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Speaker 1: Yea, hello. My name's Josephine and this is the Animal

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Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.

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There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,

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with a third premium only story every Friday. Do let

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your friends know about Animal Tales so they can enjoy

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our stories too. Shi is from Idaho, USA, and he

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would like a story featuring a grass dragon, a water dragon,

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and a fire dragon. You can learn more about these

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creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay, are

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you ready? That's good, then I'll begin the tale of

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the Three Dragons. A long long time ago, in a

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place far beyond the sea, there was a small village

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in the middle of a dry and dusty land. The

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village elders would tell of when the land was rich

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and green. They would talk of the feasts they once had,

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of the rivers they would swim in, and of how

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warm the sun would feel on their faces. But that

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was when the elders were young, and now the land

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was gray and lifeless. The river beds were dry, and

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heavy clouds filled the sky, making the land cold and dark. Somehow,

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the villagers still managed to grow small amounts of food,

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pulling up water from a deep well, and huddling around

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the fire every evening to tell stories. On one evening,

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a village elder known as Old Man Hector was chosen

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to share a tale, something he was happy to do.

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Long ago, this land was ruled by dragons, he said, Shy,

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a village boy, sat up straight upon hearing this. He

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had never heard of such a thing. The dragons helped

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this land to thrive, Old Man Hector continued. The grass

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dragon would encourage the plants to grow, The water dragon

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kept the rivers flowing fast and free, and the fire

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dragon ensured that the sun warmed us. All. Shy listened intently,

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fascinated by the story. The land he knew was very

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different to the one ruled over by these dragons. So

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what happened, Shay asked. Old Man Hector sighed. The dragons

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had a disagreement, he said, bitterly. Each dragon thought that

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they were the most important when it came to looking

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after this land, and this rivalry forced them upon. They

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refused to cooperate with each other, each going into hiding,

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and the land fell to ruin. The plants shriveled, the

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rivers ran dry and dark, clouds covered the sun. Without

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the dragons taking care of it, the land simply couldn't

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go on as it once had. Talk of dragons fascinated Shy,

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but he wasn't entirely convinced it was true. With the

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tale finished, the villagers drifted away to find their beds,

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leaving just old Man Hector and Shy beside the fire's

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final embers. What happened to the dragons, the boy asked,

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where are they now? Some say they flew far, far away,

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the old man said. Others think they crawled away and died.

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But I think on a quiet night like this, you

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can still hear them breathing. That night, Shy couldn't sleep.

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He kept thinking about dragons under blue skies with green fields?

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Was the story really true? Unable to relax, Shy crept

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from his bed and left the sleeping village behind him.

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He walked far out into the barren lands, remembering the

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words of old Man Hector. He had said that sometimes

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he could hear the dragons breathing, and so Shy listened.

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It was there, under the moonless sky that he heard it,

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a faint rumbling snore. Shy followed the noise over bare

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fields of dirt and stone, across crumbling river beds and

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through leafless forests. Eventually he came upon the biggest tree

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he'd ever seen. It was long dead, hollow and gray,

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and as Shy I approached it, the snoring stopped. Who

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disturbs my slumber, said a low, gravelly voice. A large

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shape emerged from the tree's hollow center. A dragon, huge

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and green, but her scales were dull, and the curling

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vines that wrapped around her body hung limp. Are you

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the grass dragon, Shy asked, in awe. I was once

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upon a time, the green dragon replied, but I haven't

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encouraged anything to grow for many a long year. How

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did this happen, asked Shy. Well it wasn't down to me,

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bristled the dragon. But I grew weaker and the plants

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suffered for it. I'm not the dragon I once was.

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With that said, she crawled back into her tree, the

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proving too painful to continue. Shy was alone once again.

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So the story really was true, But how sad that

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an animal who was once so majestic was now so frail.

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He turned for home, not reaching the outskirts of the

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village until long after the day had begun, he saw

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some of the villagers watering a sickly stand of wheat

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using water poured from the well. It was such a

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struggle just for that small patch of crops, but the

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villagers tended to it regardless, doing everything in their power

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to help it thrive. Seeing their actions gave Shy an idea.

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He went to the well and drew up some water,

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filling a leather bucket. This he then carried all the

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way to the enormous dead tree. I have something for you,

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he announced, causing the grass dragon to stir. What is this,

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she hissed grumpily. I have no interest in water, but

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you should, Shai replied. Plants need water to survive, and

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I think you need it too. Just try it please.

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The grass dragon had half a mind to return to

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her sleep, until she realized that yes, she was thirsty,

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so she drank. As she did so, her scales brightened

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and tiny shoots sprang up around her feet. That was refreshing,

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She said, Thank you boy. Shai returned home feeling pleased.

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It wasn't much, just a single bucket of water, but

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he felt that it helped all the same. That night,

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Shy returned to the back and lands to listen again.

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This time he detected slow, heavy breathing rolling down from

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the hills. He set off towards it, until the air

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grew cold and he shivered beneath his thin clothes. There

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Shy came to a wide, flat lake. He had never

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seen so much water in his life, until he realized

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that the cold had crusted the lake with a sheet

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of ice. Shy stared through the ice to the darkness below,

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only for it to crack and lift before him. The

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body of a large blue dragon rose up, moving stiffly,

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her wings frozen to her sides. Are you the water dragon,

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Shy asked. The dragon scoffed, not any more, she said,

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I've not helped water to flow for decades. What opened,

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Shy asked? The dragon shrugged, and it sounded like cracking ice.

