EarthFlight Two: Dragon's Quest

your travels, have you come across anyone who looks like me?’

  Dragon did a twirl in case the snakes might have seen some dragons that in fact didn’t look like him.

  ‘Do you mean,’ asked the spectacled snake, ‘did we notice any dragons that look like you before we were noughts or while we were noughts? Because if we saw any while we were noughts it would be rather difficult to remember where we were since we didn’t know where we were. That is not to say that we did, for although we were in nought stasis, it does not mean that we didn’t have our eyes open. And just because we missed the portal to the forgotten dimension it does not necessarily mean we are in the uncharted or the parallel dimension.’

  Wabbit was beginning to get dizzy trying to keep up. ‘I have an idea,’ she announced. ‘You could try to find out where you are. That would give you a purpose.’

  The spectacled snake sniggered. ‘But Wabbit, we know perfectly well where we are now. We’re here!’

  Wabbit felt a bit silly. ‘Oh! So you are.’

  Wabbit noticed a little tug on the point of her pixie dress and she bent to swat it thinking a big flea had leapt on her. Suddenly the apostrophe inched itself up finally coming to settle on her shoulder.

  ‘Apostrophe!’ Wabbit exclaimed. ‘I didn’t see you down there.’

  The apostrophe caught his breath before whispering in Wabbit’s ear. As she listened her eyes grew bright then she relayed apostrophe’s idea.

  ‘He says the snakes could be exclamation marks. There is a great demand for exclamation marks! He says those who can’t hold themselves straight enough to be exclamation marks could be question marks or brackets, or even...’ Wabbit grew so excited she clapped her hands, ‘even the happy smile on happy faces.’

  The snakes suddenly stopped swishing about and conferred. The spectacled snake made an announcement.

  ‘We accept that it is a fine useful purpose for snakes. However, we’d be only half an exclamation mark. That is, we need a dot. We were wondering if perhaps Mr. Dragon would give up his new flutterby cloak so the flutterbies could be our dots. After all,’ he continued, ‘we began our journey together as noughts and crosses. It would please us very much to continue to work together.’

  Dragon’s cloak began to shimmer as the flutterbies kneaded their feet on Dragon’s lizardy scales and stretched their wings.

  Wabbit’s bottom lip dropped. She thought Dragon looked splendid; not that he didn’t look splendid without his flutterby cloak.

  ‘I think it’s a marvellous idea,’ said Dragon. ‘Who am I to say what a flutterby may or may not do? You are prepared to take the flutterbies as hairy mosses for your dots?’

  The snakes nodded in unison.

  ‘We don’t mind working with plain old hairy mosses,’ said the spectacled snake, ‘if they don’t mind working with us.’

  The flutterbies clapped their wings together so it sounded like rain on a rubbish tin lid and flew about with the snakes. The apostrophe danced on Wabbit’s shoulder trying to get airborne.

  The spectacled snake organised everyone into a bookmark formation. He bowed politely to Dragon and Wabbit. ‘We shall be off now to be good punctuation marks. We will fly about the dimensions knowing that we stand for clarity and emphasis. There is no disgrace in being monkey tails,’ and with that he smiled at the monkeys, ‘but fate has intervened.’

  Next thing the snakes and the flutterbies flew away from the oasis, followed by the monkeys on the unicorns. Wabbit shrugged her shoulder and the apostrophe looped into the air, stumbled a bit on account of its non-aerodynamic properties, and chased after them.

  ‘Sometimes, Wabbit,’ said Dragon, ‘the easiest way to fix something is to do nothing at all.’

  He stretched his claws, set his tail into position and felt Wabbit take the reins. ‘Ready Wabbit?’

  Wabbit dug her feet into his side. ‘Ready Dwagon. Up, up and away...’

  2. The Stop-Go Cow