Squishy is the youngest dragon in her lair. Her scales are soft, her breath is cool, and her claws are still rounded. She can’t wait to be like all the other dragons, fearsome and infinitely brave, battling mean mountain creatures. But the other dragons never take Squishy seriously and always treat her like a baby. It will be another century or so before Squishy will be big enough to be like them, but she still practices her roar every day. She wants to become fearsome as quickly as possible!
Then one night, just as Squishy is settling down to sleep, a teeny tiny giant walks into her lair. “What could a giant be doing here?”, Squishy thinks, “If I scare him away, the other dragons will finally start taking me seriously!”. But before she can let out her much-practiced roar, she realizes that the poor giant is crying. Squishy doesn’t know what to do! Should she scare the giant away or help him? When the giant looks up and sees Squishy, his mouth hangs open in shock. She is the sweetest, squishiest dragon he’s ever seen! “Please help me!”, he sobs, “I wandered too far from my cave, and now I’m lost!”.
Now, Squishy knows that she’s not as big or fearsome as the other dragons, but she can’t just ignore the poor giant. So, she takes a big brave breath, and flies out of the lair with the giant on her back. She flies into the mountains, careful to remain hidden from all the mountain creatures the other dragons have warned her about. Finally, after hours of flying, the tiny giant points out his mama, an enormous terrifying creature, flinging boulders and uprooting trees while trying to find her baby.
When Squishy lands beside the mama giant, her legs are trembling with fear. The mama giant growls and stomps towards Squishy… but when she sees her baby, her face softens into a beautiful smile. She rushes towards him and wraps him in her arms. Then she looks up at Squishy with weepy eyes and says, “we might have been separated forever if it had not been for your bravery. I knew dragons were fearsome. I didn’t know they were also kind.” With that, the tiny giant, the mama giant, and all the mountain creatures Squishy is supposed to be afraid of, come together to give Squishy lots and lots of teary hugs and kisses.
When Squishy flies home, she has a big smile on her face. None of the other dragons know about her adventure, and she will still have to wait a century to be fearsome. But she won’t have to wait a century to be brave and kind.
Tasneem Dairywala 