Eru the dragon (2).

 

The next story is about believing in yourself and how it may help you achieve your dreams. It’s a story that I wrote for children but then again deep inside each one of us there is a child waiting and you know if we were to admit it to ourselves maybe we could let that child run free once in a while, for we’re never too old for a story.

Believe in yourself.

Have you ever got up in the morning and felt that things aren’t the way you thought they would be? Well that’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.

There will be times when people may let you down or disappoint you but those are the times when you have just got to trust in your own gut instinct and believe in yourself.

All of us will wake up each day to face challenges some more than others but it is up to each one of us to decide how we are going to face them.  It may not be easy at times and there may be times when the struggle may overwhelm you. You may feel frustrated and even have to take responsibility when others fail to do so.

However, the challenges you face and the choices you make will enable you to achieve a stronger sense of who you are and who you are meant to be. So keep focused and above all keep believing in yourself.

 

Eru the dragon (2).

Once upon a time, long, long ago in fact so long ago that only the storytellers remember it.

There was a beautiful green and gold dragon called Eru.  She lived in a secret cave in the side of a mountain with her grandmother.  The cave was so secret that only the dragons knew where it was.

Eru had lovely green and gold scales, flaring nostrils, and a long spiky tail.  She had beautiful shiny wings that opened up in the rain like an umbrella and kept her dry.

All of the other little dragons looked at her and sighed.... some even wished they could be just like her because she could run fast and fly very high as well as being very beautiful.

But Eru had a secret that made her very sad.  She was a little different from other dragons. She couldn’t breathe fire.

Every day Eru sat in the back of her cave where no one except her grandmother could see her and huffed and puffed but not a single flame appeared. Not a spark, not even the tiniest puff of smoke. 

Grandmother would say to her, “Don’t worry Eru, it will happen all in good time”. 

Eru was sad because she couldn’t toast marshmallows with her friends or play Catch the Fireball all she could do was sit and watch and pretend that she really didn’t want to play and she really didn’t like toasted marshmallows.

Poor Eru, she felt that she was so different that maybe she wasn’t even a proper dragon at all. Maybe she was something else.  Grandmother dragon saw how sad she was and asked her what was wrong and Eru told her about how sad she felt and that if she couldn’t find her fire then she would never be a real dragon. Grandmother dragon listened and an idea popped into her head. She told Eru about a holy mountain where the dragon god lived, it was a place that was known only to dragons and it would be there that Eru would find her fire. The holy mountain was far away and Eru would have to go on the journey alone, it would take her a few days to get there and she would have to travel through the dark forest that surrounded the holy mountain.

The following day Eru set out and it didn’t take her long to get to the dark forest.  In the forest lived many strange looking creatures.

 Hanging upside down in one of the trees was a small animal with teeth and small wings. He looked a little bit like a mouse but of course a mouse doesn’t have wings does he?

“Who and what are you?” asked Eru.

“Well, I was trying to have a nice sleep but if you must know, my name is Ding and I am a bat”.

Eru thought to herself

“I’ve got teeth and wings just like Ding.  Maybe I could stay here”.

Eru and Ding played together all morning and by lunch time they were a little hungry. After lunch they felt a little sleepy so Ding hung upside down on a branch but when Eru tried it the branch bent down because she was too heavy and she bumped her head on the ground.

“Ouch” she said.

“You’re a lovely friend Eru, but you’re not really a bat are you?” said Ding,

“No” said Eru, “I’m a dragon”, and she gave a little sigh.

Out of her mouth came a small puff of smoke. Eru told Ding about her search for fire.

“I’ll have to be on my way” said Eru, “I won’t forget you”, and she gave Ding a kiss on his nose. She felt a little warm inside but still no flame came out.

The next day Eru woke under a big tree,

“Hello” said a voice.

Eru looked up and saw a strange looking creature with beautiful colours and sharp claws.

“Hello” said Eru, “Who and what are you?”

“Squawk, My name is Tom and I’m a parrot” said the colourful creature.

Eru thought to herself,

“I’ve got beautiful colours and sharp claws just like Tom. Maybe I could stay here?”

All day they played together chasing each other around the forest but by dinner time they were hungry. When they had finished their dinner Tom said,

“You know Eru you are a wonderful friend and I’ve enjoyed playing with you but you’re not really a parrot. What are you doing in the forest?”

“No” said Eru, “I’m a dragon”, and she gave a little sigh.

Out of her mouth came a small puff of smoke. Eru told Tom about her search for fire.

Tom listened and then he said

“Eru, your fire is inside you, all you have to do is believe in yourself and in time it will come”

“I’ll have to be on my way” said Eru, “I won’t forget you”, and she gave Tom a kiss on his beak. She felt a little warm inside but still no flame came out.

The next day Eru woke up in a clearing in the forest. She looked up and saw the holy mountain a short distance away. She thought of her new friends Ding and Tom and suddenly felt a great heat building up inside her. She flew to the bottom of the mountain, she felt all alone and a little bit frightened but then she remembered Tom’s words.

“All you have to do is believe in yourself”,

She thought of all her friends back in dragon land and she thought of her grandmother. Up the mountain she climbed, higher and higher. As she climbed she looked up and saw smoke coming from the top of the mountain. It seemed to shine in the sunlight and it looked as if the whole mountain was on fire.

She reached the top of the mountain expecting to see the dragon god, she was shaking all over, but there was no one there, no dragon just a big black hole.

“It’s a volcano” said Eru, “It’s just a volcano but there’s no fire, it’s gone out”

Eru began to cry. Now as we all know dragon tears are the most magical things in the world, Eru’s teardrops fell into the dark hole and a tiny flame appeared from the hole.  Eru gave a huge sob and before she knew what had happened she sucked the flame into her mouth and swallowed it. Oh dear.

Eru gave a little burp and out her mouth came a puff of smoke followed by... a bright orange flame.

Eru nearly fell into the big black hole, “What was THAT”, she said.

She tried to burp again, nothing happened, she coughed, she sneezed, she jumped up and down, but nothing happened. She was just about to give up when she remembered her grandmother’s words.

“Don’t worry Eru; it will happen all in good time”

“Well grandma, this is my time” shouted Eru and she gave a huge blow and from out of her mouth shot a bright orange flame.

“Fire” she cried, “I’ve found my fire”

Eru jumped up and down in excitement and the more she jumped the brighter the flame shone.  She stayed on the mountain top all night practicing and in the morning when the sun came up she flapped her wings and headed back to dragon land. She flew over the dark forest and looking down she gave a little puff of smoke and blew a little flame just in case Ding and Tom saw her.

She arrived back to dragon land where her grandmother and friends were waiting together with all the other dragons.

“There you are Eru” said the dragons, “Where have you been? We were worried about you; the dragon god has been blowing fire all night”

“That was me” shouted Eru in excitement.

“No it wasn’t Eru, everyone knows you have no fire” replied the chief dragon

Grandmother looked out from the door of their cave and smiled,

“All in good time” she thought.

“Was it like this” said Eru and she blew out a bright orange flame,

Eru’s friends clapped their wings and shouted “Dragon Fire”,

“No” said Eru, “Its Eru fire”

And that is a true story, although it might never have happened.

So if you’re a little different just remember the words of Eru’s grandma and friends.

“Believe in yourself and one day your time will come”.