The Kind Dragon

Draco the dragon lived in a cave on the edge of a little village. For years, the villagers were afraid of him because whenever he sneezed, flames shot out of his nose! But Draco wasn’t mean at all—he loved singing, picking wildflowers, and watching the lanterns during the spring festival. One year, a storm blew out every lantern in the village just as the festival began. The children started to cry, and the grown-ups whispered, “Without the lanterns, the holiday is ruined.” Draco felt sad for his neighbors. Slowly, he trotted into the town square. The villagers gasped. But instead of roaring or stomping, Draco took a deep breath—fwoosh! His fire lit every lantern one by one. Soon the whole square glowed with warm golden light. The children clapped and cheered. “Draco isn’t scary at all!” they shouted. From that night on, Draco became the special lantern-lighter of the festival, and the villagers discovered a wonderful truth: sometimes the things we fear are really just friends waiting for us to understand them.