Day 104: 19 February 2026

 Short Story -- Archibald and Amelia

He tried to do everything that dragons were supposed to do.

He collected treasure in his cave. He breathed fire and made sure the smoke was seen from far away. He flew over fields and villages casting an ominous shadow.

He just hoped the nearest villagers never learned that his treasure contained more acorns and interesting rocks than gold or precious gems, that he mostly used his fire breathing to heat up water for his baths and cook whatever he was having for dinner, and that his shadow only felt scary because he was a dragon of size.

What sort of size you ask? Well… bigger than most of the villagers’ cottages but not so big as some of his family members who were larger than the biggest vessels that sailed the seas.

In spite of his fire and his size though, Archibald was as afraid of the villagers as they were of him (neither knew it though). It was this fear that was the driving force behind him trying to cultivate such a ferocious reputation.

And because he feared the villagers and their pitch forks and their fire, and because they feared Archibald as a mighty dragon and his fire… both groups were more or less content to leave the other alone.

That is until one day when a small four year old went missing… or got lost.

At least, her family and neighbours all assumed that she’d gotten lost, because how could a four year old not get lost if they left the comfort of their home and their yard without an adult?

Her parents and older siblings and grandparents and aunts and uncles and neighbours were all scouring the village and the fields in an attempt to find Amelia (for that was her name).

Meanwhile, she was walking boldly through the forest, talking to squirrels, admiring flowers and picking up any pretty stones or acorns that caught her eye.

And this is how she ended up finding herself at the mouth of Archibald’s cave.

She was not very big and Archibald had few to no visitors, so it’s not overly surprising that he didn’t detect her presence until he felt a hand on his snout and heard a small, ‘Ahem.’

He opened first one eye and then the other.

‘A girl!’ he exclaimed in surprise jerking up his head.

‘Yes,’ she said nodding. ‘And you’re a dragon.’

Temporarily discombobulated by her bluntness, he simply nodded.

‘Can you help me?’ she asked.

‘Help you?’ he looked at her more closely now. He didn’t see any pitchforks or fire. And she did seem quite small. And she was looking at him with large inquisitive eyes that were also full of hope. ‘Help you… what?’

‘I’m lost,’ Amelia said.

The dragon knew that meant people would come looking for her. It just wouldn’t do to have them find her here.

‘Of course,’ he said quickly. ‘You would like directions to the nearest village? I assume that’s where you hail from.’

‘I’m four,’ she answered. ‘Clever for four. But I’d rather you just take me home. I’m tired. And my feet hurt. And I’m hungry.’

‘Take you home?’ he asked uncomfortably.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We can walk together.’ And then her face lit up as an idea struck her, and Archibald could already tell he wouldn’t like the idea. ‘Or we could fly!’

‘We are not flying to your village,’ he said horrified at the thought. ‘But I will walk you to the edge of the forest.’

And off they went. A small girl and a large dragon.

As they walked, they were surprised to learn that they had a shared admiration of beautiful acorns and interesting rocks. Archibald taught her to identify some of the different types of trees, as well, they grew in the forest. And Amelia showed him her skills of talking to birds and squirrels. (He wasn’t actually convinced they were truly communicating, but it was very sweet, so he didn’t say anything).

As they reached the edge of the forest, Amelia was on Archibald’s back sleeping. It had been a big day for a four year old, after all. And Archibald heard voices calling for Amelia. Unfortunately, as he paused to decide how to wake the girl quietly, the village men entered the very same clearing. And they had pitch forks. And fire.

‘Foul beast!’ one of them cried.

Archibald was uncertain what to do. This was just the situation he feared. Of course, he could burn them to a crisp, but after such a delightful afternoon with Amelia, he was disinclined.

‘Please,’ Archibald said courteously. ‘Allow me to return Amelia to you. Perhaps one of you is her father?’

A burly man stepped forward.

At that moment, Amelia popped her head from behind one of Archibald’s wings. ‘Daddy!’ she squealed with delight. And slid down the side of Archibald landing gently on the ground.

Archibald smiled.

The men looked confused.

‘This is Archibald,’ Amelia gestured to the dragon. ‘He kindly helped me get here since I was lost.’

The men looked at Archibald. He looked at the men.

‘And you’re okay?’ her father eventually asked, looking her over.

‘Oh, yes! We had a wonderful walk!’ Amelia said.

‘Well then,’ the man said, and the others all angled their pitch forks away from the dragon, ‘It seems I owe you a thank you.’

‘Oh,’ said Archibald, ‘It was nothing. My pleasure.’

It was clear both groups were a little uncertain how to proceed.

Then Amelia’s face lit up with another idea. ‘Archibald, maybe you could help us!’

They all looked incredulously at the little girl.

‘The bellows broke at the village forge. Perhaps you could help with your wings?’

‘He’s awfully big…’ her dad started.

‘Bellows?’ Archibald said uncertainly.

But of course… in the end Archibald did help with the forge and became great friends with the blacksmith.

And it was the start of a very long and very productive — if also slightly unusual — friendship, between a dragon and a whole bunch of villagers.