Philo the Dragon had a pretty good relationship with food. He loved sizzling hot peas, carrot stick salad, juicy pink dragon fruit, and even rainbow soup.
But Philo couldn't stand burgers. As soon as they were brought to the table, he'd turn up his nose. Just "ugh" and "yuck"—what a smell and taste those burgers had. It should be mentioned that this dish was highly regarded in the tree, and all the other young dragons were surprised that Philo didn't appreciate burgers. The nanny was particularly indignant.
Freshest, tenderest, most appetizing burgers ever. Why turn up your nose??
And the old woman glared angrily at picky-eater Philo. He was a bit afraid of her long crocodile snout, so with a sigh he'd pick at his burgers and sit at the table longer than anyone else.
Only when Agatha's patience ran out was he allowed to escape, leaving the cold food on his plate. On one of these miserable days, chubby Thomas unexpectedly came to Philo's rescue.
Phil, why do you keep moping over those burgers? Want me to eat them for you, and you can show the nanny a clean plate? Good for you, good for me, good for her.
Of course I do! Here, eat up!
Philo was delighted. Thomas immediately warmed up the burger with his breath and swallowed it with relish. Pleased with their scheme, the little dragons rushed out of the kitchen. On the way, Philo showed the nanny his empty plate. Now he wouldn't have to sit for two hours over his food. And so it went from that day on.
Whenever burgers were served for lunch, Thomas was right there—helping Philo out. But old Agatha didn't have such a long nose for nothing. And so she soon found out that Philo was trying to pull the wool over her eyes.
The nanny got angry, but didn't let on. The old woman caught him on his way out with yet another empty plate.
I see, little Philo, how well you've been eating my burgers. Look what I've prepared for you—seconds.
The nanny spoke sweetly. And handed him a warm paper bag.
Eat one more burger, make an old lady happy.
Philo turned completely green.
Okay, but... um... I'll have it later... in a bit.
The dragon lied.
Take it, just don't forget to return the empty bag to me. I'll need it again.
Agatha winked. Philo had to urgently find Thomas.
I ate three whole burgers today—Agatha brought me seconds herself. I can't eat any more—I'm stuffed.
What am I going to do with it? The nanny said to return the bag empty!
Empty? Well, just throw it out, the burger, and you'll have an empty bag.
Thomas said and, struggling to get airborne, flew away. So Philo did just that, then went to see the nanny. He watched as the satisfied old woman opened the bag.
Why didn't you eat the burger? Forgot, probably?
Philo nearly fell off the branch! Where did the burger come from? He'd personally thrown it under the tree himself... Nothing to be done, he had to take the bag back. Philo ran straight to Thomas.
He was also surprised by the new burger, but decided to help anyway and, gathering his strength, ate it. This time, before returning the bag, Philo thought to look inside. The burger was there.
He had to subject it to a new test—throw it in the stream. But neither the cold stream, nor his friend Freddy's reliable chest, nor a pile of leaves—nothing helped.
The burger appeared in the bag again and again. Philo tried to stomp on it and even asked an adult acquaintance to incinerate it, all to no avail.
And in the evening Agatha delivered her verdict—no other food until he ate the burger. Philo went to the nursery without supper. He slept poorly and in the morning, with nothing else to do, had to make a firm decision—to eat this wretched burger right in front of the nanny.
At breakfast the dragon timidly shuffled over to Agatha, Thomas gave him an encouraging push from behind, and Freddy winked.
Agatha grinned from ear to ear, pointed Philo to the nearest table, then sat down beside him and waited.
The little dragon held his breath so he wouldn't smell the burger, and opened the bag. Strangely, it was hot inside. The burger popped out onto the plate so fresh and lovely that the hungry little dragon inhaled in surprise.
He suddenly caught its amazing burger aroma. And immediately took a bite. It was so delicious!
Hungry Philo devoured the burger in one go and looked at the nanny in bewilderment. She laughed uproariously, ruffled his spiky mane and went off to wash the dishes.
And Philo quietly peeked into the bag and pulled out another burger. The bag turned out to have a secret, and the burgers—were truly first-rate!
