What a lovely little tale that was. What did you all think? What’s that? It wasn’t to your liking? Why, that’s a shame. The Firebird is a nice little tale.

It seems more have come, however. 17 by my count. Why, it is lovely to see you all here. I had hoped for more by now, but I have told but one story to you all. Perhaps another is in order.

What would be a good story to tell? One Eye, Two Eyes, and Three Eyes? No, too terribly dark for the very beginning. Let’s see… Well, I rather liked the dragon of the last story… Yes, that might do. “The Enchanted Dragon”. How does that sound?

Yes, that will be it then. “The Enchanted Dragon…”

*~*~*~

There once lived a poor mare. She was a pegasus, alone and old. She was lonely, and wished so strongly to have a child of her own. Any child, she thought, would be better than being alone. One day, she was walking through the forest when she came upon a sleeping dragon. The dragon had many a sleeping child around it, and the mare was ready to run. But when she turned, a baby dragon crawled up to her. His big eyes were full of tears as he hugged her leg. It seemed as though he wished to leave this forest. Scared, but still courageous enough in her loneliness, the mare stole the dragon and raised it as her own.

The dragon grew tall and strong, though was still considered a beast to all. He was raised in seclusion with his loving mother. One day, the dragon caught sight of a beautiful princess. Her sparkling mane astounded him, and reminded him of the beautiful stars he loved to gaze at. He told his mother he wished to marry the woman. The mother told him where the princess stayed, and the dragon traveled to the castle where she stayed. The mother, concerned for her son, traveled with him.

When he reached the city where the castle was located, he was not admitted entrance. The guards at the gate were so afraid of his monstrous body that they called him a beast. His mother promised she would go into the castle and tell the princess of his affections. The dragon stayed outside the castle, while the mare went to the castle.

When she got to the castle, the princess wasn’t available. She went to the king instead. When she told of her handsome dragon son, the king did not agree her. She told him that looks do not matter, and it was her sons actions that made him a good suitor. The king did not believe her, but made a deal with the mare. The dragon had to do three things for the king. If he did those three things, then the princess would marry the dragon. The mare agreed.

The kings first order was a golden apple from his orchard. The apples were on a tree of poisonous leaves. The mare went to her son and told him. The dragon then went to the orchard and grabbed an apple with no problem and no feat. The leaves could not penetrate his hardened scales. He did not know this at first, but he was willing to do anything to prove his love. He gave the beautiful apple to his mother, who returned it to the king.

The king accepted the apple and set it aside. His second request was an answer to a riddle, to test if the dragon was intelligent enough for his daughter. “What is a word made up of 4 letters, yet is also made up of 3, sometimes is written with 9 letters, and then with 4, rarely consists of 6, and never is written with 5,” he said. The mare was baffled, but committed the riddle to memory. She returned to her son and relayed the message.

The dragon thought hard about the question. It was very confusing, after all. But, after a full hour of thought, he smiled brightly. “Tell the king he is correct,” he said. “What does have 4 letters, and yet does have 3. Sometimes is written with 9 letters, and then is written with 4. There are 6 letters in the word rarely, and there are 5 in the word never. He has come up with a very clever riddle.”

The mare returned to the king and shared the answer. The king was amazed, but accepted the answer nonetheless. He then asked the mare to tell the dragon his last wish - the head of a dragon. The mare was shocked, and begged the king to reconsider. The king insisted, however, on having the head of a dragon. The mare continued to beg, refusing to tell her son. The king, in his fury, demanded to see the dragon himself and tell the dragon his final duty.

The dragon was sent for, and he quickly made his way to the throne room. There, the king dealt another harsh blow. “Your final mission if the head of your mother. Retrieve to me the head of that beast, and you will have my daughter.”

The dragon was surprised as the mare beside him weeped. “Sir, I will say this to you and this only once - I have no mother.”

The mare beside him looked up. “You see,” the dragon continued, “this mare is not my biological mother, and neither is the dragon that she saved me from. I hated that dragon who took me from my true mother, and I am thankful this mare saved me from here, all those years ago. I know not who my true mother is.”

“Very well then - bring me the head of the woman who raised you,” the king said, grinning at the mare.

The dragon glanced at the mare beside him. She stood, trembling, but nodded. “Go ahead, my son. Your love is far more important than my life.”

The dragon pulled out a nearby sword. Though he hated to do it, his mother was old, and he was young. Shutting his eyes tightly, he decapitated his mother. Her head rolled on the floor, leaving a blood smear on the floor. He picked it up by the mane, tears in his eyes. “There! The head of my mother! Now, I have proved myself to you. May I see your daughter?”

The king stood, frowning. “A beast is all you are. You are fearless, which is a horrible trait in a man - they will soon end up killing themselves in their foolishness. You are smart, which is dangerous - you will know more than even I. And you are ruthless - you will kill any on the command of a stranger, be he king or friend. I would never trust you around my daughter!” The king pulled out his sword.

There was a gruesome fight, but the king, in dealing a blow to the dragon’s chest, found that the underbelly of the dragon was weak. He jumped upon the dragon and shoved his sword through the monsters heart. He then took the Golden Apple and ate it. The magic in the apple returned his youth, making him a young and dashing prince.

The king, now prince, quickly called for help. The princess, on her way to see her father, ran in to see the slain beast and woman. The prince told her everything that had happened - he had come here, seeking her hand in marriage, when he found the dragon in the throne room. The monster had already eaten the king whole, and had murdered the woman. The prince had stopped the beast, but it had been too late for the king.

The princess weeped, and the prince comforted her. The princess, so shocked with the mans kind words, agreed to marry him, if he would help her rule. He agreed, and they retired to draw up the plans for their betrothal.

The dragon awoke, no longer a dragon, but a stallion. His mind cleared of the fog he had been under all his life - he was a prince, cursed by a wicked witch to wear the skin of a beast until death, at which point he would be revealed for his true form. He was relieved to be alive, and free of the curse - but his mother was dead, and the love of his life lost to her cruel and sickening father. Broken hearted, the stallion took his own life.

The princess and the prince lived happily together, while the stallion who was meant to be with her died. One must always remember that actions speak louder than words - but the words you speak will always be more manipulative than the actions you choose.

Author's Note

What a horrible tale with a horribly truthful moral. Few understand the actions they do can be seen with mixed reactions, whereas words have such a powerful sway on ponies and humans alike.
What do you children think?~ What sort of tale shall I tell next?~