PREAMBLE

Just through the red door lies a mystical place where live the little-known creatures, the ones the world looks upon as myth and legend.  In this realm, they live and breathe, just the same as you and I.  Journey with me through the red door, to the place of imagination and we will find a new dimension of reality.

The new day calls out with an invitation from those beyond the door.  It is they who wish to meet us and share their tales!

I hear Grandpa Ansel, a respected elder, greeting the new day, in his usual fashion.

“Hark, nobles ones of the realm!

There is a legend originating from the palace of Rehoboth, well known by the palace gnomes, but less known by garden gnomes.  Never having been interested in the local folklore, Grandpa had never seriously considered the tales of any significance, until today.  After Ava’s story of her adventure, Grandpa Ansel found himself pondering the little he could remember of the ancient legend.

Ava’s high sense of drama brought a smile to Grandpa’s face as he remembered her excitement yesterday.   It seemed like she was still beside him, on his log, as he heard her words again.

“Grandpa, did you know there are dragons in Rehoboth?”  she asked.  “You see, I was playing in the trees across the big garden, up close to the palace.  You know, just exploring and having an adventure.  And I saw something tiny flitting here and there.  It was like a tiny bird, maybe like a hummingbird, but its wings were sparkly.  It kept flying away and I kept following, since this was now a part of my adventure.

I was convinced I’d found a fairy, even though the older gnomes say there’s no such thing.  Small, fast, able to fly and always hiding.  Now, doesn’t that sound like a fairy to you, Grandpa?”

“Just like a fairy, indeed!” Grandpa answered, with a wink.

“Well, I thought so, too.  I just couldn’t get close enough to be sure.  At one point I thought she left a trail of glitter.  It was so beautiful and only a fairy could do that,” Ava stated.  “I didn’t want to catch her, or anything.  I just wanted to see her up close.  Maybe have a conversation.  I only wanted to know for sure.  I followed her, tree to tree, and watched closely for the glitter trails.  I guess I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going because I suddenly realized I was lost in the forest.  The fairy kept drawing me further and further away and I couldn’t help myself.  I kept following.

I was never so scared, in all my life!  I couldn’t see the palace and I didn’t know which direction would be the right one.  Oh, Grandpa, I was scared.  In my whole life, ” Ava continued, gesturing with wide stretched arms to build her drama, “I’ve never been out of sight of the palace.  Then I got sad, too.  So, now I found myself lost, scared and I’d lost sight of my fairy.  My grand adventure had gone horribly wrong.”

“So, tell me, how did you find your way home, little one?” Grandpa asked.

“That’s the part of the adventure that became so exciting, Grandpa.  I had just plunked down in a puddle of tears, because I was alone and lost and I was wailing as loudly as ever, hoping someone might hear me.  I tried to shout, but it came out feeble, between the sobs.  I didn’t know what to do.

That’s when it happened!  It was like magic, Grandpa.  I opened my eyes and all around me were sparks.  I stopped bawling and heard this ‘whirring’ sound.  I looked and looked bacause I knew my fairy had come back to help me, but she flew so fast, just a blur, really.  It was positively fantastical!” exclaimed Ava.

“Fantastical?” Grandpa asked, his bushy eyebrows arched.

“Yes.  Fantastical.  It’s the perfect word for fantastic, magical happenings,” Ava explained, ever so seriously.

“Of course.  How could I have not known that?” Grandpa said.

“Anyway, she came right up to me and hovered.  That was when I realized I wasn’t seeing glitter trails made by a fairy.  I was seeing trails of sparks, and it was not a fairy staring intently at me, but the tiniest of dragons!  His wings were webbed with the shiniest, translucent, rainbow-colored skin, and his scales were bright and multicolored also.  His front feet were shorter with little, tiny claws and his back legs were bigger and stronger.  He had a ridge all down his back to the tip of his really long tail.  His eyes were big in his head and oh, so gentle.  I would have expected fierce eyes on a dragon, Grandpa, but they were liquid pools of pure love.  I wasn’t even one little bit afraid anymore.”

“What happened next?” Grandpa asked.

“I said ‘hello,’ of course.  I was quite sure he could speak.”

“And did he speak?”

Of course.  That’s why it was fantastical,” Ava answered.

“And what did he say?” queried Grandpa.

“In a voice louder than I would have thought possible, but gently, he said, “How do?  Thadduseus Methusula Bindragon, at your service.  You appear distressed.  May I help?”  I’d completely forgotten that I was lost, afraid and sad by now because there was enchantment that wrapped all around me like a warm hug, so I didn’t understand his question, you see,” explained Ava.  “So, he said, You were crying.  Why?”

“I explained to him that I didn’t know how to find my way back to the palace, so he touched my hand, like a fly lighting, and poof!  I was back at the edge of the forest where my adventure had begun.”

***

As Grandpa pondered Ava’s tale and considered the bits he could remember of the folklore, he had to wonder, could there really be a dragon in Rehoboth?