This is the first year I have told a story about a dragon in anticipation of Michaelmas, which is this weekend. As a secular family, the story was a bit too religious (and un-feminist) for us, but the festival falls so closely upon the Autumn equinox that I’ve chosen to tell my own version to the children as a way of extending our introduction to the season. Some families work with their children to make wooden swords for the festival, but we will be dyeing golden capes with calendula petals instead.
I’ve based my tale on one written in the Waldorf-inspired book ‘Tell Me a Story’, as well on a few other sources, like ‘Bedtime Storytelling’ by Beatrice Lockie, although most of the tale is my own.
In my story, the main character is George, who is assisted by a sky-being called Michael, and who is accompanied by a wise princess called Cleolinda, who appears in early versions of the story.
George, Cleolinda, and the Dragon - a story for Michaelmas
Alongside telling this story, children might like to know that many old festival days associated with the changing seasons were absorbed into new stories as cultures changed. When new religions came to an area, often these religions found a way of marking old holidays in their own, new way. Michaelmas can be seen as one of these days, since it is a ‘quarter-marker’ for the year and falls near the Autumn equinox.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a boy named George, who lived with his parents on a sunny farm. The soil was rich and they grew lots of food to share with their neighbours and to trade with others far away for other things they needed. But one day, a dragon came to their land, breathing fire and smelly air. The dragon burned up their crops and made their sparkling river full of ash. George’s parents were sad and worried, because they didn’t know how to stop the dragon from ruining the soil and making the air full of fire and smoke. George had an idea. He knew that the princess Cleolinda, who lived in a stone castle a day’s walk away, was good at solving problems. She was wise and steady, and was not afraid to do things that were hard. So George set out to the castle to ask for advice from Cleolinda on how they could make the dragon leave.
As he walked he sang a song:
“I know I can be brave and true,
I try to find the right thing to do.
I know sometimes to do what’s right
I have to walk away from a fight.”
George felt worried about how much damage the dragon was going to do tonight, so he walked even faster. Soon the castle appeared before him. He knocked on the door, and called out, ‘Wise Cleolinda! A fiery dragon has come to our land. He is breathing smoky smells on our homes and burning up our crops. Please let me in! I need your help.”
The doors opened and George was welcomed inside. He was offered food and drink, and the wise princess Cleolinda came and sat with him. He told her all about the dragon, and Cleolinda began to look serious and thoughtful.
“I have heard of dragons before,” she said, “ and they are not very nice. I think we will need to go to its cave together and tell it that it must leave. We will have to be very brave, because dragons are big, and smelly, and dangerous. It can be hard to be calm when you are frightened. Do you think you are ready?”
George wasn’t sure. The thought of going into a cave with a big, smelly, dangerous dragon was frightening. He didn’t know how to talk to a dragon, and he certainly didn’t want to have to fight with one to make it leave. But George knew that he must do all he could to protect his village and the food they needed for the winter.
“Ok,” he sighed, “Let’s go.”
He and Cleolinda set off on the path. The cave was far away, and it began to get dark. All around the two, shooting stars began to fall. “Listen!” cried George. “Do you hear that? It sounds like the stars are singing to us!” And indeed, the stars were singing a song to George and Cleolinda, telling them about a sky-being called Michael who had found special metal that made dragons fall asleep.
George and Cleolinda slept under a tree that night, with the stars falling all around them, and when they woke in the morning, Cleolinda said “I had a dream that had a message in it. We need to travel to the caves of the gnomes who forge mysterious metal. They will give us swords made of special metal that will make the dragon sleepy. When he is sleepy, he will be easier to talk to.” Cleolinda led George to the gnomes’ caves, which was luckily on the way to the dragon’s cave. As they rode, they sang a song:
“Oh bring me a galloping horse for to ride,
A crown on my head, the iron by my side.
Off to the blacksmith we must go.
Galloping, galloping, off we go”
When they arrived, the gnomes greeted them and held up two bright, shining swords made from the metal of the earth and the metal of the stars mixed together. They asked George and Cleolinda three questions:
“Are you brave and steady?”
“Oh, yes!”
“Are you kind and thoughtful?”
“Oh, yes!”
“And have you heard the singing of the stars?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
So the gnomes happily gave George and Cleolinda the swords, and off they rode towards the dragon. Soon they heard a terrible roaring and smelled an awful smell. The dragon! George began to feel very afraid, but Cleolinda reminded him of their magical swords, made with the metal given to the gnomes by Michael. “The dragon will be sleepy,” she reminded George, “so he will be too tired to eat us up. We can talk and see what he needs to have, so that he stops eating our crops and ruining our water and air.”
They approached the cave with their swords held aloft, and George called out ‘Dragon, hello! Welcome to our land. We need to talk. You cannot burn our things or make our air smelly.”
The dragon roared a huge roar, but as the two walked closer he yawned a huge, smelly yawn and stopped roaring. He turned around a few times and curled up like a cat in the sun, resting his huge scaly head on his long claws. “I need food to drink and water to eat. I don’t have a family to help me grow food or fetch water. I am hungry and lonely, and sad.” The dragon yawned again. “And I am oh so tired.”
George sat down next to the dragon, even though he was frightened of its huge teeth and long claws. “Dragon, even though you are hungry and thirsty and alone, you may not frighten us or steal our things. You can ask for help, but you may not eat up our crops or burn our fields. And when you are not sleepy, you must not roar and scare us.”
Cleolinda thought long and hard. “Would you like to come live in the lands around the castle? There are caves aplenty there where you could be cosy, and if you can think of a job to do, we will gladly share our food and drink with you. But everyone in our land must help out in some way.”
Although the dragon was very sleepy now, since the magic swords were so nearby, he said, “I can make fire. I am good at that. Can I come to your castle and make your fire for you whenever you need one?”
Cleolinda and George thought this was a perfect idea. Because the dragon was very tired, Cleolinda tied a lead around his scaly neck so she could lead him safely home to the castle. George rode along, and then went home to his family to help replant the crops.
Because George was brave and sought help from a wise friend, and because Cleolinda was generous, their lands were safe from the dragon’s fiery breath. The dragon was able to use his fire for good and never felt hungry or lonely again.