Dragons and Marshmallows

by Asia Citro

  The next day I stayed right by mom’s office, listening. Nothing happened. The day after was the same. Not a peep from the bell. But on the fifth day, there I was reading on the couch when, at long last, I heard the magical tinkling sound. I popped up so fast, I catapulted Sassafras out of my lap.

  He went flying through the air and let out a yelp, but landed on his feet. Sassafras gave me a grumpy stare, but then his ears turned toward the bell. He heard it too! We both darted for the barn. We couldn’t wait to see who needed our help.

  At the back door of the barn, I paused to listen. It was completely silent. Except for the pounding of my heart. I grinned down at Sassafras. “Ready, kitty?”

  He meowed and pawed at the door. I took that as a yes.

  I slowly opened the door to find a small, green, scaly animal curled up in a tight ball. I heard a rustling in the bushes and glanced up in time to see a shimmery blue tail disappear into the forest. Maybe another animal had brought this one here for help?

  “Hello?” I called out. But nothing answered, and the mysterious blue animal didn’t come back.

  I gently reached down to touch the smooth green back of the little creature curled up at my feet. As I did, a tiny head peeped up. “Oh!” I whispered. “You are so cute.”

  Two sad eyes stared up at me.

  “Don’t worry, little guy. We’ll make you feel better!” I scooped him into my arms. Sassafras anxiously wove between my legs as I carried the animal into the barn.

  I set him down on a wood table. “You’re kinda heavy for such a little thing.” I gave him one more gentle pet. He slowly stretched, and two little wings and a long tail popped out. He was a dragon! And he was so tiny, he just had to be a baby.

  A baby dragon! In my barn!

  “Hey, little guy. What’s wrong? I don’t see any scrapes or cuts. But you wouldn’t be at the barn if you didn’t need help.” He seemed pretty weak. After looking around, he dropped his head down to the table and just lay there.

  Sassafras hopped onto the table and gave the dragon a good sniffing. The baby dragon’s head popped up, and he let out a little cough. A spark flew out! Sassafras shot through the air and landed on the ground with all his fur standing on end.

  Yikes! I needed to move this guy before he coughed again.

  “Hmmm. I need to find a place to keep you that won’t catch on fire.” I looked around the barn. “Let’s see . . . wood, fabric, and hay all burn easily. Bingo! Let’s put you in this pen with a dirt floor. If you cough again, the dirt won’t catch fire.”

  Phew. Tucking the baby under my arm, I quickly moved him to the pen. Sassafras hung back and watched us from outside the pen. My kitty was no longer so sure he wanted to cozy up to our new friend!

  CHAPTER 7

  HATCHING SNAKES

  Now that I was pretty sure our barn wasn’t going to burst into flames, I needed to help the dragon. His tiny body lay there like a little lump. Poor thing!

  I circled him a few times. At first I thought he might have a cold, but he didn’t cough again. I flipped through my mom’s science journals. There weren’t any entries on dragons. I was stumped. I set the journals on the desk, which knocked my Thinking Goggles to the ground. Perfect! I dusted them off and popped them onto my head.

  I could feel a memory tickling my brain right away. Something that had happened last summer? Something with the forest? That was it!

  Last summer Mom and I were on a walk. Sassafras (who never missed a good hike) stopped in his tracks by a pile of rocks. He wouldn’t budge. Mom knelt down to see what was so captivating.

  “Zoey! Do you see the little head peeking out of that egg? These snake eggs are hatching. Let’s watch!”

  Each little snake head pushed and pushed until boom! Its egg burst open and a baby snake slithered out. Most of them barely rested before skittering off into the forest.

  We watched until only one egg was left. The little snake inside was having a really tough time. Once he popped out, he lay there without moving. He was so much smaller than his brothers and sisters.

  “What’s wrong with him?” I looked around. “Where is their mother? Why isn’t she helping them?”

  “Snakes aren’t mammals like us. They’re reptiles. They have scales, and the mother snake laid eggs. Remember how reptiles rarely take care of their babies?”

