The Lotus Dragon

04 October 2009

A fable of sorts. Words: 1793.

The boy sat upon the steps of the pagoda watching the dragons. The dragons were little, no larger than small cats, and their scales were a silvery moonlight green. The dragons fascinated the boy. Each night when the boy’s father slept, they would creep soundlessly into the garden, wriggling through the gaps in the fence to eat the blue lotus flowers that grew upon the latticework of the pagoda.

The garden was a bower of dripping blossoms that enclosed a spring feeding a quiet pool of ephemeral carp. The boy’s head reflected in the pool, the shadow of his ebony hair capping a face of flawless ivory, his eyes dark almonds shining black within black.

A dragon crouched upon the path eyed the boy suspiciously as it nibbled upon a lotus petal.

“Don’t be afraid of me,” said the boy, plucking a flower and offering out the drooping stem to him.

The dragon considered the bobbing lotus and timidly opened its beak, but a littler dragon clambered over the railing of the pagoda in a rush of energy and snatched the outstretched flower from the larger dragon’s mouth.

The boy laughed in delight; a high bell of a sound that sent the timid dragon scurrying towards the pool of carp, where he trod too close and slipped over the edge. Startled, he swam with crocodile tail, undulating to the far bank and pulling himself to safety. The littler dragon hunched upon the path, chomping the lotus victoriously.

“You are greedy,” the boy scolded the little dragon as it snuffled over the debris of its meal. “You are so greedy that you will one day get yourself into trouble,” the boy persisted, wagging his finger at the indifferent creature. The dragon looked up at the boy insistently.

The boy’s face softened. “All right,” he conceded, plucking another lotus and holding it out to the little dragon. The dragon clicked its beak and moved in. The boy grinned and drew the lotus away, and the dragon followed it up the steps into the pagoda. The boy giggled in delight as the dragon snatched at the lotus, crushing the blue flower with its curling tongue and swallowing it with a single bite.

The boy sat back on his heels. “You are very naughty! And lazy for stealing the flower,” he announced, and stretched out his hands, sweeping up the little dragon in his arms with one swift movement. The dragon creeched and sneeched in surprise. She whipped back and forth the muscle of her body, yapping and grunting in her effort to escape. The boy held tight to the dragon, squealing with excitement.

The dragon gave up, panting sulphurous breath into the boy’s face. The boy turned the dragon over and held her up before him. The dragon blinked at the boy, cocking her head to one side. She sneezed, sending the boy into another flurry of giggles.

“I will tell you a story about what happened to a lazy daughter,” the boy decided, and took the dragon in his lap, stroking its slick green scales.

“Once upon a time,” began the boy, “there was a wise blue dragon who lived all alone upon a blue mountain covered in mist. She lived in a lotus tree beside a waterfall spring. The dragon was very lonely, and every day she would watch an old woman climb up the mountain to throw gold coins into the spring. The wise dragon watched the old woman do this for many days, and then one day she plucked up the courage to call down from her tree; ‘Old woman, old woman, why do you throw a golden coin into the spring each day?’

“The old woman was startled by the dragon and very afraid. She bowed her head to the dragon and said, ‘Because I wish to have a daughter. I have many sons and not one single daughter, and though I am surrounded by many people I am very lonely.’”

The boy ticked the little dragon’s beak with his finger and offered her another lotus blossom. The dragon creeched and sneeched and waggled its lizard-green tail. “The dragon in the tree felt sorry for the old woman,” the boy continued. “So she said; ‘Old woman, I will grant you a daughter if you come to visit me each day by this spring, and if you will bring your daughter to visit me once she is eight years old.’

“Well, the old woman was very grateful and in awe of the wise blue dragon, and she ran away down the mountain to tell her family. Sure enough, she fell pregnant soon after, and she came to visit the dragon every day. The woman was full of joy and very happy, and she brought the wise dragon little gifts of lotus flowers and gold coins whenever she could find or spare them.

“The daughter was born and grew up. The woman knew the dragon well, but it was with a quaking heart that she brought her daughter to the spring on her eighth birthday, for the dragon had never explained to the woman what the purpose of this visit would be. However, the old woman had nothing to fear.

