The Dragon's Egg Read online

1The Dragon's Egg

  Helen Chapman

  Copyright 2012

  Helen Chapman

  Published by

  Clowder Publishing

  P.O. Box 492

  Westmoreland, TN 37186

  Tara's little friends moved into their gazebo as the weather turned colder. Ray Ann began gathering dried grass and pulling up old SnapDragon plants and piling them in one corner. Sometimes Tannihill helped her, though he spent most of his time keeping the stove in the gazebo going.

  The three Pixies, Colby, Stilton and Cheddar, continually complained about the cold. Tanner spent much of his time making fairy leather jackets for them from holly leaves. But he had to make each jacket a good size larger than the previous one, because the Pixies refused to take off any of their other clothes, and simply put on their new jacket atop the others. Rhiannon, the fairy, was tempted to think of them as strangely coloured rocks with arms and legs, because they grew so round with all their new clothes. But of course she would never have breathed such thoughts out loud, because she would never have wanted to offend a Pixie's feelings.

  The Pixies, on the other hand, never realised that their words might cause pain. They were always saying unkind things to the other Fairy Folk in the garden. They thought it was playful when they called Tanner 'fat', or when they said Bran was 'stupid', because he spoke in a slow and rather stumbling way. However they stayed well away from Tannihil McGregor and Ray Ann. They had no desire to have their caps singed again.

  Victor, the Brownie from the garden next door, came calling quite often when the weather turned colder. Sometimes he just spent a night with Bran in the gazebo. Sometimes the two Brownies played pranks on the Pixies, to pay the Pixies back for being so unkind. The Brownies never harmed or hurt the Pixies: they just tried to annoy them. For instance one night, when the Pixies were fast asleep, Bran and Victor crept up to them very quietly. The Brownies took a very finely spun spider web, carefully, so as not to wake the Pixies, and tied their ears together, so no single Pixie could get up without all three getting up. It was not done to hurt them, but it was funny to see all three trying to free themselves. Bran and Victor laughed and laughed. Tanner the Gnome laughed as well, but covered his crooked little mouth with his hand, as he did not want to encourage pranks. Rhiannon fluttered high up to the top of the gazebo to laugh all on her own.

  Meanwhile Tannihil McGregor and Ray Ann were busily arranging SnapDragons in Ray Ann's corner. She sat down in the center of the arrangement when she considered she enough to make a comfortable bed, and let out a long, steamy sigh. Tannihil knew it was almost time.

  A couple of mornings later, when Tara opened the door to invite their garden friends into breakfast, Tannihil and Ray Ann stayed behind, and strange noises came from the gazebo. Tara was very worried by the noises and went to fetch her father.

  Tara's father walked down to the gazebo at the bottom of the garden, and heard a great deal of commotion as he drew nearer. He could hear Ray Ann humming, and Tannihil whistling shrilly and making small roaring sounds. Then he had to duck, just as he climbed the steps to the gazebo, to avoid being singed by a streak of flame that shot out.

  'Tara's Daddy!' Ray Ann was hopping up and down in the middle of the gazebo. 'Come see what Ray Ann did, Tara's Daddy. Come see!' Ray Ann reached up and took his hand in her little Paisley Dragon claw and pulled him across the gazebo to the corner, pushing Tannihil out of the way.

  There, in the center of the nest of dried grasses and SnapDragon plants, lay a large purple, yellow and white striped egg. The egg was a bit larger than a goose egg, and a bit smaller than an ostrich egg, and was coloured with all Ray Ann and Tannihil McGregors colours, only it was coloured in stripes.

  Tara's father beamed at Ray Ann. 'You've laid an egg. '

  Ray Ann smiled a big, happy, toothy Dragon smile. 'Ray Ann not know, Tara's Daddy. All Ray Ann know is she have to build a nest. Ray Ann and Tannihil are just as surprised as you, Tara's Daddy.'

  Then Ray Ann surprised Tara's father by throwing her short Dragon arms around his legs and giving him a big hug, and Tannihil McGregor reached out his Tartan Dragon arm when Ray Ann stepped back, to shake claws with Tara's father. Of course, Tara's father congratulated both Dragons, and asked if he could help in any way.