  I did remember reading that, but now that I was seeing it in person, it seemed cruel. “But they’re so tiny! They can’t take care of themselves. How will they know what to do?”

  “Even though they’re small, they’re born ready to take care of themselves. They know how to hunt to feed themselves and how to hide to keep themselves safe.”

  I looked down at the tiny, weak snake. “What will happen to this one? He’s so small.” I frowned. “He seems sick.”

  “When animals have a lot of babies at once, sometimes there are a few that aren’t as big or as strong as the rest. Some people call them runts. I’m sorry to say it, but they usually don’t survive.”

  A tear rolled down my cheek. Staring down at that tiny little snake and thinking of him dying was just too sad.

  Mom gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Why don’t we give this snake a little help? We could make his first meal nice and easy. It might give him a boost. Many baby snakes like to eat worms . . .”

  Before my mom could finish her sentence, I was furiously digging. I am a champion worm finder. Within a minute, I found a good-sized one. I felt a little bad, because I kind of love worms, but we handed him over. Mom gently wiggled the worm in front of the baby snake, and he perked up. He swallowed the worm in one big gulp. Sassafras yelped as the little snake came to life and bolted into the bushes.

  I patted my Thinking Goggles. That was it! Maybe this baby dragon was the runt of his litter. Maybe he was hungry. I’d solved it! All I had to do was get him some . . .

  Wait. What do dragons eat?

  CHAPTER 8

  THE FOOD EXPERIMENT

  All this thinking about food made me hungry. My stomach gurgled loudly. Sassafras growled.

  “Silly Sassafras!” I ruffled his fur. “I’m just hungry for lunch. Let’s go back to the house.”

  As we walked, I realized I had a great question for an experiment. I grabbed my brand new science journal and sat down with my sandwich. On the first page, I wrote:

  QUESTION: What do baby dragons like to eat?

  Hmmm. The baby dragon had scales like that little snake. I bet he was a reptile. If snakes ate worms, maybe dragons did too. Sure, this baby dragon was a lot bigger than the baby snake in the forest. So maybe he’d eat a lot of worms.

  I knew I should try several different kinds of foods, just in case. I worried it might be hard to get the baby dragon to eat, so I picked some of my favorites. I set my choices on the kitchen table and wrote them all down.

  MATERIALS:

  Now to make a guess. I would eat the marshmallows, but that baby snake ate the worm as if it tasted like a marshmallow. I shrugged. Maybe worms were like the reptile version of marshmallows?

  HYPOTHESIS: I think he will eat worms. (Sorry, worms)

  Now I needed to set up my experiment. Every time I’m experimenting, my mom always tells me the exact same thing: “Remember to change only one thing, and keep everything else in your experiment the same.” And by every time, I really mean she says it every time.

  I wanted to change the kind of food I was giving him, so I needed to keep everything else the same. I got seven of the same white plates out of our cabinet. I measured out the same amount of each kind of food — one kind of food per plate. I grinned. This experiment would make my mom happy.

  MATERIALS:

  Next I decided what my steps would be.

  1.Set one handful of each food on each plate at the same distance from the baby dragon.

  2.Step out of the pen and watch him.

  3.Write down what he eats.

  All set! I gathered my supplies in my arms and tucked my science notebook unde
r my chin.

  When Sassafras and I got to the barn, I was surprised to see that the dragon was looking around a bit. “Hey, little guy,” I said softly. “I’ve got some foods here for you to try!”

  I set each plate of food the same distance away from the dragon. He watched me with big, curious eyes. Once everything was in place, I stepped out of the pen to take notes. The baby dragon got up and carefully licked the food on the first plate. The cereal stuck to his tongue! He scrunched up his face, jumped back, and pawed at his tongue. Whoops!

  I made a quick note in my journal:

  Dragons do not like cereal.

  Once he wiped off all the cereal pieces, he calmed down. Then his nostrils got really wide. He sniffed and took a few steps, then sniffed some more. He skipped all the other plates and went straight to the marshmallows. His little blue tongue shot out for a lick, and his eyes lit up. He was so excited, he let out a little hiccup. A spark landed on the marshmallow and smoked a bit before going out. The dragon immediately gobbled up the toasted marshmallow.

