The Christmas Dragon
Katharina Gerlach
Holiday Fantasy Shorts
six unusual tales about the woes and joys of winter
Find out why Granny needs a dragon for Christmas. Get a scare as you witness a young dragon’s meeting with the Georges. Find stinky socks and be awed by the light of an angel. The tales in this collection will soothe your heart even if you’re not overly fond of the season.
Excerpt
From the story:
Third Time’s a Charm
Christmas was a week away and Mom was still in the hospital where his little sister Ella was sleeping, when Rudi built his first snow dragon. Ben, his older brother, laughed at the result.
“It doesn’t look like a dragon at all,” he said. “More like a drunken rat.” But he didn’t stamp it, and that was something Rudi was grateful for.
Since there were a lot of activities at school—the annual play, a cookie baking contest, and an advent afternoon—he had to wait for the weekend for his second try. This time, he built the dragon as big as he could. More than once the wings broke off, and he pondered a whole night how to stabilize them. Early on Sunday morning, he got up and fetched a bunch of tulle his mother had bought for a princess’ dress for Ella. Rudi tried not to think of his little sister. Carefully, he cut two big wing-shapes from the material. Then, he went outside, fetched some wire from the garden shed and attached the material to the wire, before he stuck them into his snow form. The dragon still didn’t look much like a dragon. More like a horse with wings. He sighed and went back inside. He needed to research dragons. So he spent the two last afternoons before the holidays in the school’s library and copied dragon pictures as best he could.
On the second afternoon, Mrs. Fielding, the librarian, sat beside him. “What are you looking for? Maybe I can help you.”
Rudi wondered if he could trust her, but she’d always been nice to him. “I need to make the perfect winter dragon.”
“Oh, someone’s out for some special magic, ey?” She winked at him and he blushed. He should have known that she had read the Christmas Chronicler’s advent story too. The one where wishes came true.
“You know,” she said, “I’ve got just the right kind of book for you.” She hurried away and returned with a big, square book bound in real leather.
The Book of Dragons, the title said.
“Look, there’s an ice dragon inside.” She opened the book to a page with a white, slender dragon. “Since you need a winter dragon, this one should do the trick, right?”
Rudi beamed at her. “Can I borrow this?”
“Sure. But treat it well and remember to bring it back after the holidays.” She signed the book out for him, and he hurried home with his new treasure. The whole night he lay awake under the covers with the book and a flashlight and planned. Mom returned very late at night. Rudi heard her cry herself to sleep while Dad whispered nonsense about things getting better soon.
Uncaged Review
Six wonderful and mystical tales perfect to read to the younger group. My favorite of course is The Christmas Dragon, but all are whimsical and worth the time. I am not normally a short story person. But the author brings a bit of sunshine to these seasonal holiday tales that are great for any age. Reviewed by Cyrene
4 Stars
#bookreview #indieauthors #holidayread #shortstories
