BY Bonnie Gale

Part 2 ended on this note: “All of a sudden, there was a cracking sound from the egg and he saw a split opening up...

Peter was stunned. He did not know what to do. Was there anything to do, anyway, he asked himself. The rocking of the egg continued. The shimmering blue light around the egg intensified the violet and blue colors of the shell of the egg. The crack widened. Other cracks developed with loud sounds and he knew that Keezheekoni was very strong as the shell was quite thick. The egg moved violently and suddenly, he saw pale blue leathery skin emerge and then a small body, one foot, two feet, a little tail, part of a back and then part of a head. Then, one eye looking straight at him.
Peter felt a great surge of energy as he connected at such a deep level with the baby dragon. His love for her was immense. Her body then fully emerged. The shell fell away in pieces. Keezheekoni was magnificent! She was about three feet in length and covered in shiny fluid which was drying quickly. The sweet smell was now very strong but not unpleasant. He moved back to give her space as she
moved around flexing her body and even opening her small wings. She moved her jaws and he could see her teeth. What a large tongue! But no flames! Arenda had told him that her name meant one of burning fire. He was sure the flames became apparent under certain circumstances. He hoped she did not become angry with him.
She could move quite quickly and she appeared to be hungry as she dug in the leaf litter with her feet which had small talons on the ends. She seemed aware of him but did not directly look at him. He wondered what she ate. How was he going to feed her?? What was he going to feed her? Dragons probably could catch their own food when they were older but she was just a baby. A very large and
powerful baby! His baby! Well, his charge.
Peter remembered that he had another snack bar in his backpack. He carefully made his way over to his pack and took out the bar. He unwrapped it. Keezheekoni was looking at him. He carefully approached her and offered her the bar. She seemed to sniff the air in front of him and then in an instant, her tongue took the bar in her mouth and it was gone! It happened so fast! He was sure that
for a dragon one snack bar did not provide much sustenance! This cloak of anxiety about feeding Keezheekoni seemed to surround him and he did not feel good. At that moment, the baby dragon spoke into his head:
“Peter, do not be anxious, I can find my own food. That bar was rather strange in taste! Do you actually like them? I am what you humans call ‘vegetarian’. I can glean much of my food in these woods. I see the corn is ready in the fields.” Peter felt relieved and the anxiety lifted but was not sure how much corn a baby dragon could eat. Surely, the farmers would notice but who would suspect a
dragon eating the corn? He let go of those thoughts and in his head said:
“I am so honored, great Keezheekoni, to take care of you for Arenda. Please let me know your needs and how I can help in your mission.” She replied: “Thank you, Peter. We will get to that subject by and by. Let’s explore
a little. And do not worry if I will be seen by other humans. Only you can see me. I have a choice who sees me. I will reveal myself only to those who can understand.”
With her words, Peter felt quite relieved. He did not know what she meant by her last sentence but he was sure that all would be shown in time. He actually felt very happy. He had a new friend. What an amazing friend!! She stood about three feet tall and was growing by the minute! Her scales seemed to be hardening and developing deeper colors. Her tail moved in all directions all the time and he was
learning to give her lots of room.
Before they went exploring, he collected the shell pieces and put them on the mound and covered them with leaves so no one would discover the pieces. She seemed to approve although no words were spoken. They fit together and he felt very comfortable around her. Peter took his backpack and they moved out of the clearing. The sun was higher now and the mist had mostly dispersed.
Keezheekoni stopped to graze the vegetation as they moved along the trails. She could certainly eat a lot of food! She seemed quite content and he even detected a deep humming coming from her throat. He actually wanted to giggle. A humming baby dragon!
They appeared to be heading towards his home. He wondered where she would
sleep but if people could not see her, then he thought it was alright for her to come to the house. He would still have to be careful, though. He had no idea how he was going to help Keezheekoni with her mission. He put those thoughts aside. How wonderful to be with this baby dragon.
They were near home now. He suspected it was close to breakfast time. His Mother was used to having him go out on his own exploring early mornings. She felt confident that he would be home for meals unless he told her otherwise. He thought is best to go in the back door which was closest to his bedroom. His sister was probably already awake and outside. He communicated with his mind to
Keezheekoni to tell her that they were going in the back door. She was content to enter his house.
His Mother was outside hanging up the washing on the line and Dad appeared to be occupied in the garage, tinkering with his old Corvette. Mom waved to him and did not seem to see the dragon. Whew! He opened the back door and held it open for Keezheekoni. She fit through but he realized that she was growing and soon it would not be possible for her to have access to the house. He went over to
his bedroom door and opened it quietly. He led the dragon into the room and closed the door. His sister was not outside but was reading a book in bed. She looked up from her book and screamed: “What are you doing with a Dragon?”

—The Chenango Dragon Tale is a five-part series written and submitted by local artist and writer Bonnie Gale. Subsequent stories will be published on Thursday editions of The Evening Sun.