Oliver The Dragon

Oliver made his way along his morning path of flight. He usually never deviated from his morning rounds of flying around the forest and surrounding vicinities since he had to get back and tend to his breathing fire duties. There were numerous activities that he, being one of the only dragons in the Kingdom, had to do each day to entertain the mortals that had become accustomed to. Oliver always liked his morning flights. He relished in the sights he saw below, over and through treetops he could see the wildlife scurrying to and fro. Throughout the seasons he admired the leaves as they changed colors and swished through the air as he flapped his dragon wings up and down to make his way. Oliver had lived his whole life in the Cheshire Kingdom, and grew up as a baby dragon under his Uncle’s tutelage of being a future Dragon safe keeper for the Kingdom.

The safe keepers of the Kingdom were a mix of dragons and lions. The lions roamed the ground while the dragons were the keepers of the air. The fire breathing dragons were known for how their breath of fire could extend lengths of a forest and how their tails could knock a tree over with just one hard swing. The dragons had been the gatekeepers of the land long before the lions came along to inhabit the forest with them.

One day Oliver was flying over the tree tops humming a favorite tune to himself and spotted a site that was unlike other days. He decided to dive down a bit to get a closer look. Oliver slowed down his flight pace and dipped below the branches of the trees and saw a little human body crawling on the forest floor. It had a read cape on that seemed bigger and longer than the little body of the toddler like creature. The toddler like figure was moving at about a snail’s pace when Oliver touched down on the ground. His calloused dragon paws softly hit the forest floor so as not to frighten the tiny creature and to hear the shrill of his dragon talons skidding along the grass and pebbles mixed in with tree roots rising up from beneath the ground. Although Oliver was as careful as he could be to land as light as a feather, his weight of approximately two thousand pounds did not defy gravity to the point that the tiny toddler could not feel the impact on the forest floor beneath his body. The toddler stopped a bit in his tracks crawling and turned his head a bit to see what could have caused the ground to shake just a little bit. Oliver had some stealth-like moves in his repertoire of hiding when he wanted to in order to not be seen. So in order to not frighten the child right away he pulling what he called “the dragon’s disappearance”. It was an old trick his uncle had taught him. All he had to do was just envision it happening, and he could make himself disappear at the blink of a dragon’s eye.

While Oliver was in disappear mode, basically invisible to an outsider’s eye, he noticed the little child turn its head once to the left and then swivel its body around to see what could be behind him. Oliver wasn’t sure if the child was a boy or a girl, for the tiny human was the age of a toddler, around two to three years old. As one of the main revered dragons in the kingdom, Oliver was well equipped with engaging with tiny humans as he was assigned the town’s role of being the children’s book reader and entertainer for the little kids. He often cherished that role and it gave him an excuse to have fun and escape his dragon duties for a bit. Besides, all the kids of the town loved him and insisted on nicknaming him Mr. Olive, after a green olive. It all started because of a remark a little girl had made about the color of his green dragon skin.

“Oliver, Mr. Dragon man, you have green skin! I had some olives the other day and they were green too, just like the color you are. And they had a red piece in the middle of them! Do you have red pieces inside of you too?” The little girl asked in a way that only an inquisitive kid could.

This had caught Oliver off-guard for he didn’t know what quick-witted retort would satisfy the beaming curiosity the little girl had and also seemed to peak in the other fifteen faces of children gazing back at him. Oliver paused for a brief moment and decided to quip back.

“Well little one, you see, I might appear green on the outside, but I assure you that on the inside I am many colors. You see, I change with the seasons, the tides of the sea, the veracity of the winds, and the whims of my moods!” While Oliver found himself amusing as he let out a little laugh at his quick wit, he realized by the confused looks on the faces of the children, that his explanation was a bit over-the-top. He quickly recomposed his thoughts and decided to go with, “And yes my little one, I have red pieces inside me too!” That did it. The girl quickly smiled, perhaps at the idea of being right in her assertion and the other kids quickly caught on and smiled followed with some laughter. From then on, Oliver the Dragon, was known as Mr. Olive to all the kids in the enchanted kingdom. He secretly enjoyed frolicking about town and having encounters with children in his reading classes and their families, followed by hearing conversations of “Mom, Dad. That’s Mr. Olive. He might look like a Dragon but he’s got red bits inside of him, just like green olives do! But he told us that we cannot eat him, so don’t even try!”

Oliver loved how children’s minds seemed to be entertained by fanciful whims of make-believe stories that they truly believed. He loved being surrounded by their enthusiasm for learning and wonder. It was the highlight of his week each week as he went on with his responsibilities in the Dragon world. So as Oliver quietly made his way to the toddler he thought about what to say as to not scare off the little kid or to elicit a strong cry out. The forest was usually safe, however there could be predators lurking around who would love to hunt and eat at the little human of this toddler’s size.