  Ray Ann shook her head. 'Oh, no, Tara's Daddy. Egg stays warm by itself. Try to touch it, Tara's Daddy. It is hot. It will stay hot until the baby comes out. Ray Ann does not need to be with egg for it to hatch.'

  'Are you sure, Ray Ann?' Tara's father was a little concerned about the egg, since Ray Ann and Tannihil were still new at being Dragons, after their change from little resin figures.

  'Oh, yes, Tara's Daddy. Very sure.'

  Tara's father was still uncertain. 'Ray Ann, how do you know the egg will stay warm?'

  Ray Ann shook her little Dragon head back and forth. 'Don't know, Tara's Daddy. I just do.' She looked up at Tara's father and smiled her brightest, toothiest Dragon smile. 'May we have breakfast now, Tara's Daddy? Ray Ann is awfully hungry.'

  Tara's father laughed and invited them both back to the house for their breakfast.

  When they reached the dining room, the Dragons' plates were already laid on the table. They had switched from Glow Worms to candied fruit because the weather had turned very chilly, and the switch had very much pleased the Brownies and Pixies, who all had very sweet teeth. Tara also asked her mother if she could breakfast on candied fruit, only for her mother to explain they were really only a suitable breakfast for the Fairy Folk.

  Tara's father shared the news of Ray Ann's egg with the rest of the family. Tanner and Tina told her how happy they were, and Bran offered Ray Ann his plate of candied fruit. But Colby, Stilton and Cheddar demanded to know what an egg was, and what it had to do with Dragons.

  Tannihil used a puff of steam to straightened the Pixies out, and then the family discussed how best to look after Ray Ann and her egg. Tara's father suggested they move the egg into the house, because he feared that the Pixies might try and warm themselves on it and damage it, or not watch where they were going when they were dancing, and break it.

  Ray Ann sniffed loudly. 'Please, Tara's Daddy. Let egg stay with us. Tannihil and Ray Ann and the others will watch it ever so carefully. Please?'

  Tara's father smiled at Ray Ann. 'Of course, Ray Ann. You may keep the egg with you. Do you know when it will hatch?'

  Tannihil answered for her. 'Nay, Tara's Daddy, the wee lassie dinna ken when the wee beastie will hatch. I ken the egg will get hotter before it hatches. So ye must not bring it into the house, lest the house take fire.'

  Tara's father agreed it might not a good idea to take a hot egg inside, and asked whether the two little Dragons might need any other help. 'Can we get you anything, Tannihil? Is there anything you or Ray Ann need?'

  Tannihil said it might help if some of the other Fairy Folk took over minding the stove, as the egg might make made the gazebo too hot. Ray Ann also asked for some buckets of water to put to one side, just in case the egg started any little fires in the dry SnapDragons.

  Tara's father made a trip to the building supply store during his lunch hour to buy a sheet of metal and a big pair of fire tongs. When he got home, he explained to Ray Ann why he had bought the metal plate, and asked the two Dragons to help him.

  Then, very carefully, the two Dragons lifted the egg, just a little, using the big fire tongs Tara's father had bought, and Tara's father slid the metal plate underneath the nest. He explained to the two Dragons that the metal plate would keep the wooden floor of the gazebo from catching fire.

  All the Fairy Folk were very comfortable in their egg-heated gazebo that night. The Pixies danced about the egg, and admired their reflections in the metal plate
around the egg. Victor the Brownie from the next garden next door came in, to sit helping Bran twist spiderwebs into rope. Tanner sat making a new fairy leather cape for Rhiannon, after measuring her carefully to make sure he left proper slits for her wings. The two little Dragons sat holding claws and watched their egg. They were all a very comfortable Fairy Family.

  Tara's family sat inside their home doing much the same things. Jennifer, Tara's mother, sat with her sewing, Tara read a book about Dragons, and her father worked on some papers he had brought home from work.

  Then, just as Tara and her family were getting ready to settle down for the night, and the Fairies were