Speaker 1: Yea, hello. My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
with a third premium only story every Friday. Do let
your friends know about Animal Tales so they can enjoy
our stories too. Shi is from Idaho, USA, and he
would like a story featuring a grass dragon, a water dragon,
and a fire dragon. You can learn more about these
creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay, are
you ready? That's good, then I'll begin the tale of
the Three Dragons. A long long time ago, in a
place far beyond the sea, there was a small village
in the middle of a dry and dusty land. The
village elders would tell of when the land was rich
and green. They would talk of the feasts they once had,
of the rivers they would swim in, and of how
warm the sun would feel on their faces. But that
was when the elders were young, and now the land
was gray and lifeless. The river beds were dry, and
heavy clouds filled the sky, making the land cold and dark. Somehow,
the villagers still managed to grow small amounts of food,
pulling up water from a deep well, and huddling around
the fire every evening to tell stories. On one evening,
a village elder known as Old Man Hector was chosen
to share a tale, something he was happy to do.
Long ago, this land was ruled by dragons, he said, Shy,
a village boy, sat up straight upon hearing this. He
had never heard of such a thing. The dragons helped
this land to thrive, Old Man Hector continued. The grass
dragon would encourage the plants to grow, The water dragon
kept the rivers flowing fast and free, and the fire
dragon ensured that the sun warmed us. All. Shy listened intently,
fascinated by the story. The land he knew was very
different to the one ruled over by these dragons. So
what happened, Shay asked. Old Man Hector sighed. The dragons
had a disagreement, he said, bitterly. Each dragon thought that
they were the most important when it came to looking
after this land, and this rivalry forced them upon. They
refused to cooperate with each other, each going into hiding,
and the land fell to ruin. The plants shriveled, the
rivers ran dry and dark, clouds covered the sun. Without
the dragons taking care of it, the land simply couldn't
go on as it once had. Talk of dragons fascinated Shy,
but he wasn't entirely convinced it was true. With the
tale finished, the villagers drifted away to find their beds,
leaving just old Man Hector and Shy beside the fire's
final embers. What happened to the dragons, the boy asked,
where are they now? Some say they flew far, far away,
the old man said. Others think they crawled away and died.
But I think on a quiet night like this, you
can still hear them breathing. That night, Shy couldn't sleep.
He kept thinking about dragons under blue skies with green fields?
Was the story really true? Unable to relax, Shy crept
from his bed and left the sleeping village behind him.
He walked far out into the barren lands, remembering the
words of old Man Hector. He had said that sometimes
he could hear the dragons breathing, and so Shy listened.
It was there, under the moonless sky that he heard it,
a faint rumbling snore. Shy followed the noise over bare
fields of dirt and stone, across crumbling river beds and
through leafless forests. Eventually he came upon the biggest tree
he'd ever seen. It was long dead, hollow and gray,
and as Shy I approached it, the snoring stopped. Who
disturbs my slumber, said a low, gravelly voice. A large
shape emerged from the tree's hollow center. A dragon, huge
and green, but her scales were dull, and the curling
vines that wrapped around her body hung limp. Are you
the grass dragon, Shy asked, in awe. I was once
upon a time, the green dragon replied, but I haven't
encouraged anything to grow for many a long year. How
did this happen, asked Shy. Well it wasn't down to me,
bristled the dragon. But I grew weaker and the plants
suffered for it. I'm not the dragon I once was.
With that said, she crawled back into her tree, the
proving too painful to continue. Shy was alone once again.
So the story really was true, But how sad that
an animal who was once so majestic was now so frail.
He turned for home, not reaching the outskirts of the
village until long after the day had begun, he saw
some of the villagers watering a sickly stand of wheat
using water poured from the well. It was such a
struggle just for that small patch of crops, but the
villagers tended to it regardless, doing everything in their power
to help it thrive. Seeing their actions gave Shy an idea.
He went to the well and drew up some water,
filling a leather bucket. This he then carried all the
way to the enormous dead tree. I have something for you,
he announced, causing the grass dragon to stir. What is this,
she hissed grumpily. I have no interest in water, but
you should, Shai replied. Plants need water to survive, and
I think you need it too. Just try it please.
The grass dragon had half a mind to return to
her sleep, until she realized that yes, she was thirsty,
so she drank. As she did so, her scales brightened
and tiny shoots sprang up around her feet. That was refreshing,
She said, Thank you boy. Shai returned home feeling pleased.
It wasn't much, just a single bucket of water, but
he felt that it helped all the same. That night,
Shy returned to the back and lands to listen again.
This time he detected slow, heavy breathing rolling down from
the hills. He set off towards it, until the air
grew cold and he shivered beneath his thin clothes. There
Shy came to a wide, flat lake. He had never
seen so much water in his life, until he realized
that the cold had crusted the lake with a sheet
of ice. Shy stared through the ice to the darkness below,
only for it to crack and lift before him. The
body of a large blue dragon rose up, moving stiffly,
her wings frozen to her sides. Are you the water dragon,
Shy asked. The dragon scoffed, not any more, she said,
I've not helped water to flow for decades. What opened,
Shy asked? The dragon shrugged, and it sounded like cracking ice.
