Now that I was pretty sure our barn wasn’t going to burst into flames, I needed to help the dragon. His tiny body lay there like a little lump. Poor thing!
I circled him a few times. At first I thought he might have a cold, but he didn’t cough again. I flipped through my mom’s science journals. There weren’t any entries on dragons. I was stumped. I set the journals on the desk, which knocked my Thinking Goggles to the ground. Perfect! I dusted them off and popped them onto my head.
I could feel a memory tickling my brain right away. Something that had happened last summer? Something with the forest? That was it!
Last summer Mom and I were on a walk. Sassafras (who never missed a good hike) stopped in his tracks by a pile of rocks. He wouldn’t budge. Mom knelt down to see what was so captivating.
“Zoey! Do you see the little head peeking out of that egg? These snake eggs are hatching. Let’s watch!”
Each little snake head pushed and pushed until boom! Its egg burst open and a baby snake slithered out. Most of them barely rested before skittering off into the forest.
We watched until only one egg was left. The little snake inside was having a really tough time. Once he popped out, he lay there without moving. He was so much smaller than his brothers and sisters.
“What’s wrong with him?” I looked around. “Where is their mother? Why isn’t she helping them?”
“Snakes aren’t mammals like us. They’re reptiles. They have scales, and the mother snake laid eggs. Remember how reptiles rarely take care of their babies?”
I did remember reading that, but now that I was seeing it in person, it seemed cruel. “But they’re so tiny! They can’t take care of themselves. How will they know what to do?”
“Even though they’re small, they’re born ready to take care of themselves. They know how to hunt to feed themselves and how to hide to keep themselves safe.”
I looked down at the tiny, weak snake. “What will happen to this one? He’s so small.” I frowned. “He seems sick.”
“When animals have a lot of babies at once, sometimes there are a few that aren’t as big or as strong as the rest. Some people call them runts. I’m sorry to say it, but they usually don’t survive.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. Staring down at that tiny little snake and thinking of him dying was just too sad.
Mom gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Why don’t we give this snake a little help? We could make his first meal nice and easy. It might give him a boost. Many baby snakes like to eat worms . . .”
Before my mom could finish her sentence, I was furiously digging. I am a champion worm finder. Within a minute, I found a good-sized one. I felt a little bad, because I kind of love worms, but we handed him over. Mom gently wiggled the worm in front of the baby snake, and he perked up. He swallowed the worm in one big gulp. Sassafras yelped as the little snake came to life and bolted into the bushes.
I patted my Thinking Goggles. That was it! Maybe this baby dragon was the runt of his litter. Maybe he was hungry. I’d solved it! All I had to do was get him some . . .
Wait. What do dragons eat?