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It's too cold, she said. I can barely move because

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of it. How can I control the rivers and guide

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the rain when I feel frozen all the time. With this, said,

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the water dragon sank back into the depths of the

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lake and was gone. Shy walked home without sunshine. The

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land he lived in always felt a little too cold,

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but it was certainly warmer than the water Dragon's frozen lake.

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Back at the village, he stopped at the fire where

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the villagers shared their stories. There was no one there

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to share the last of its warmth, just a faint

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glow in the embers. Shy gathered up some sticks, then

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bent down and carefully lifted the hot embers into a

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copper kettle. Once done, he retraced his steps into the hills.

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What do you have there, snarled the water dragon. Suspiciously,

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a Shy carefully emptied the embers, feeding them with the

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smallest sticks. Slowly, the sticks danced with flames. Why have

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you brought me fire, the dragon demanded, To give you warmth,

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Shy replied. He gathered more wood from the shores of

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the lake until the flames roared. Unable to resist, the

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water dragon crept closer, allowing the heat to wash over her.

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Glorious she murmured as her wings became free and the

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ice faded away. Glad to have done some good, Shy

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returned home. The following night, Shy walked out into the

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barren lands, once again, listening carefully. It took a while,

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but eventually he detected a smooth, soft snore. This time,

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Shy traveled further than he had ever been, to the

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rocky cliffs of a mountain. There he found a deep,

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dark cave where the sounds of snoring echoed. Forcing himself

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to be brave, Shy entered and was soon swallowed by

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the blackness. Then a yellow light bloomed, and Shy found

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himself staring into a dragon's glowing eyes. This dragon was

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by far the biggest Shai had expected him to be red,

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but his scales were black and cracked, like coal burning

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from within. But Shy could feel no heat from the dragon.

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Are you the fire dragon, Shy asked. The dragon's glowing

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eyes narrowed. My fire burned out long ago, he complained.

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All I have now is darkness and ash. But why,

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Shy whispered, I lost all the light and warmth around me,

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the fire dragon said, sadly, and so I lost it

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inside of me too. The dragon closed his eyes, then

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plunging Shy back into darkness. It was a long walk home,

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but when Shy eventually got there, he saw old man

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Hector waiting for him. And where have you been, the

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old man asked, knowingly to see dragons, Shy admitted, I know,

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we have little, But I took some water to the

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grass dragon and a little fire to the water dragon.

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But I do not know how to help a fire dragon.

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Why do you help them, asked the old man. We

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have each other, Shy explained, but they have no one.

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Old man Hector considered this and saw the goodness in

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Shy's eyes. In that case, I think I know what

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you need, he said, And so it was that Shy

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returned to the fire dragon carrying a basket of wheat plants.

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The fire dragon hissed, I have no need of such things,

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but you do. Shai insisted, this is the first wheat

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of the season. Our village would make red from this,

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but instead we're giving it to you. Your fire needs

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fuel in order to burn. Reluctantly, the dragon accepted the wheat,

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swallowing it whole. As the food struck his belly, the

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cracks in his scales flared, and Shy felt the cave

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growing warmer. That was good, the dragon admitted, But when

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Shy returned to the village this time, he found the

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people sat silently around the fire, full of despair. The

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well was running dry, firewood was becoming scarce, and they

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had little wheat for their bread. Clearly the villagers would

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not survive the coming year. I fear for us all,

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said old man Hector. Do not be afraid, said Shy,

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for I have brought us friends from out of the darkness.

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Stepped the grass Dragon, the Water Dragon, and the fire Dragon.

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They looked so different now. The grass Dragon was a

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vibrant green, with vines, leaves and flowers snaking across her body.

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The Waterdragon shimmered and glistened, and the Fire Dragon smoldered,

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a brilliant red smoke rising from his scales. Our foolishness

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has damaged this land, said the grass Dragon. There isn't

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one of us that's the most important, said the water dragon.

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We dragons need each other, and perhaps we need you too,

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the fire dragon said, with a nod to Shy. As

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much as you need us. Through Shy, your village gave

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us what little it had, said the grass Dragon, and

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now we shall repay that generosity. The dragons looked upwards

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and blue, bright, colorful flames into the night sky. The

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cascade struck the underside of the heavy clouds, causing them

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to shrivel and disappear, revealing a sky full of stars.

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When the villagers awoke the next morning, they found a

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world full of colour. Grass and flowers grew beneath their feet,

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while long dead trees had been granted new life. The

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rivers flowed once more, and best of all, the sun

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shone down, bright and warm. For the first time since

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old Man Hector was a child. The land was flourishing again,

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and it was all thanks to one boy whose kindness

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helped reignite the flames in Three Dragons Lonely Hearts animal fact.

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Dragons remain one of the world's most popular mythological creatures.

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But how did we come up with the idea for

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these fascinating beasts? Throughout human history we have been finding fossils,

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Some of them are the size we could barely understand.

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Those fossils are scattered all over the world and have

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given rise to similar stories as we tried to make

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sense of what those creatures might be. Now we know

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that their dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, but the stories

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they inspired, particularly those of dragons, were just too good

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to ignore. Thank you for your suggestions, Shy. We hope

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you enjoyed the story, and thank you to all of

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you across the world for listening to it. There are

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over one hundred extra stories on our premium service, available

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through Apple or Supercast, and for a tiny fee. All

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the stories are advert free. Join us next time for

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another great animal tale. Good Bye,