The next day I stayed right by mom’s office, listening. Nothing happened. The day after was the same. Not a peep from the bell. But on the fifth day, there I was reading on the couch when, at long last, I heard the magical tinkling sound. I popped up so fast, I catapulted Sassafras out of my lap.
He went flying through the air and let out a yelp, but landed on his feet. Sassafras gave me a grumpy stare, but then his ears turned toward the bell. He heard it too! We both darted for the barn. We couldn’t wait to see who needed our help.
At the back door of the barn, I paused to listen. It was completely silent. Except for the pounding of my heart. I grinned down at Sassafras. “Ready, kitty?”
He meowed and pawed at the door. I took that as a yes.
I slowly opened the door to find a small, green, scaly animal curled up in a tight ball. I heard a rustling in the bushes and glanced up in time to see a shimmery blue tail disappear into the forest. Maybe another animal had brought this one here for help?
“Hello?” I called out. But nothing answered, and the mysterious blue animal didn’t come back.
I gently reached down to touch the smooth green back of the little creature curled up at my feet. As I did, a tiny head peeped up. “Oh!” I whispered. “You are so cute.”
Two sad eyes stared up at me.
“Don’t worry, little guy. We’ll make you feel better!” I scooped him into my arms. Sassafras anxiously wove between my legs as I carried the animal into the barn.
I set him down on a wood table. “You’re kinda heavy for such a little thing.” I gave him one more gentle pet. He slowly stretched, and two little wings and a long tail popped out. He was a dragon! And he was so tiny, he just had to be a baby.
A baby dragon! In my barn!
“Hey, little guy. What’s wrong? I don’t see any scrapes or cuts. But you wouldn’t be at the barn if you didn’t need help.” He seemed pretty weak. After looking around, he dropped his head down to the table and just lay there.
Sassafras hopped onto the table and gave the dragon a good sniffing. The baby dragon’s head popped up, and he let out a little cough. A spark flew out! Sassafras shot through the air and landed on the ground with all his fur standing on end.
Yikes! I needed to move this guy before he coughed again.
“Hmmm. I need to find a place to keep you that won’t catch on fire.” I looked around the barn. “Let’s see . . . wood, fabric, and hay all burn easily. Bingo! Let’s put you in this pen with a dirt floor. If you cough again, the dirt won’t catch fire.”
Phew. Tucking the baby under my arm, I quickly moved him to the pen. Sassafras hung back and watched us from outside the pen. My kitty was no longer so sure he wanted to cozy up to our new friend!