“The wise dragon was very kind, and she asked the daughter, ‘Are you happy and glad to be alive, Mei Ming?’

“And Mei Ming replied, ‘Oh dragon, I am very happy to be alive for my mother is kind and good. But one thing makes me sad.’

“The wise blue dragon was very worried and asked, ‘What troubles you so, Mei Ming?’

“And Mei Ming replied; ‘Well, my elder brother fell and broke his neck as he herded his goats. If only I could have saved his life then I would have been happy.’

“The wise dragon pondered this and she said, ‘Very well, Mei Ming, I will bestow upon you the gift to heal and bring about longevity, that your family will live long lives and you can cure them of their illnesses, and thus save your family from danger.’ So Mei Ming and her mother went away very happy.

Mei Ming did not return to see the wise blue dragon for many years, although her mother came every day to visit the dragon and bring her lotus blossoms. Then one day Mei Ming came with her again.

“‘I hear that you are married and you have two daughters now, Mei Ming. Are you happy and glad to be alive?’ The dragon asked Mei Ming.

“And Mei Ming bobbed her head sadly and replied, ‘Yes dragon, I am. Your gifts have brought me great luck. You helped me to save my second child from certain death, when she toppled a scalding pan of oil from the stove. I was able to heal her wounds with it before she came to harm. The villagers all come to me when they are sick, and everyone is happy and prosperous. But your gift could not help me when I needed it most, so one thing makes me sad.’

“The dragon frowned and asked, ‘What’s the matter, Mei Ming?’

“And Mei Ming replied; ‘It is my husband. He has left me for another woman, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. If I were able to make him fall in love with me again, perhaps he would come back, and then I would be happy.’

“The wise dragon considered this and she said, ‘Very well, Mei Ming, I will bestow upon you the gift to charm, that you can bring your husband back to you and he will not leave again.’ So Mei Ming and her mother went away very happy.

Mei Ming’s mother continued to visit the wise blue dragon every day, and then one day she did not return. The wise blue dragon was very lonely on her mountain tree, and often she missed the old woman and wished for Mei Ming to visit. Then one day Mei Ming did return, trudging up the hill with a look of misery on her face, bringing her a gift of lotus flowers.

“‘Mei Ming. Are you happy and glad to be alive?’ The dragon asked Mei Ming worriedly.

“And Mei Ming shook her head miserably and replied, ‘No dragon, I am not. Your gifts have brought me great luck. You helped me to save my daughter’s life, and you helped me to bring my husband back to me, and he loves me again. But your gift could not help me when I needed it most, I am very sad.’

“The dragon sighed and asked, ‘What’s wrong, Mei Ming?’

“And Mei Ming replied; ‘It is my mother. She has died of old age despite many years of longevity. But this is not the problem. All of your gifts are no good to me at all now. It is my landlord. He has raised our rent and threatens to throw us out onto the street. If only I were rich, then I could show him what it is like to be thrown out of a house. Then I would be happy.’

“The wise dragon was furious and she said, ‘How dare you ask me for money! You are ungrateful and stupid, and you never come to visit. With the gifts I have given you, you should have made yourself richer than a thousand emperors. You are as lazy as you are greedy!’ And with that she took away Mei Ming’s gifts, and struck her dumb so that she could not ask for a single thing.”

The boy stroked the little dragon’s head and ran his finger down the dragon’s saw-toothed spine. The dragon arched her back and belched happily. She snuffled and snorted in the boy’s hand, looking for scraps. “No more,” said the boy, yawning. “Go on,” and he let his arms fall to his sides. The little dragon sprang from the boy’s lap and bounded down the wooden steps in a flash of silver and green.

“Good bye,” the boy waved tiredly. He watched the dragons in the garden as they ate the lotus flowers until his eyelids became heavy, and then he laid himself down on the steps of the pagoda and fell asleep.

The sun shone down upon the garden that morning, and the boy’s father called anxiously from the house. The boy awoke and looked about him, rubbing the sleep-dust from his cheeks. He glanced into the carp pool, and his eye caught a blinding flash as the water refracted a light shining within the well of the spring. The boy rose and drew closer, peering down into the bubbles to see a single golden coin. He snatched up the coin with excitement and ran back to his father’s house.

Copyright © 04 October 2009

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