Oliver decided to perform one of his tricks of turning into something a bit less daunting than a big fire breathing dragon with scaly leather like green skin. He thought a live walking and talking cupcake with an upbeat voice might just do the trick while he proceeded to get the toddler acclimated to the reality that it was lost in a forest all on its own. Oliver morphed into a bouncing cupcake and presented himself in front of the child. The child appeared to be a little boy when Oliver got a better look at him from the front view. His eyes seemed to widen and open to their full extent bewildered by the sight of a smiling cupcake in front of him. Oliver quickly caught on that the boy wasn’t going to speak first. He wasn’t so sure if the child could speak. So he decided to go first.

“Hello there little one! My name is Oliver, and you might be?” He asked the little boy. The little boy just sat there in his tracks still mulling over the sight of the vanilla frosted cupcake in front of him. Oliver then prompted him again, “I appear as a cupcake but I am indeed something else. What might you think I am? I wanted to appear as an inviting thing instead of the big and mighty thing that I am.” The boy still didn’t budge in movement or sound. His eyes remained fixed on Oliver, mulling over the form of a cupcake that talks. It was then that Oliver thought perhaps his choice of turning into a talking cupcake might be confusing to anybody, especially a little boy lost in the forest. He decided to go full Dragon now.

As Oliver changed from a less alarming creature back to himself, the boy jumped and let out a shriek. Oliver then prompted the boy again, “Shh, now there there little one, I’m not going to hurt you. I told you that I appeared first as a cupcake instead of what I was so as not to frighten you. Did it work?” Oliver chuckled and grinned.

“No!! It didn’t work! I’m scared, you are so big!” The little boy cowered and looked sheepishly up at Oliver. “And look at your tail!!” The boy then pointed behind Oliver to his massive tail laying on the ground swishing nervously back and forth.

Oliver smiled and then said as he turned his head a bit to peer behind at his tail as he lifted it up a bit, “Oh this thing? That’s harmless!” Oliver fibbed a bit for he knew that his tail could knock down trees and obstacles with just one whack. It was his pride and joy. The boy’s apprehension settled down a bit and stood up to look over Oliver’s shoulder at his tail behind him. His eyes opened wide again with peaked curiosity. “Hmm, it doesn’t look so harmless to me Mr. Dragon!” The boy said.

Oliver smiled and said, “Well sometimes it does a good job of protecting me. Say, little one, what is your name and why are you roaming around by yourself in this forest?”

“I got lost,” The boy replied. “My name is Oscar, but my parents call me Oskie for short.” That’s when the tears came. “I don’t know where my parents went! I’m lost!” Oliver felt so bad for the boy and decided he must help him.

“Okay Oscar, Oskie for short. Well, I’m here now, and I will help you find your way back to your parents! Have no fear, because Oliver is here!” He lifted up his tail and let it slam to the ground for effect. The boy shuddered and switched from tears to shock, “Whoa!!!”

“Okay now Oscar, off we go. Climb onto my back and hold on tight, you will want to make sure you don’t fall off!” Oliver motioned for the boy to hop on as he gave instructions. “You are a little human so you are going to have to climb onto my back from my tail as you are too short to reach my back outright, understand?” Oliver said.

After he made sure the boy was ready to go he asked the little boy where the last place he saw his parents was.

“I’m not sure Mr. Dragon. I don’t know!” The boy started to cry again when he was trying to speak.

“Okay Okay Oskie, now listen to me. First, you can call me Oliver if you like and I will help you find your parents but you have to try to calm down. Let’s retrace your steps from the very beginning, shall we?” Oliver said in a calm manner. Oliver knew the soothing tone he needed to take with upset kids for he had been around enough of the kids of the Kingdom over the years to know.

“Where did you all start your journey?” Oliver asked the little boy.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t think I was with them when I first got to the forest,” Oscar said to Oliver. “There was this bird that picked up my candy and I wanted it back.”

Oliver started to chuckle, “Oh I see now. It was probably one of those birds on the outside of town that like to swoop in and steal candy from the kids. They do that from time to time! Those pesky birds!” Oliver was able to deduce what had happened. He saw birds at least twice a month swooping into the outer rims of the Kingdom trying to swipe candy from kids that were be-bopping around with candy they had just gotten from the Kingdom’s candy mistress. The candy mistress was a favored lady of the town. All the kids loved her and so did the parents because they were able to send their kids to her and she would entertain them for hours making candy apples, fudge, cookies galore, and more. Her name was Candy and all the kids called her Mrs. Candy.

“Okay Oscar, so you live in the Kingdom too I take it. Are you ready to go on an adventure flight of a lifetime back home?” Oliver turned his head slightly around so Oscar could see the twinkle in his eye.

“Yeah Oliver! Let’s go! I wanna fly!” The little boy screamed with excitement. “But first Mr. Dragon, I’m sorry I got lost!” Oscar sounded sad.

