by Lance O. Redding –
Come children and listen, as I tell you a tale of a beautiful princess, her fire-breathing dragon, and the brave knight who tried to save her, but really just got in the way…
It all started one sunny day. You see, the sun had just come out for the first time in two weeks. Before that, it had just been non-stop rain. So, naturally, Brietta (that’s our beautiful princess) wanted to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. She longed to pick the flowers that had grown so tall and strong. Flowers and all plants love rain, so they had been growing and growing and growing some more. They were taller than Brietta had ever seen them!
But Brietta was not the only one who was feeling cooped up after two weeks of rain! No sir! A dragon named Bruce was also very tired of being stuck in his dark cave. He wanted to get out and stretch his wings, hunt for some fat cows (cows always tasted best) and most of all, make friends. He was lonely and he was tired of being lonely. He walked outside his cave and stretched his wings. Boy, did it feel good! His scales glimmered and glistened in the bright sunlight and he couldn’t help but smile a big toothy smile. Today, he thought, I will find my new friend!
Meanwhile, Brietta was also outside, basking in the warm glow of the sun and enjoying the sweet melody of the animals all around. She loved animals. In fact, she had always wanted a pet, but her mother and father said a pet would only make a mess inside the castle and she was never allowed to have anything fun. Only boring goldfish. Who wanted goldfish?! She heard a noise that made her turn around and then she saw a knight in shining armor as he rode up on his tall stallion.
“Ho, fair maiden!” he said.
“Oh, don’t ‘ho’ me, James,” said Brietta. “Can’t you talk normal for once? Now, I’m trying to enjoy the sunlight and you’re blocking its rays. Please take a few steps back.”
James willingly obliged. “Brietta,” he said. “Can’t we play knights and princesses again? And dragons? Like the old days?”
Brietta rolled her eyes. “James,” she said. “That was like forever ago! You really should grow up, you know!”
“Ah, but what a pity that would be,” proclaimed James in a loud voice. “For I AM a knight, and you ARE a fair princess. And one day I WILL save you!” Then he looked at her and in his normal voice said, “So, doesn’t it sort of make sense that we pretend… er, I mean, practice?”
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a big green ball streaked through the air and plucked Princess Brietta into the air. Brietta let out a shrill cry. “Heeeellllp.” Her voice trailed off, leaving James all alone.
James was stunned. Could it be? Could this really be happening? Yes, by golly, it was! His lucky day had finally come! Now he could finally prove his worthiness of the knighthood and best of all he could win the hand of the girl he loved!
“Hi-ya!” he commanded his horse and in an instant they were gone, racing over the rolling green hills and meadows that lay between him and the evil dragon’s lair.
The dragon looked down at his new play-friend he was holding as they flew. He didn’t understand why she kept making those awful, high-pitched sounds. It was like she didn’t enjoy flying, which couldn’t be true, of course, because flying was the best thing in the whole world! Still, the noise was getting awfully annoying, so he finally stopped in a large meadow and gently set the blond-haired playmate down.
After breathing heavily for a few minutes the girl looked up at the dragon. “Just what in Sam Hill do you think you’re doing, Mr. Dragon?!” asked the girl. “Don’t you know who I am? How dare you treat a princess like this!”
The dragon hung his head in shame. He didn’t like to be yelled at. A big tear swelled up in his eye and even though he didn’t like to cry in front of other people, he just couldn’t help it. The girl saw the tear and she stopped her stomping back-and-forth.
“Oh, don’t cry!” she said. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Dragon. I didn’t mean to upset you…”
Brietta walked up to the dragon and stroked his leg. “There, there, it’s OK. Why don’t you tell me what you’re feeling inside?”
So the dragon told her all about how lonely he was and how he didn’t have any friends because all the other animals were scared he just wanted to eat them, which, he admitted, was mostly true – but still, how was he ever to make any long-lasting friends? All the other dragons were gone, and so that’s why he had taken Brietta. “I picked you because you were so much prettier than all the other animals,” said the dragon. “Won’t you be my friend?”
Well, Brietta loved hearing how pretty she was and she was also very moved by the dragon’s sad story. She thought how wonderful it would be to have him as her pet! She remembered her parents’ rules about pets and frowned. This time, though, she was going to have a pet dragon and there wasn’t anything her mom and dad could do to stop her!
That’s when Brietta noticed James. He was still riding his horse, albeit quite a bit slower, and he was heading straight for them. Secretly, it made her smile to see how devoted he was to her.
“Dragon,” she said, “can you do me a favor?”
“Yes, my friend,” said the dragon. “Anything for you!”
“Here comes my boyfriend… He’s had this boyhood dream about killing a dragon. Now, I don’t want you to worry, because he doesn’t have a sword, and honestly, there’s not a lot he can do to hurt you because you’re so much bigger and stronger than he is. But if you don’t mind, could you let him wrestle you around a bit and pretend like he’s bested you? It would make his day.”
And so they all got what they wanted that day. Princess Brietta found a new pet (even though her parents hated it), Sir James got to defeat his dragon (though sometimes he wondered if the dragon had really given in), and the dragon made two new friends.
the end
Question Time:
1. What was the dragon’s name?
2. Why was the dragon lonely?
3. Did Brietta like flying?
4. What favor did the princess ask the dragon?
5. What was Sir James’ boyhood dream?
Did you like this story?
If you love princess and dragon stories, check out our NEW collection called Spread Your Wings, starting at just $2.99. This story, a brand NEW story by Lance O. Redding, and 29 other timeless princess and dragon stories await you in the new collection. Learn more here.
Read more FREE stories by Lance O. Redding
Check out Lance O. Redding’s other stories on knowonder! and learn more about him. Read his FREE stories here.
