A TOOTH FOR A DRAGON

My eyes were heavy with sleep and the blackness beckoned me to the land of the sandman. But my resolve fought with the dreammaker until he forestalled his warm embrace. I drifted beyond the realms of tiredness for a short while to linger in anticipation. My determination was paramount. Tonight I would witness the emanation of a childhood legend. The fabled tooth fairy and all her minions.

Cocooned in the snugness of the warm blankets, with the silvery moon bathing the creaminess of my carpet, I kept a watchful eye on the mat beside my bed. Underneath the rich woolen cover of pink roses and wild honeysuckle lay the prize that would lure the mythological fairy into my room. A small ivory colored milk tooth plucked from the inner sanctum of a young girls" mouth.

Earlier in the evening, mommy had related to me the story of the mighty dragon, who whilst guarding the entrance to fairyland had lost all his teeth in a terrible battle against a wicked witch who sought to enter the fairy paradise and steal away all the beautiful fairy wings. Although the wicked witch was defeated, the battle had left the mighty dragon without any teeth as a result of which, he no longer felt confident enough to guard the fairy gates against their enemies. A quest was undertaken to search the world of humans for new teeth to give to the mighty dragon. A reward was to be given to all the children of the world who would give their discarded teeth to the mighty dragon. A shiny new sixpence.

Now, in the silvery moonlight, while the patient sandman knelt by my bed and dozed, I heard feint whispers by my bedroom window. Small scratching sounds heralded the arrival of my wondrous visitors. Closing my eyes shut tight so as not to alert the fairy to my watchfulness, I waited with bated breath for her to take my tooth from under the mat. A tiny buzz of fluttering wings told me she was near.

I peered out of half closed lids at the mat beside my bed and almost gave myself away by my sudden intake of breath that escaped from my lips. For there, on the floor, busily instructing her elfin companions on how best to retrieve my tooth, was the most beautiful creature you could ever imagine. Bathed in a glorious yellow light that seemed to flow from the locks of blonde hair that reached the floor was the wondrous tooth fairy.

Even standing fully erect she must have measured a mere four inches in height. Her skin was the purest white, like the color of my little china Dresden doll that sat perched at the end of my bed. She was incredibly beautiful with wings full of the brightest sparkling silver.

With a graceful sweep of her slender arms her fairy wings extended to their fullest width, her long silky hair shining gold through the gossamer wisps of silver. Pure love transcended throughout my room as she guided the tooth into her purse. The elfin figures were so alike, yet each one seemed to relate to the other in some small detail, akin to the storybook imagination of mysticism and folklore.

Bending low, the fairy sprinkled a few grains of fairy dust onto the carpet beside my bed. As I watched in awe the dust collected to unite in the brightest silver sixpence I had ever seen. Then, with a flurry of graceful movements the fairy flew up onto the windowsill closely followed by her friends. In a blink of an eye they were gone into the darkness of the night, leaving the moonshadows of silver to spread its arms around the bedroom once more.

I dared to venture one foot from the warm confines of my bed, then another. Kneeling down on the floor I lifted up the mat cautiously. The moonglow struck the silver sixpence with its cool embrace, casting white fire toward the ceiling like a giant star. A brand new sixpence, traded for a discarded tooth. A dragon graced with the ability to smile.

Climbing once more into bed, I whispered to the dreammaker that I was now ready. With a warm smile he took my hand in his and whisked me away to dreamland.

By

TONY BROOKS

CHILDRENS DREAMS

THE HARP IT PLAYED A MERRY TUNE,

WHILE WITCHES DANCED AROUND THE MOON,

AND ELVES AND GNOMES CAME OUT TO PLAY,

TO CAST THE WINTRY SPELL AWAY,

A FIRE WAS RAGING IN THE NIGHT,

IT WAS SUCH A WONDROUS SIGHT,

PIXIES  FOUGHT FOR FAIRY GOLD,

AS DRAGONS SHELTERED FROM THE COLD,

ANGELS FLUTTERED IN THE BREEZE,

MOONBEAMS SHIMMERED THROUGH THE TREES,

MERLIN WAVED HIS MAGIC WAND,

EXCALIBUR ROSE FROM OUT THE POND,

UNICORNS PRANCED WITH PRIDE,

WITH SHINY HORNS SO DIGNIFIED,

AND ALL IN ALL YOU CANT SURPASS,

THE MAGIC OF THE LOOKING GLASS,

WHERE NOTHING IS JUST WHAT IT SEEMS,

THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDRENS DREAMS.

BY

TONY BROOKS