“Oh Oskie, no need to worry about that, we all get a little lost sometimes. We will have you back in no time!” Oliver reassured him. “Ready, now, here we go!” Oliver jaunted quickly off of the forest floor. As Oliver whisked himself and the little boy into the air and up over the treetops of the forest he could hear the shouts of excitement from Oscar.

“Wow! We are up so high!” Shrieked Oscar.

“Whoa, would you look at that!” Oscar let out another excited observation.

“You are super cool Oliver! Your wings are so big!” Oscar exclaimed about the size of Oliver’s wings.

“Do you breathe fire too, Oliver?” Oscar inquired further. Oliver let out a loud laugh as he glided through the air flapping his wings up and down moving them further past the tree tops toward the other end of the forest. “Well, of course I do, Oskie! I am a dragon after all. That’s what we do! We breathe fire into this world, usually to disintegrate things into oblivion, but yes most of us breathe fire. Some of us have fire that can go for miles!” Oliver said

“Wow! Oliver, Oliver, can you breath some fire for me so I can see!” Oscar screeched.

“Oh buddy, little Mr., I cannot do that right here. Let us get more away from these trees. We don’t want to start a forest fire and burn up the homes of all the squirrels out there!” Oliver replied.

There was silence for a little while as they glided through the air moving past treetop after treetop. The air felt good on Oliver’s leather like green skin and he felt pride in being one of the dragons in the kingdom that could look after the little kids and keep them safe. He couldn’t wait to get little Oscar back to safety and with his folks.

As they flew silently over the forest Oliver reminisced about his days as a kid dragon himself and the wonderment that seemed to always go along with young ones and their hearts and minds. Being around kids made him feel like a kid again himself. There was something magical about kids and how they breathed hope and light into the world.

“Now Oscar, when we get back, I need you to make a promise to me. I need you to promise me that you will not chase after any other bird or creature, no matter how big or small, that steals your candy. Is that a deal, little one?” Oscar said it with a slight stern tone in his voice with the hopes that the boy knew how serious of a matter it actually was for a kid to get lost in the forest beyond the kingdom. “I am sure it was scary for you to get lost, but just imagine what your parents might be feeling right now? I bet they are really scared too. So, it’s just a lesson to be more careful next time.” Oliver liked teaching little kids morals of stories to help them in life.

“Okay Mr. Dragon, I have learned my lesson. Besides, it’s too scary for me to do again, unless you are going to go with me! Then I know I’ll always be safe, with you by my side, Oliver!” Oscar started off with a meager tone and then grew more gleeful as he imagined always being with Oliver, his new friend.

“Oscar, guess what, we are almost at the edge of the forest and soon we can hopefully find your parents,” Oliver said.

“Thank you so much Oliver!” Oscar screamed with excitement as the wind kept whipping past Oliver and the boy.

Once they could see the walls of Kingdom in sight, Oliver could hear Oscar start to squeal with happiness. “I see it Mr. Dragon, I see it! There’s home!”

“Yes, there it is! Now, Oskie, do me a favor and hold on extra tight, I am going to make a dive flight into the kingdom and it will feel sudden how I dip down fast to get to the Dragon landing pad,” Oliver let Oscar know to prepare him.

As Oliver started to make his descent he heard Oscar scream once more, “Oliver! Oliver! Wait! You didn’t breath any fire! You promised!” Oliver had forgotten. He didn’t usually go around breathing fire for show and that was something only younger dragons did to show off their skills and impress others.

“Hmmm, well Oskie, I bet your parents are missing you a lot and we need to get you back as soon as possible, but I will make you deal. If you start coming to my weekly kid readings that I host each week in the Kingdom with other small children, then one day after we do a reading, I will take you on another adventure. An adventure where I breathe fire and I’ll show you what I can really do with my tail. Sound like a plan?” Oliver didn’t want to let down the little boy but he was actually a little tired now after this adventure of finding the lost boy and he wanted to rest as well.

“Well, okay Oliver, I can do that. But, wait! I also didn’t get to have any of the cupcake you turned into! I want a cupcake now!” Oscar seemed to keep asking for more and more the closer they were getting to the kingdom.

“Okay Oscar, I’ll get you a cupcake from Mrs. Candy after we find your parents,” Oliver said to the little boy.

As the glided into the kingdom Oscar yelled out, “I see them! Over there! Near the town chimney!”

There they were. Oliver decided to skip the dragon landing pad. As he flew down and slowed down his speed he could see the parents waving here hands and Oscar’s mom was crying.

Once Oscar was safe in the hands of his parents, Oliver quietly snuck off. When he came back Oscar screamed, “Oliver! Oliver! You didn’t forget my cupcake!” Oliver had gone and gotten a vanilla frosted cupcake from Mrs. Candy and had the words “Welcome Home Oscar” written on the wrapping of the cupcake.

It was a happy ending to a new beginning, for Oliver knew he would see Oscar the following week at his weekly Dragon readings with the other kids.