Grown-ups usually fly off for the whole day in search of valuables, whilst the little ones stay on the tree together with the old nanny. But it's ever so tempting - to find treasures.
Philip and his best friend Freddie would give their tails and wings just to get their claws on real treasures! But where can they get them if there's no map? But then one day Freddie brought a map!
Look, Philip, what I've got! A real map!
Brilliant! What luck! Let's have a look then.
Philip was delighted.
Here, look. This cross marks the treasure, and this is our tree - we'll start our search from there.
And what's this then?
Philip asked doubtfully, looking at the crooked little scratches, as if made by a tiny claw, on the crumpled dried leaf.
That's the direction and number of steps. Each mark is ten steps.
And where did you get it?
Philip asked doubtfully.
I drew it myself!
Freddie said proudly.
Can you do that?
Philip asked. His friend just shrugged. But they both immediately headed for the exit from the nursery.
The sun gently warmed their curious noses, Philip happily spread his wings and briskly rose into the air. He loved his wings very much. They were shiny, a delicate lilac colour.
The dragon couldn't resist, he turned his neck slightly and squinted to admire his wings. "The best pair on the whole dragon tree," he thought.
And then he nearly crashed into a branch near the ground. Freddie was in stitches. Philip snorted and carefully straightened his course, and then they landed together at the very foot of the tree. From down here, it seemed absolutely enormous to them.
Right, get the map out.
Freddie immediately rummaged in the small pouch on his chest and fished out the valuable item.
So. We've got a long and difficult journey ahead, so I've brought us some snacks - dragon fruits, we'll drink fresh dew, and sleep on the hard ground, like in a proper adventure!
He said.
Sleep where?
Philip was taken aback, he'd never in his life slept outside the nursery under the letter P.
Well, you never know how luck will turn. We can't go home empty-handed.
His friend looked very businesslike. Philip was somewhat convinced too. Although the thought of sleeping on hard unfamiliar ground didn't appeal to him.
And so the adventure began. Freddie took the map and walked ahead, saying: "Three dozen steps to the right from the tree, then turn left and go another ten steps straight, now we need to turn left twice and take thirty-three steps."
Only a few minutes had passed, and Philip was already exhausted. They circled and zigzagged on foot under the tree, and there seemed no end to their journey.
Listen, this is very tiring, shouldn't we take a break?
Are you joking? We've only just started! We'll take a break once we find the treasure.
Philip obediently plodded after his friend. Actually, they only had literally a couple of steps left to reach their cherished goal, and soon the young dragons had reached the spot marked with a cross on the map.
Right in front of them was a bush. Freddie purposefully dived into the thicket. For a minute he noisily trampled amongst the branches, which rustled with green foliage and resisted his onslaught. But then the dragon suddenly jumped out from there with a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
What's there?
Philip impatiently wagged his tail and rushed to his friend.
Here.
He unclenched his paw and showed a small striped pebble.
Wow.
Philip said, enchanted. The pebble really was very nice indeed. They immediately had their snack. The friends munched on fruits, washed them down with dew and admired their treasure.
That's a good treasure you've found, Freddie! Only we found it rather quickly.
Philip said. He'd already forgotten his worries, and he really wanted to find something too.
That's true. And there's only one treasure, how do we share it?
Freddie agreed.
Exactly! Maybe we should search some more?
But we've only got one map!
Freddie said.
So what. Let's start from a different tree. We'll go up to any one and start the whole journey again!
Philip wasn't fazed.
That's a brilliant idea!
Freddie shouted with joy. They immediately got up, hid their treasure, unfolded the map and set off to the nearest tree. Having followed the map's route again, they discovered a huge stone, behind which Philip found a wonderful white shell.
The little dragons oohed and aahed at the beauty of their find, and then without much thought moved on to searching for the next treasure. They found a third tree and again followed their route. It led them to a cold stream, at the bottom of which sparkled and glittered a sweet wrapper.
Freddie boldly plunged his paw into the cold water and pulled out the new treasure. Meanwhile, dusk was beginning to fall. Freddie declared that he had enough treasures and it was time to head back.
Philip looked wistfully at the map and agreed. They took to the sky and, seeing their home tree, flew back.
At the door of the bedroom under the letter P, Philip and Freddie began dividing the treasures.
The wrapper and stone for me, the shell for you.
Freddie said.
That's not fair, you've got two treasures and I've only got one.
Philip noticed.
What can we do? If I give you the pebble, I'll only have the wrapper left, and that won't be fair either.
Philip could see for himself that their treasures couldn't be divided equally. And then he remembered the map and their whole amazing day of searching, breaks and treasures.
You know what, you take all these treasures. And leave me the map!
Philip said to his friend.
Well, if that's what you want...
A pleased Freddie handed the sheet with the map to his friend, and tied his pouch of treasures more tightly. They entered the bedroom, where the nanny was already making up clean beds, and began telling the others about their adventures.
When everyone was already asleep, Philip tenderly pressed his map to his chest and thought dreamily: "Why do I need treasures when I've got such a map? With it I can find myself a whole mountain of adventure treasures."
