It's Not Always Easy Being a Dragon
…Since there is a widely adopted view that it is very easy for dragons, to be sure. To tell you the truth, it is usually fairly easy as they don't take anything to heart. They rather take them to their back or hands, where they can carry them better, for they are said to be very strong. This is also true for the Cerbengese court's pupil dragon, Cerbi, who was jumping around happily in the castle garden, when something bumped on his head.
"Knock!" said Cerbi as some sort of an answer, and scratched his head. He liked to think everything over thoroughly, and scratching his head definitely helped him think. "It's as if something fell on my head. And if it falls…"
He stretched his arm forward.
"No", he concluded, "it's not raining. But something did fall indeed!" he went on pondering.
He looked up to the bright sky. Then he looked down.
"Well, well, Tiny's window is open. Since the window is in its place, it couldn't have fallen down. But then it wasn't… Tiny, was it?"
He looked down to the ground. He got on his knees and…
"Wow, an alarm-clock! It's a little battered, but I'll polish it in a minute."
Since dragons like to keep their word (so that they don't forget them), Cerbi started rubbing the alarm-clock, which, as it should, turned into Strange Chap. But Cerbi knew nothing about the way alarm-clocks were, so he was amazed.
"Who are you?" he asked, startled.
"Wait, I have to ask you this first", said Strange Chap. "So, who are you?"
"Cerbi, the court dragon."
"Dear master, Cerbithecourtdragon, I'm Strange Chap, and I can make all your wishes come true."
"Well…" said Cerbi, a bit embarrassed. "Which one of my wishes?"
"All of them!" the ghost of the magic alarm-clock ensured him.
"Let's say… can you make it come true if I ask you an extra portion of ice cream?" Cerbi hardly got to the end of his sentence, and there it was: an extra portion of ice cream in his hand. He suspiciously sniffed it and smiled.
"Lemon!" he concluded, while eating it with remarkable speed. "I like strawberry a bit more, but it sure is very good! I mean this thing that you make wishes come true! Of course, the ice cream too, but I can get an ice cream anytime from Kocian or Serena, everyone…"
He stopped to think for a minute.
"Of course, except form Splash…"
"Do you have other wishes too, Cerbithecourtdragon?” asked Strange Chap.
"What would you say if I asked you to… to play foot tennis with me?"
The ghost became a bit embarrassed, but after Cerbi explained the rules to him, he nodded: "If that is your wish, let's get to it!"
"Yay, that's great!" Cerbi rejoiced. "I'll draw the field and then I'll get a ball in a minute…"
"You just have to wish," Strange Chap warned him.
"How would I not wish that? We can't play without a field and a ball" said Cerbi, and at the same time, an undoubtedly magical foot tennis field appeared in front of himalong with the necessary equipment. Cerbi had a big smile on his face.
"Wow, this is fun! Shall we begin?"
"Whatever you say."
"And the rules are that I can catch the ball with my tail too! Will you accept that?"
"I do, if that is your wish!"
"The problem is nobody ever plays foot tennis with me. Hocus is busy all the time, Kocian likes roller-skating more, Tiny gets swept away by the ball, and I won't play tennis with girls… and they don't even want to. And Splash isn't even worth mentioning. So are you ready?"
"Go, go!" shouted Strange Chap. And it was going well. Very well. At least for Strange Chap.
"Okay then," said Cerbi bitterly. "Now.,. now.,. I let you win. But,.. let's make a competition of who's stronger!"
He immediately ran to a large stump known as Cerbi's Stump, he snatched it up and held it high triumphantly. Then he let it go with one hand and lifted his foot. There he was, standing on one foot, holding the stump in one hand, until he decided that he would surpass all his stunts and would lift the other foot too, in which moment he fell over.
Strange Chap looked around, and as he couldn't find anything else to pick up, he picked up the castle itself and raised it high. Then he let it go with one hand and held the castle in his hand like a big cake on a tray. And he lifted a foot and yes, he lifted the other one too, and he was floating in the air.
"Wow," thought Cerbi. "I always knew that only those say that this can't be done who aren't strong enough!"
"These are very intriguing wishes, "stated Strange Chap, then he put the castle back where he had found it. "So what now?"
But Cerbi didn't want to compete any more. He shook the stump off himself, stood up and dusted himself off, while he was searching for an appropriate excuse in his head - so far, in vain…