  I had to giggle — roasted marshmallows are the best! I bet he would really like s’mores! I wrote down my conclusion:

  Dragons love marshmallows!

  As Sassafras and I watched him cough out a spark to toast each of the marshmallows that were left, I made a decision.

  I looked down at Sassafras. “We need to call him something other than ‘little guy.’” I grinned. “Let’s call him Marshmallow!” Sassafras purred in agreement.

  A few minutes later, Marshmallow was running and hopping around the pen, flapping his little wings as he jumped into the air. I couldn’t stop laughing. Eating a whole plate of marshmallows would make me feel the same way!

  Sassafras couldn’t resist the fun and joined Marshmallow in the pen. The two of them played and played until they fell into a fluffy, scaly heap. Sassafras was panting a bit so I brought a big bowl of water to the pen. They eagerly drank with their heads side by side. Then Marshmallow settled down in the dirt. He tucked his tail in, rested his head on top, and closed his eyes.

  “Time for another nap, huh?” Marshmallow didn’t make a peep.

  Through the barn windows, I could see that the sky was getting dark. “Sassafras!” I whispered. “Time for dinner! Let’s leave Marshmallow to sleep for the night. We’ll see him in the morning.”

  As Sassafras and I tiptoed out of the barn, I spotted the camera. Oh man, I couldn’t wake the little guy now. And I wanted his sweet face in the photo. I’d have to take the picture the next morning.

  When I got back to the house, my dad was at the stove, cooking. I grinned when I saw what he was making. Sassafras-shaped pancakes. A Dad specialty. He makes it look easy, but it isn’t. My mom and I have tried to make them, but our pancakes end up looking like weird blobs.

  Dad looked up and smiled at my Thinking Goggles, still perched on my head. “Whatcha been working on?” he asked.

  I almost told him about Marshmallow. But then I remembered how he couldn’t see magical creatures. I figured I’d better leave out the details about the baby dragon.

  “Just some science experiments with Sassafras out in the barn.”

  Dad flipped another pancake. “That’s great, honey. I’m so glad you two have been able to keep yourselves busy with your mom gone.”

  Oh, we were keeping ourselves busy all right. If Dad only knew!

  I could hardly wait for morning to come. First, I’d get my magical photo of that sweet little face. Then I’d spend the whole day playing . . . with a baby dragon!

  CHAPTER 9

  SASSAFRAS?

  I woke up early and reached out to give Sassafras his morning snuggle. His usual spot by my feet was cold and empty. I sat up and looked around my room. No Sassafras.

  “Sassafras?” I hollered. “Sassafras?”

  Still nothing. He was always here when I woke up. Where could he be? He had to be around here somewhere.

  Maybe he went out to the barn? I quickly threw on a jacket and a hat. It sure was cold out.

  I opened the barn door and called out, “Sassafras? Are you in here?”

  Instead of running to greet me, I heard him meow from Marshmallow’s pen.

  I peeked at them. “Sassafras! You scared me. What are you doing in here? Were you missing Marshmallow, sweet boy?” I held out my hand, expecting Sassafras to come over for his morning cuddles. But he wouldn’t budge from the dragon’s side.

  I got closer and put a hand down to pet both Sassafras and Marshmallow. As soon as my hand touched Marshmallow’s back, I jumped. He was like a block of ice! Why was he so cold? And he wasn’t moving. Oh no! Something was really wrong.

  And then it hit me. Our little dragon was a reptile. How could I have forgotten that reptiles can’t make their own heat?

  I jumped to my feet in search of a heater. Thankfully, the third cabinet I looked in had one. I let out a big sigh of relief. I plugged it in and set it in the pen facing the dragon.

  I should have remembered this! Only a few months ago, my friend Sophie went on vacation. She had just gotten the sweetest little baby lizard as a pet. I was over-the-moon excited to watch him while she was gone.

