by Lee Mandel –
Marc put on his fire-truck pajamas and snuggled under his cozy blanket. His mother kissed him ‘good-night’.
“Sweet dreams,” said Mom, shutting the door.
Nestling his head on the fluffy pillow, Marc’s eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. A few minutes later he was startled by a snuffle, then a sniffle. Was someone crying? He flung back the covers and jumped out of bed. He flicked on the lights. The sobs were faint. Where were they coming from?
The floor cre-e-eaked as he tip-toed around his room. Quickly checking under the bed and peeking behind the curtains revealed nothing. Marc stood still and cupped his ear to the closet door. He held his breath and strained to hear the sobs. They were inside the closet.
“H-h-hello?”
“Are you the fireman?” Came a voice from inside.
Straining to see through the slats in the door, Marc pressed his nose up against the wood. “I’m Marc.”
“Well, are you a fireman, Marc? You have lots of fire trucks. Even the bed and lamp shade are covered in them.”
“No, but I like fire trucks.”
Marc reached for the doorknob and eased it open. A very sad-looking, pot-bellied dragon stood inside His pink transparent wings were wrapped around his enormous purple body. His long neck curled downward and his large head hung low toward the floor. A pool of tears drenched the carpet where he was sitting.
“I’m sorry for getting your carpet wet,” the dragon said. “My name is Scortch.”
“That’s ok. Nice to meet you, Scortch. Why are you crying?”
“I’m allergic to paper. I sneeze whenever I am near it.”
“I’m allergic to strawberries, but I don’t cry about it. I just stay away from them.”
“But I like to do Origami,” sobbed Scortch.
“What’s that?”
Reaching under his scales, Scortch pulled out a small square of colored paper. He creased it this way, then that. When he was done, he held a small paper dragon in the center of his clawed paw. “It’s a special way to fold paper into shapes,” Scortch said.
“Wow! That’s cool,” said Marc.
“Ah-ah-ahchoo!” A stream of flames from Scortch’s nose turned the little folded figure it into ashes. “See?”
“Oh, “ Marc said. “Now I see why you’re upset.”
Scortch stood from the puddle his tears had made. “I noticed you like fire engines and thought you were a fireman.”
“Yeah, I have a lot of fire trucks,” Marc said, pointing to the assortment of red toy engines around his room.
“Origami is my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world,” said Scortch. “I was hiding in your closet because the other dragons make fun of me, because when I sneeze I always burn up everything I make. I was going to ask if you could help me stop the fire that comes out of my nose when I sneeze, but you aren’t a fireman.”
“I don’t think you can stop it. It’s just what dragons do.”
The new friends sat on the closet floor in silence. Marc thought and thought for a solution. “I’ve got it! I’ll be right back.”
Marc ran out of the room and returned after a few minutes. “Here,” he said, handing Scortch a heavy, black object.
Scortch looked at it and was confused. “You’re giving me a metal helmet?”
Marc placed the helmet on Scortch’s long snout. “My dad is a welder. He uses fire to melt metal. This helmet protects his face when he works. If you wear it when you do Origami, it will block your sneezes and protect your paper animals from catching on fire.”
Scortch’s frown was replaced by a wide tooth-filled smile. “That’s a great idea! Thanks.”
Reaching under his scales a second time, Scortch removed another colored sheet of paper and folded it. As the mask hung from his shout, he made a second paper dragon. He held it in his claw and waited… and waited. No sneeze. The mask blocked his urge to sneeze. He handed the paper dragon to Marc.
Marc felt a smile on his own face. “Can I try?”
“Sure. Watch me,” said Scortch. With more colored paper, Scortch folded the paper slowly. Marc imitated everything his new friend did as best he could with his own slip of paper. By the end of the hour, Marc had an entire zoo of paper animals lined up on his bed.
“The helmet works!” Scortch said with excitement.
“Now you can make as many animals that you want,” said Marc.
“Can I visit you again?”
“That would be great!”
Scortch stepped back into the closet. “See you soon, Marc.” He gave a small wiggly wave of his claw as he closed the door.
Marc lined up his paper animals on the table next to his bed before getting back under the covers. He smiled at the collection as he turned over and went to sleep.
the end.
Question Time
1. Why did Marc wake up?
2. Who was inside the closet?
3. What was Scortch allergic to?
4. What is Scortch’s favorite thing to do?
5. What did Marc give the dragon?
