and the buns that Davey had brought over, into a red plastic basket.  With both containers packed, Davey’s dad pick up the cooler and asked Davey to grab the basket and follow him out to the car.

As they walked out of the kitchen and into the garage, Davey thought about how much he liked helping his dad.  It made him feel like the big kid that he knew he was, but it also seemed like his dad enjoyed his help as well.  By the time the cooler and basket were in the trunk next to a bag of charcoal and Davey’s dad had closed the trunk with a THUNK, Davey spoke up.

“Dad, I was thinking about today and how you are going to cook the hotdogs.”

“Yeah,” his dad said with enthusiasm, “I know that you said you were going to eat more than anyone else.”

“Uh-huh.  Well, I was thinking about it, and I think that I should help you cook them.”

“Whoa,” Davey’s dad said.  He crouched down to better look Davey in the eye.  “I know that you want to help, but the grill can be very dangerous.  I don’t want you to have an accident and hurt yourself.  I think the best way that you can help me is by playing with your brother and sister and keeping them away from the grill.”

“No, Dad,” Davey said with conviction.  “I’m a big kid.  I can handle it.  You should let me help.”

“Yes, you are a big kid, but you still aren’t a grown-up.  Only grown-ups can work the grill.”

Davey could feel himself changing.  This had happened before when things wouldn’t go the way he expected them to.  He felt … hot inside.  And he would make his hands into fists without thinking about it.  His mouth felt tight and he would clench his teeth.  He knew that the feeling was called anger, but it was different for him than other people.  When Davey got angry, it was like he was a different person.

With his dad still looking at him, Davey started to argue.

“Bobby Templeton’s dad let him cook on their grill and he’s only six-and-a-half,” Davey said defiantly.

“Bobby Templeton’s dad is not your dad.  You mother and I don’t want to take the risk of you hurting yourself.  It’s better to be cautious than sorry.  We’re only looking out for you.”

“Dad, you’re being so mean!” Davey was raising his voice now.  “I’m seven-and-three-quarters and I’m old enough to help you!”

Davey’s dad stood up and looked at him sternly.  “You do not raise your voice in the house; you know better than that.  Now, I’ve explained to you why it won’t work and you need to accept it.  Come inside and wait while we finish getting ready.”  Davey, getting angrier by the moment stomped his feet loudly as he went inside.  His dad called after him, “Stop stomping, Davey.”  Davey didn’t care what his dad said.  He was old enough to help!  His dad was just being mean for no reason.

When Davey got inside, Barry was crawling on the floor of the living room, pushing a toy car and making engine noises with his mouth.  Davey was so mad at his dad that when he saw Barry having fun, it just made him angrier.  Before he could even think about what he was doing, Davey stepped on Barry’s hand that was controlling the toy and then twisted his foot.  Barry screamed and started crying.  The boys’ mother rushed in and started shouting.

“Davey!  What are you doing?!”  She quickly picked up Barry and looked at his injured hand.  “Why would you do that, Davey?”  Before Davey could answer, she immediately sent him to his room.

Davey’s change was complete.  He stomped off to his room, angry at everything.  He was angry at his dad for not letting him help cook, he was angry at Barry for having fun (for some reason), and he was also angry at himself for losing control again.  When he got to his room, he slammed the door closed and sat on his bed breathing heavily.

He could hear Barry still crying and his mom and dad talking about how Davey was out of control again and what would they do about him.  He wanted to take it back or at least say he was sorry, but he knew that he couldn’t do that.  He didn’t know why he couldn’t, but he knew that apologizing wasn’t an option.  He just didn’t want to be there anymore.  Davey got up from his bed and opened his closet door, went inside, and closed the door behind him.  He wished that he could be somewhere else because he had caused so much trouble and he didn’t even know why.

After a few minutes, Davey noticed that he couldn’t hear his mom and dad talking or Barry crying anymore.  That probably meant that his punishment was going to start now.  Probably no TV for a week and he would have to do all of Barry's chores, too.  But his dad (who always laid out the punishments) never came in.  Davey started to worry that maybe they left for the park without him.  His anger now panic, Davey threw open the door to his closet and was about to run in to the living room when he saw that his room was different.  His bed and desk and other furniture were gone, as were the walls and the ceiling and even the floor.  It looked like he was in some sort of cave that was filled with gold.  The only light came from some torches on the walls of the cave that was bigger than his whole house.  Not knowing what else to do, he walked toward the gold, which was made up of coins and armor and scepters and dishes and was all heaped in a big pile, and called out: “Hello?”

Suddenly, the pile started shifting and Davey could hear a muffled voice speaking from beneath it.  “Whffs drre?” the muffled voice said as the pile continued to move.  Suddenly, the gold erupted with the head of large, red dragon.  The dragon had a long, serpentine neck and was covered in scales with two large, bony horns coming out of the top of its head before curling around the sides (the horns reminded Davey of a bighorn ram’s).  Its mouth was filled with long white teeth that poked out of the sides of its mouth even when it was closed.  As the dragon’s head finished emerging, it blinked its heavy eyelids and yawned with its massive jaws (which sent out a small fireball towards the ceiling).  While seeing all of this, Davey wasn’t afraid; he was awestruck.

“Cool!” Davey exclaimed.