  When she brought him over, this big lamp thing was resting on top of his terrarium. Sophie told me it was his heat lamp, and she made me pinky promise to be really careful about always leaving it on. I thought that was weird, so I asked her why. “He needs something to make him warm all the time. He’s cold-blooded, so he can’t do it himself,” she told me. “If you don’t plug in the lamp, he can get really sick — or die!”

  After Sophie left, I asked my mom to tell me more about what being cold-blooded meant. “Reptiles are cold-blooded,” Mom told me. “Mammals like Sassafras and us keep warm using energy from the food we eat. We can even keep ourselves the same temperature by sweating when we are too hot and shivering when we are too cold. We are warm-blooded animals.

  “But reptiles like Sophie’s lizard can’t use food energy to keep themselves warm,” she continued. “Reptiles can’t shiver to warm themselves up either. They are cold-blooded animals. In the mornings, you can often spot cold-blooded animals warming their bodies with heat from the sun. Once they’re warm enough, they slither, crawl, or hop away! At night and in the winter, they find caves or burrows or other animals to huddle up with to keep warm. It’s important to keep pet reptiles at a safe temperature using something like a heat lamp.”

  Good thing Mom had a little heater out here in the barn! Now that the pen was nice and warm, the baby dragon started moving a bit. He picked up his head. Phew. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  Marshmallow took a few more steps, then stumbled and fell to the ground. He didn’t get up. I fixed the temperature. I fed him the night before. What could be going on?

  He let out a heartbreaking whimper and half closed his eyes. Oh no! Was he dying? I didn’t know what to do. My heart pounded. I walked one way, then another. I needed something . . . I needed my mom!

  CHAPTER 10

  THE CALL

  I ran into the house. At first I went to get my dad, but then I remembered he couldn’t help. I took a shaky breath. Then I I grabbed the phone and called my mom.

  I tried not to cry while the phone rang. The call went to voicemail. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears ran down my face. The dragon was going to die, and it was all my fault.

  My dad came running. “Zoey? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say that would make sense. Finally, I choked out, “I really need to talk to Mom, but she isn’t answering.”

  My dad hugged me and sat down with his arm around me. “You’re really missing her, aren’t you?”

  I nodded and tried to stop crying.

  “She’s presenting at the conference right now, so her phone must be turned off. Why don’t you leave a message? I’m sure she’ll call you as soon as the talk is over.”

  Oh no! Mom’s talk! It might be hours before she turn
ed her phone back on. And by then it might be too late. I cried harder.

  “I know I’m not Mom, but could I try to help? Can you tell me what made you so upset?”

  If I told Dad about Marshmallow, he wouldn’t understand at all. But maybe he could help me with the problem anyway?

  “I was running an experiment where I fed a creature I found in the barn. It ate a bunch of one of the foods I gave it yesterday. And it looked really good when I came in last night. But this morning it seems really sick. It’s barely moving. I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”

  Dad frowned a bit. “It’s not a wild animal, is it? That could be dangerous. Maybe I should come take a look.”

  “No, it’s not really a wild animal. It’s more of a, um, creature. Mom said it was OK. And, uh, I don’t think you’d really be able to see it.”

  Dad looked confused. “Is it another one of your bug experiments? I hope it’s not a spider. I really don’t like spiders.”

  I shook my head no.

  “I’m glad you checked with Mom first. Hmmm. Maybe the food you fed it was a little rough on it? Remember how awful you felt when we went camping last summer and you ate way too many s’mores?”

  S’mores. Marshmallows. Too many marshmallows. Maybe that was it! My science experiment showed me what the baby dragon liked to eat, but maybe not what he should eat.

  What had my parents done to make me feel better last summer? That was one of the worst stomachaches ever. Let’s see, Mom lectured me about eating too much sugar. And she had me drink a lot of water. And eat a really healthy meal that had no sugar.

  I needed to get Marshmallow some water and some healthy food right away! I jumped up and dashed to the door. Then I stopped, ran back, and gave my dad a big hug. “Thanks, Dad! I think I know how to fix it!”