nbsp;

lsquo;Who said that dragons donrsquo;t exist? I saw a little one coming from under a pot of geraniums. He stuck his tongue out at me and left in a hurry.

nbsp;lsquo;Hersquo;s still green. Yoursquo;ll see when he grows up. His body will be all covered with real scales and on each scale a monogram: A D interlaced, Arnold, the dragon. Nice to meet you!rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;What kind of a story are you making up?rsquo; Joersquo;s mother asked him.

nbsp;lsquo;I saw a dragon, mother. A little dragon. When it grows up, hersquo;ll be living on our balcony. Yoursquo;ll see. When you want to hang out the clothes, yoursquo;ll have to ask the dragon lsquo;May I? May I?rsquo; so that hersquo;ll let you hang your clothes from those sharp horns that the dragons have on their backs.rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;Theyrsquo;ll end up in rags.rsquo; Said his mother, joining the game.

nbsp;lsquo;They will, mother. That hadnrsquo;t crossed my mind. On the other hand, you wonrsquo;t have to use the gas of the stove.rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;Why not?rsquo; His mother asked, intriguingly.

nbsp;lsquo;Because whenever you want to roast a sea-bream or a piece of meat, yoursquo;ll only have to open the dragonrsquo;s mouth, which is the best fire ever lit.rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;And if he swallows up my fish or my meat, what shall we have for dinner?rsquo; His mother wanted to know.

nbsp;lsquo;Yoursquo;re right, mother. That hadnrsquo;t crossed my mind. But they say that dragons are vegetarian.rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;Are you sure?rsquo; His mother asked.

nbsp;lsquo;Irsquo;m positive.rsquo; Thatrsquo;s why they are green.

nbsp;lsquo;Where are we going to get the greens to feed the dragon?rsquo; His mother asked. lsquo;If only one lettuce was enough...rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;Yoursquo;re right, mother. That hadnrsquo;t crossed my mind. Wersquo;ll have to walk him in Hyde Park, so that he feeds on grass and herbs. So he can graze.rsquo;

nbsp;At this, his mother said:

nbsp;lsquo;But... as soon as they saw him, the children would run away and Hyde Park would end up empty of people and vegetation. The trees would be leafless, because the dragon would have eaten everything up, and there would be nothing left behind.rsquo;

nbsp;lsquo;Yoursquo;re right, mother. That hadnrsquo;t crossed my mind. After all, the dragon would only cause trouble. Irsquo;ll tell that gecko to stay as it is.rsquo;

nbsp;It no longer has to grow up.

nbsp;There and then, the gecko ran past us and so this story ends.

nbsp;

Antoacute;nio Torrado