Wouldn’t that be perfect?

What if, once upon a very long time ago – in a time when the world was less crowded and there were still enough wild, secret places, so long ago that only myths could remember - dragons existed?

Wouldn’t there be ancient-old maps bearing the legend – ‘here be dragons’ and wouldn’t people tell stories about magnificent and terrifying creatures that flew with fiery breath?

However, would everyone believe such maps and wouldn’t some of the people be frightened by such tales?

Are you?

But what if these creatures weren’t malicious or mean, just very, very clumsy with fire; and over-excitable, especially the young ones?

And what if people didn’t understand that; just saw the smoking destruction left behind and got fed up with them, especially the young ones, and started hunting them?

Wouldn’t the dragons fight back, protecting their own?

Wouldn’t you?

But what if the people got too clever and the dragons were forced to hide?

Up on a mountain?

Or down in a cave?

If you were a dragon, wouldn’t you hide?

And what if it got to the point where people were afraid to go up the mountains and the dragons were afraid to leave the caves? And the world was no longer un-crowded just full of no other places else left to go, full of scared people and scared dragons?

What would happen?

Wouldn’t there be a final deadly war of blood and fire?

But what if there were one person, wiser than wise, who cared? Wouldn’t they have stepped forward and said – “cease this slaughter”?

And what if there was also a dragon older than most, who cared too.

And what if they both had understanding and knowledge that most of us have long forgotten and only the myths remember?

Maybe the wiser than wise said; “the Earth is no longer large enough for us both”, and the older than old said; “then offer us the sky”.

And imagine the Earth still had enough magic in her to make it so, wouldn’t the Dragons have become clouds?

Wouldn’t we sometimes see them there?

And wouldn’t each fiery sunset be dragons, clumsy and over-excitable with fire?

Especially the young ones?

And wouldn’t that be perfect?



52 running
downhill, about midday


the what if stories