Ascension : Tales from Green Mountain
Submitted by The Islander (Raymond Ellick) 12.10.2006 (Article Archived on 26.10.2006)

Blue Dragon The Unhappy King (Part-Three)

Blue stared, thoughtfully, at his Crown and realized that he was now the Dragon King.  The wise, old Dragons stood by his side.  They had all brought gifts for him.  The Blue Dragons had brought cedar wood boxes and amber from the Atlas Mountains.  The Green and Brown Dragons had brought beautiful flowers from the rainforests and the Yellow dragons had brought nuts and oils from the Sahara Desert.  Blue thanked them for their generous gifts and then his brother and sister arrived.  They had organized a huge party for him and whisked him away to have some fun!  The party started at mid-day and the whole crowd of Dragons ate, danced and played games until the sun went down. 

As darkness fell, some of the Dragons decided to fly home but others decided to stay.  Blue, green, brown and yellow sparkles shone in the moonlight and tired, happy Dragons littered the mountainside.  When they were all asleep, Blue returned to his cave.  He was still very tired but he couldn’t sleep.  He was very pleased that he had been chosen to be the new King, but he was also sad because he thought that he might have to move back to the Atlas Mountains and leave his Island home.  The more he thought about leaving the sadder he became and, before he went to sleep that night, he decided that he didn’t want to be the Dragon King if he had to leave Ascension Island behind!

The next morning, Blue, the unhappy King, called the wise, old Dragons to his cave and told them what he had decided the night before.  They were very surprised that he didn’t want to be the King and they left his cave to consider what course of action they should take.  When they returned, they said, to his relief, that he didn’t have to leave Ascension Island as long as he visited the Atlas Mountains, from time to time, and they promised that they would look after his Kingdom and send for him when he had important duties to perform.  Blue trusted the old Dragons and was very happy indeed!  He decided that he would still be the new Dragon King!  He had inherited his father’s cave and he knew that he could use it whenever he liked so he thanked the wise, old Dragons once again, and prepared to fly home.

He asked one of the young, Blue Dragons to look after his cave and collected his new things.  He placed his Crown in a cedar wood box and put it, with his gifts, in a sack made from woven stems.  Then, he hung the sack around his neck and went outside.  The other Dragons had already flown home and he knew that it was time for him to go too.  So, he flapped his wings and flew off into the sparkly sky.   

When Blue arrived back at Ascension Island, the storm had passed.  The sea was calm, the wind was gentle and the ground was dry.  The moon shone brightly and he was glad to be home.  When he got back to his cave, everything looked fine so he went straight in and lit his fire.  The flickering flames soon warmed the darkness and he began to feel very tired.  His trip, to the Atlas Mountains, seemed like a dream to him now.  So, he took his Crown, from the sack that had been around his neck, to remind himself of his journey and, that he really was the King!  Then, exhausted from his adventure, he curled up on his bed of leaves and fell fast asleep.  The familiar smell of eucalyptus and pine began to fill the air and the new Dragon King began to dream ….  The End

Sue M