The dragon looked over at Davey with its large yellow eyes and spoke with a deep voice.  “Who are you and what are you doing in my cave?  You haven’t come for my gold, have you?”

“My name is David Walter Greene with an E at the end, but I go by Davey.  I don’t know how I got here and I don’t want your gold.  Are you really a dragon?”  Davey could barely contain his excitement.

“Of course I’m a dragon,” said the dragon, a little annoyed.  “My name is Granpaugh and I was enjoying a nap buried under my gold until you came in.”

“Your name is Grandpa?” Davey asked.  “That’s weird.”

“Really?” Granpaugh asked with one big eyebrow raised.  “How many other dragons have you met?”

“Um, none others,” Davey said lamely.  “I mean, you’re the first one I’ve met.”

“So, if you’ve never met any other dragons, how do you know that Granpaugh is a ‘weird’ name?”

“Uh, I guess I don’t.”

“As a matter of fact,” the dragon said smugly, “Granpaugh is a perfectly good dragon name.”

“Sorry, sir,” Davey said, wanting to make friends with the very first dragon he had ever met.

“Anyway,” Granpaugh said, changing the subject, “if you’re not here to steal my gold then what are you doing here?”

“Actually,” Davey said, “I don’t know how I got here.  I was in my closet and when I came out, I was here.”

“That explains why there’s a closet here now.”  Davey turned to look and saw that his closet was sitting in the cave, unconnected to the house where it belonged.  The dragon continued: “I think what happened was that some magical energy got near you while you were in the closet.  Did you make any wishes while you were in there?”

Davey thought for a moment.  “Yeah, I wished that I was not at my home.”

Granpaugh nodded.  “Magic tends to be attracted to strong emotions.  Had you recently done anything that made you feel especially happy or sad?”

Davey suddenly remembered his argument with his dad and the following tantrum.  He looked at the floor of the cave, feeling ashamed.  “Yeah, I was just sent to my room for hurting my brother, Barry, and I just wanted to get away.”

“I think that’s it.  You feeling bad about being sent to your room, combined with your wish, brought you here.  Well, Davey, the energy that brought you here needs a few minutes to reset before it can take you back.  Why did you hurt your brother?  Did he steal your gold?”

 “No,” Davey said, feeling bad for what he had done.  “He didn’t do anything to me.”

“So, why did you hurt him?” asked Granpaugh.

“I don’t know.  I was mad at my dad for not letting me help cook the hotdogs for the picnic and when I saw Barry having fun it made me even more mad.  I don’t know why I get angry like that.  I just do.”

Granpaugh looked at Davey thoughtfully.  After a moment he spoke.  “I think I know why.  My sister used to hurt me when she was mad so that I would feel just as bad as her.  I was too small to fight back, so I would hide in our clan’s pile of gold.”  Davey nodded.  He would get angry and would just lash out so that other people would feel bad, too.  Something else that the dragon said made Davey think.

“Is that why you like gold so much, because you used to hide in it?”

“Maybe,” Granpaugh said, looking bashful.  “Girl dragons are bigger than boy dragons, so hiding was easier than facing her.  The world can be scary, but you always know what to expect with gold.”

Davey saw how similar his experience was to Granpaugh’s, though Davey was more like Granpaugh’s sister.  “Maybe,” Davey said, “she feels just as bad about what happened as you do, but she’s afraid to say anything.  Maybe if you talked to her, she’ll say that she’s sorry.”

Grandpaugh looked uncertain.  “I don’t know.  I don’t want her to hurt me again.”

“Well, I feel bad about hurting my brother and I want to say sorry when I see him again.  Maybe your sister feels the same way.”

“Maybe ...” Granpaugh said, his voice sounding more optimistic.

Suddenly, Davey noticed a bright light coming from behind him.  He turned to look and saw that his closet had a bright blue glow surrounding it.

“Quickly,” Granpaugh said sternly, “get back in your closet and wish to go back home.”

Davey ran back towards his closet, but paused before going through the doorway.  “Will I ever see you again, Granpaugh?”

“I don’t know, but if you don’t go right now, you could be trapped here and I’m not sharing my gold.”

Davey smiled at the dragon being so protective about his gold once again.  He took a deep breath and went through the doorway, closing the door behind him.  Once inside, Davey closed his eyes and wished to be back home.  When he opened his eyes, he could hear his dad call his name.  He opened the door to his closet and continued out of his room.

When he got to the living room, his dad was sitting on the couch waiting for him.

“Davey,” his dad said, “why were you sent to your room?”

“Because I hurt Barry,” Davey said calmly.  “I was angry that I couldn’t help you cook and when I saw Barry having fun, I wanted him to unhappy like me.”

Davey’s dad looked a bit surprised.  “Alright,” he said, “it sounds like you’ve thought about this.  You can’t take out your bad feelings on other people.  Now, you need to apologize to Barry.”

“Okay.”

“And try not to take out your anger out on other people.”

“I’ll try,” said Davey.  “I don’t want to hurt people anymore.”

After a heartfelt apology, Davey was told what his punishment would be for hurting his brother: no TV and he had to do extra chores around the house, but only for two days.

Despite the chaos of the morning, the family was still able to enjoy a fun time together at the park.  Davey played with Barry and Janie and helped to keep them away from the hot barbeque, which was a way of helping his dad cook.  But he still didn’t eat any pickles.

THE END