Little dragon I, his little sister Di, listened closely to her story about their new friend, fair-haired Arthur, his hospitable grandmother, and the delicious berries that grow in their garden.
One early morning he slipped out of the dragons' palace-home in the fairy-tale land and flew off to where Di had met her new friends.
He flew and flew, and then he saw it: a garden, a grandmother, and a boy. Only this boy wasn't fair-haired. He was dark-haired and somehow small.
The little dragon I landed carefully, hid among the redcurrant bushes, and sat very, very quietly. He listened.
“Tommy, Tommy-boy, where have you hidden yourself?” called the grandmother. “I've lost him! What a little hamster! He was right beside me a second ago, and now he's gone…”
“I clearly remember that the boy's name is Arthur, but this is a different boy,” thought the dragon I.
Tommy, where are you? Are you letting the rabbits out of their cage again?
The grandmother walked over to the rabbit hutches and spoke loudly:
Our brave boy Tommy, quick and bold,
Grabbed a white tail from the cage, I'm told,
From the old rabbit hutch…
Come here, old bunny, don't be afraid!
I only want to play with you, I'm not mad!
I'll let you hop around the yard,
So come on out, it's not so hard!
Run along without looking back,
Let's play hide-and-seek, and that's a fact!
The little dragon I quietly flew after the grandmother.
Ah, there you are, little hamster! Hiding? Running away from Grandma? Found you!” said the woman, catching her grandson, and went on with her rhyme:
Our Tommy is a hamster, plain to see,
His mouth is never empty, you'll agree.
When school lets out and he comes home,
He chomps and chomps and chomps some more.
He loves his bacon and his ham,
Won't say no to pineapple jam,
Gulps his juice down by the glass,
Gobbles like a hippo, fast!
When he's grown up, he'll understand
That food needs a bit of a plan.
He eats a bite and off he'll run
To the gym to burn it off for fun.
Did you even rinse that carrot? Pulled it up and straight into your mouth? I thought you'd let the rabbits out again.
Nope,” answered the boy, chewing his carrot.
“Who am I supposed to get to know now?” thought the dragon I.
Let's go pick redcurrants. Mom will be home soon, and we haven't even filled the buckets yet. What is she going to make, fruit leather, without them?
Tommy, still chewing his carrot, quietly followed his grandmother.
The dragon couldn't hold back any longer. He wanted berries so badly that he flew right up to Tommy.
Dragonfly! Dragonfly!” shouted Tommy.
The grandmother looked, smiled, and replied:
Why, that's our friend the little dragon, Arthur's new friend. Did you come to visit, Di?
I'm Di's little brother. My name is the dragon I.
The little boy stood there, chewing his carrot and blinking. He was probably very surprised.
Did you get lost too? Wandered away from your family?” asked the grandmother.
No,” said the dragon, blushing, “I flew here because I also want to find a friend and try some berries.
From embarrassment, the dragon's bright purple skin turned pink.
Don't be shy, eat the berries. We don't mind at all. There's a big redcurrant harvest this year. What a handsome dragon you are, I!
When we get nervous, or scared, or worried, we change our skin color,” I began to explain, stuffing a whole cluster of red currants into his mouth.
Don't worry, eat them one at a time, and don't eat the stems, they don't taste good. It's just that you wanted to make friends with Arthur, and he isn't here today. And this is Tommy, he's still little. Come back in two days, Arthur will be staying with us,” the grandmother said kindly.
The dragon I enjoyed the berries, said goodbye to his new friends, and flew away.
“I just hope I don't let slip to Grandpa, or he'll think the old lady has lost her mind, making friends with dragons and feeding them berries,” thought the grandmother.
Where did the dragonfly fly off to?” asked Tommy, finishing his carrot.
It wasn't a dragonfly, it was the dragon I,” the grandmother answered quietly, and began picking the red currants.
