What are Dragon Capers?
Dragon Capers are a series of dragon adventures written in verse. I've written four to date and they will eventually form part of a much longer series. I’m attracted to the cultural significance of dragons in Asian, European, American and African culture. There is potential for capers about dragons from many nations, and the stories can borrow from each country’s legend and heritage (as I have done with Nessie and Ginseng in particular). This may also drive international opportunities for the stories as a whole.
Gryff Gets Fired
A fearsome dragon named Gryff can breathe fire out of his mouth, nose and ears. He flies into an icy cloud, catches a cold and loses his puff. His friend George helps him to relight it, but relighting Gryff’s fire brings danger!
Example verses of Gryff follow:
Gryff fell from the cloud as his scales started freezing,
Sneezing and sneezing and sneezing and sneezing.
“ATISHOO, ATISHOO, ATISHOO,” he splattered,
The final, “ATISHOO,” a splutter that mattered.
The sneeze from his mouth set a forest on fire.
The sneeze from his nose made it burn even higher.
The sneeze from his ears looked very distinguished.
But with his last sneeze, Gryff’s flames were extinguished!
For the rest of Gryff please contact me [email protected]
George Hits Traffic
An old dragon is struggling to keep up with modern life. He has lost his teeth in various battles over the years, and his other faculties are following close behind. George is in particular danger from the aircraft around Heathrow until Ginseng helps him with a funky invention. The first verses of George follow:
George was a dragon, used to trouble and strife,
he’d fought knights over years to an inch of his life.
All bar one of his teeth, had been whacked from his head,
The others reside in a jar by his bed.
The old English Dragon looks a little bit weird,
with big ears, sparrow legs and a Santa Claus beard,
plus the elderly creature had changed overnight,
from Racing Green to a brilliant white.
For the rest of George please contact me [email protected]
Nessie's Race
The story borrows from Loch Ness legend, to reveal a shy Scottish dragon insecure about being thought a monster. Nessie wants a holiday but doesn’t feel she can escape unseen with all the tourists about. Nessie and her friends disguise themselves as dragon boats and race, escaping when people are distracted. Example verses of Nessie follow:
Her home is a cave with a bubble of air,
she relaxes and stays out of trouble in there.
Though she can’t put her feet up in comfortable slippers,
as they’d changed over time, into big oar like flippers.
She’s become an attraction for dinosaur purists,
and a curious sideshow for coaches of tourists!
Whilst Nessie was brave in her days as a youngster,
her feelings were hurt, when they called her a monster.
For the rest of Nessie please contact me [email protected]
Ginseng Goes Dancing
A wise Chinese dragon is good at everything except dancing. He needs to partake in traditional Chinese dragon dances and seeks the help of the four other dragons to teach him how. Ginseng’s dancing is hopeless until Gryff accidentally stumbles upon a solution that gives Ginseng some rather fancy footwork. The first verses of Ginseng follow:
Ginseng was a dragon quite well respected,
A wise Chinese fellow, awards he had collected.
If you suffered an illness and felt under the weather,
Ginseng’s special potions could pull you together.
Multi-coloured, he’d say, “Why be just red?
When you can be all of the colours instead!”
He started a fashion with the folk in Hong Kong,
His scales shone so bright, they kept sunglasses on.
George, The Dragon and Princess Stew
The story, which isn’t in verse and therefore not intended as a Dragon Caper, is
loosely based on the Saint George and the dragon legend. A dragon abducts King
Ralph’s beautiful daughter Princess Amelie and back at his cave starts to
prepare princess stew. King Ralph sends his kitchen boy George to get his
daughter back (his bravest knight feeling a tad cowardly). George follows the
awful smell of the stew to find the princess, fights the dragon, and when
George’s spoon breaks on a stalactite he uses some of the stew’s unusual
ingredients to emerge victorious. An early passage in the story is
below:
The dragon burps a recipe as he throws things into a large pot on a fire, “Ten buckets of dirty water, nine rotting cabbages, eight toenails, seven of my underarm scales, six Brussels sprouts, five slops of swamp mud, four stinky socks, three milkmaid’s bloomers, two welly boots... and,”
The princess swallows, “What follows two?”
“One pretty princess, for princess stew!”