It's too cold, she said. I can barely move because
of it. How can I control the rivers and guide
the rain when I feel frozen all the time. With this, said,
the water dragon sank back into the depths of the
lake and was gone. Shy walked home without sunshine. The
land he lived in always felt a little too cold,
but it was certainly warmer than the water Dragon's frozen lake.
Back at the village, he stopped at the fire where
the villagers shared their stories. There was no one there
to share the last of its warmth, just a faint
glow in the embers. Shy gathered up some sticks, then
bent down and carefully lifted the hot embers into a
copper kettle. Once done, he retraced his steps into the hills.
What do you have there, snarled the water dragon. Suspiciously,
a Shy carefully emptied the embers, feeding them with the
smallest sticks. Slowly, the sticks danced with flames. Why have
you brought me fire, the dragon demanded, To give you warmth,
Shy replied. He gathered more wood from the shores of
the lake until the flames roared. Unable to resist, the
water dragon crept closer, allowing the heat to wash over her.
Glorious she murmured as her wings became free and the
ice faded away. Glad to have done some good, Shy
returned home. The following night, Shy walked out into the
barren lands, once again, listening carefully. It took a while,
but eventually he detected a smooth, soft snore. This time,
Shy traveled further than he had ever been, to the
rocky cliffs of a mountain. There he found a deep,
dark cave where the sounds of snoring echoed. Forcing himself
to be brave, Shy entered and was soon swallowed by
the blackness. Then a yellow light bloomed, and Shy found
himself staring into a dragon's glowing eyes. This dragon was
by far the biggest Shai had expected him to be red,
but his scales were black and cracked, like coal burning
from within. But Shy could feel no heat from the dragon.
Are you the fire dragon, Shy asked. The dragon's glowing
eyes narrowed. My fire burned out long ago, he complained.
All I have now is darkness and ash. But why,
Shy whispered, I lost all the light and warmth around me,
the fire dragon said, sadly, and so I lost it
inside of me too. The dragon closed his eyes, then
plunging Shy back into darkness. It was a long walk home,
but when Shy eventually got there, he saw old man
Hector waiting for him. And where have you been, the
old man asked, knowingly to see dragons, Shy admitted, I know,
we have little, But I took some water to the
grass dragon and a little fire to the water dragon.
But I do not know how to help a fire dragon.
Why do you help them, asked the old man. We
have each other, Shy explained, but they have no one.
Old man Hector considered this and saw the goodness in
Shy's eyes. In that case, I think I know what
you need, he said, And so it was that Shy
returned to the fire dragon carrying a basket of wheat plants.
The fire dragon hissed, I have no need of such things,
but you do. Shai insisted, this is the first wheat
of the season. Our village would make red from this,
but instead we're giving it to you. Your fire needs
fuel in order to burn. Reluctantly, the dragon accepted the wheat,
swallowing it whole. As the food struck his belly, the
cracks in his scales flared, and Shy felt the cave
growing warmer. That was good, the dragon admitted, But when
Shy returned to the village this time, he found the
people sat silently around the fire, full of despair. The
well was running dry, firewood was becoming scarce, and they
had little wheat for their bread. Clearly the villagers would
not survive the coming year. I fear for us all,
said old man Hector. Do not be afraid, said Shy,
for I have brought us friends from out of the darkness.
Stepped the grass Dragon, the Water Dragon, and the fire Dragon.
They looked so different now. The grass Dragon was a
vibrant green, with vines, leaves and flowers snaking across her body.
The Waterdragon shimmered and glistened, and the Fire Dragon smoldered,
a brilliant red smoke rising from his scales. Our foolishness
has damaged this land, said the grass Dragon. There isn't
one of us that's the most important, said the water dragon.
We dragons need each other, and perhaps we need you too,
the fire dragon said, with a nod to Shy. As
much as you need us. Through Shy, your village gave
us what little it had, said the grass Dragon, and
now we shall repay that generosity. The dragons looked upwards
and blue, bright, colorful flames into the night sky. The
cascade struck the underside of the heavy clouds, causing them
to shrivel and disappear, revealing a sky full of stars.
When the villagers awoke the next morning, they found a
world full of colour. Grass and flowers grew beneath their feet,
while long dead trees had been granted new life. The
rivers flowed once more, and best of all, the sun
shone down, bright and warm. For the first time since
old Man Hector was a child. The land was flourishing again,
and it was all thanks to one boy whose kindness
helped reignite the flames in Three Dragons Lonely Hearts animal fact.
Dragons remain one of the world's most popular mythological creatures.
But how did we come up with the idea for
these fascinating beasts? Throughout human history we have been finding fossils,
Some of them are the size we could barely understand.
Those fossils are scattered all over the world and have
given rise to similar stories as we tried to make
sense of what those creatures might be. Now we know
that their dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, but the stories
they inspired, particularly those of dragons, were just too good
to ignore. Thank you for your suggestions, Shy. We hope
you enjoyed the story, and thank you to all of
you across the world for listening to it. There are
over one hundred extra stories on our premium service, available
through Apple or Supercast, and for a tiny fee. All
the stories are advert free. Join us next time for
another great animal tale. Good Bye,