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The dragon and the squirrel

One day like any other nice weather day on a tree was a squirrel. An ordinary one at that. Lived in the same one as it's mother and it's mother and it's mother. As many generations as nuts have fell from from the tree. But on this day something that changed the squirrels life forever happened. A hungry fox came along. As the way with the world the fox was hungry but the squirrel was fast. Just not enough to save it's tail. Without his tail he could no longer join his family up in the branched of the great tree that housed his family for so long. So he lived under the roots. For many days he lived like this afraid and alone but one day. Nice and clear something fell from the tree that had never fell before. It was a green round stone. It bounced and rolled to right where the squirrel slept. When the squirrel woke it was to a great green eye and rows of sharp teeth greeting him. He backed up slightly scared but knew there no way out. Having nothing else to kick, the squirrel kicked the stone right to that which watched him. It soon moved and the stone vanished as well. Then the eye came back. " I wish to thank you for getting me back my stone." The squirrel was more surprised this time than scared. " I understood you." The eye backed away to show the great image of creature to the squirrel. " Of course I can. I am a dragon. A dragon understands everything as they say. Life, fire, magic and especially nice looking stones but more importantly debts. I am a greedy dragon for my stone but I am not rude to destroy your home. So I ask you what can I do for you in return?" The squirrel raised to it's hind feet but fell over without the balance of his tail. The large dragon swiped a claw over the squirrel and it's tail was back. Finding this out he sprang up the tree faster than any time before but soon found his family no longer acknowledge him. His decent back to the dragon was very slow. " No you are worse now. I know I shall take you with me. I shall carry all the nuts to feed you for all your life." The dragon looked around the nut covered ground. That would not work at all either. Noticing also that the other squirrels ran up the tree in fear of him he moved away and began to think. Soon however it was the squirrel to say something. " You have mighty wings and large teeth? Why do you not try to eat me like the fox?" The dragon gave a simple answer. " I eat fish. It is a choice I made young. I never got to liking anything else so now I only eat fish." The squirrel cleaned it's new tail and noticed the dragon no longer had his. " Thank you for my tail back." The dragon nodded. " I will grow mine back in a season. Till then I can do without. So what may I do for you?" The squirrel thought on that. " I would like to be able to defend myself against a fox if it ever comes back. What of fangs and claws?" The dragon hesitated a moment. " Squirrels are food of fox by nature. That I can not do but my wings are no use to me without a tail. They will grow back in the same rate as my tail. Would those do?" The squirrel shook it's head up and down. The dragon waved it's claw over the squirrel again and a thik skin wings between his arms to his legs. He was so thrilled again that he ran up the tree and tested his new wings out. This time the rest of his family accepted his return. Amazed at the new gift he received. He flew and flew for hours. When he returned the dragon was gone. The ground had been disturbed and destroyed. Something took many acorns when it left but enough were left for those that live in the tree. He climbed under the tree in his nest and found the round green stone again. It was the dragon's stone.

The squirrel went up the tree again to ask his family what every became of the dragon. They all said they did not care and that they wanted wings as well. So the squirrel decided to find the dragon and return the stone to him once again. The squirrel thought a moment and recalled the dragon liked fish. So the river would be a good place to start. He took the stone and began to fly. He flew and flew. He continued to fly going up the river till it was no more than a stream up the mountains. At this point he was tired and hungry. He was about to turn back until he spotted something familiar. It was a dragon. He dived immediately glad to find the owner of the stone but found it was another dragon. This one had violet scales and still had it's wings and tail. " Yes?" she called and this dragon was less kind that the other one. " I seek the owner of this stone." the squirrel said showing the green stone. She slowly took it in her claw and quickly grew sad. " So another one leaves this plain. Thank you squirrel. I shall see to it that this goes to where it belongs." The squirrel was a little proud but unsure then figured out why. " Do you not mean who it belongs to?" The dragon shook her head sad. " I am sorry squirrel but your friend who owns this stone is no more. The humans took him not long ago. He was on a journey as I am to the last nest of dragons. The last place we are safe." The stone glowed a moment as she turned to leave. " Why not come along squirrel? He left you the stone. You should see what it is for." So they journeyed for many days. They did not speak any and the travel was hard and tiring. Finally after a season of travel they arrived in a valley only able to be gotten to by the sky. Here it was green in winter and the creatures of nature acted normally. They passed the scenery and landed near the far peak of the most distant mountain. There many dragons had gathered. More than the nuts on his home tree in a season. Yet they also seemed few and sad. They came to a cavern with a pit. Each dragon that came to the pit tossed in stones. Red stones, green stones, black and white and all other colors. Even the dragon the squirrel traveled with tossed in her own personal stone. Yet the green stone she gave to the squirrel. " This rite is yours my small furry friend. Toss it in." The squirrel was confused but obeyed. He then backed away to let the rest who have not tossed their stones in to do so. " What now?" The squirrel asked but the dragons all turned to stone and their bodies crumbled. As the squirrel was about to leave sad loosing another friend dragon he heard a voice from the pit. " Come join us on our tree squirrel. We have room for one more. Just toss in your own stone and we will play with you every day." But the squirrel had no stone it considered special. Just an acorn it was saving for a meal later. So he tossed that in and his body too turned to stone and crumbled in time. Now it is a tree that fills the cavern. A tree climbed by young dragons.